Most every year, I write a column about summer with suggestions on what to do and where to go, but I’ve aged ten years since this column began and now I’m more inclined to say, “Stay home and sit in your backyard.”

I don’t know if that’s because the world feels a little off kilter or because at some point in our lives, rushing off to every festival and event seems less appealing.

I think it’s a little of both.

I’m going to declare this “The Year Of The Home,” because most everyone I know is home more–pandemics and prices have something to do with that–and, more than ever, our homes feel like the best place in the world to be. I just want to water my flowers, sip some tea and watch the world walk by my front porch.

Our homes have become our sanctuaries as we travel less, drive less, and venture out less. Having our own spot in the world and feeling good about it is reflected in the fact that houses in Chautauqua County are still selling incredibly fast. There’s very little on the market and what makes it onto Zillow is gone within days. When the going gets tough, people want to live here in our beautiful part of the world. Airbnb’s around the lake are popular too. In short: we’ve been discovered. (I told you not to tell anyone.)

So our focus is our homes these days–they’ve become the main setting in our lives: where we work, sleep, and socialize. There is more and more research that shows the direct influence that our homes have, not only on our moods, but our overall health and well-being. Our homes should feel like warm hugs. And now more than ever, investing in our own properties or apartments is a good thing to do. Spring for the new couch, get to the nursery and spend some time puttering in your flower beds, or take a second look at your outdoor space. My husband and I have been contemplating central air, or extra outdoor space. Now that he works from home, we’re looking at our space differently. Home isn’t something we just come back to anymore: it’s where we are all of the time. If we’re going to spend money, this is where we’re going to spend it.

The way we all use our homes has changed. Rooms are designed for double duty: dining room tables are workspaces or conference rooms, guest rooms are fitted with desks, bedrooms hold our exercise equipment. As people spend more time in their homes, the spaces they live in have to work harder for them.

It’s interesting to study human behavior in light of the pandemic and how our definition of “home” has changed. Seven out of ten people started working from home and they fled cities to find a different kind of place for themselves. 16 million people moved during the first sixteen months of the pandemic alone. In 2020, 30 million people picked up stakes and moved.

Interesting that when given the choice, many people didn’t really want to live in the cities where they worked. And what did they want? They wanted sunshine or Vermont, apparently. Vermont gained more population than any other state during the pandemic. And Florida, Texas and the Carolinas followed close behind.

In 2022, Sarasota, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Nashville appear to be high on everyone’s list. New York City? Not so much. For every two people moving to New York City, five people leave the city. And you can argue people want the sunshine, but a few of our southern states offer no income tax and much lower property taxes. Given a choice, people decided “home” meant something new to them, and more affordable was high on their list.

Given all of the moving going on in our country, the idea of home has changed dramatically. People are willing to be transient, to move away from hometowns, and take risks when it comes to their happiness. Someone wrote an article in New York City last week, telling all the people who moved away that “they’d be back one day.” I’m not so sure. It’s hard to give up rural simplicity or sunshine once you’ve tasted it.

For those of us who are waking up in Chautauqua County today, our idea of home may be richer and more spiritual than ever. Vermont has nothing over us. We’ve got it all–fresh food, abundant beauty, water, good people.

Stand with your coffee and look out your window this morning. Be grateful for home–whatever that means to you.