# Cities and mountains

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2015-02-09

alberta, architect-this-city, atc, athiscity, banff, calgary, denver, lake-louise, mountains, richard-florida, ski, snowboard, sunshine, toronto, uncategorized, vancouver, whos-your-city

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![image](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/ed3200fa962ba90dc76c0fdcaf2535be.jpg)

Having just spent the weekend in Calgary and Banff, I’ve been thinking a lot about importance of picking the right city in which to live. I’m not saying that I don’t love Toronto. Because I do. But I am incredibly envious of cities – like Calgary, Vancouver, and Denver – that have such easy access to incredible mountains.

The [photo at the top of this post](http://instagram.com/p/y0mSnjSmwc/?modal=true) was taken on the drive from Calgary to Banff.  

Now, this might not matter to a lot of people, but it does to me. It’s a personal thing. There’s something really nice about landing in a city and seeing people leaving the airport with skis and snowboards in hand. And there’s something really nice about a city where so many people are active, outdoorsy, and fit.  

This, of course, is the topic of Richard Florida’s book, [Who’s Your City?: How the Creative Economy Is Making Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life.](http://www.amazon.com/Whos-Your-City-Creative-Important/dp/0465018092) But it’s still something that I’m not sure many of us give a lot of thought to. Are you living in the right city for _you_?

I’ve lived in cities that weren’t right for me and I know that it can have a profound affect on your happiness.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/cities-and-mountains)*