Sympathico

As we've moved from place-to-place these past several months, a few locations have started--just a little--to feel like home.

Recently, as we pulled out of an RV park that felt very comfortable and homey, Brooke commented that it was very sad and difficult to leave. I told her that maybe this was what it felt like to pull up roots that were taking hold, even if very they were very shallow ones.

As we've tried on many different places as our temporary "home", we've started to notice an odd pattern: 

We prefer living in places with a Great Clips. 

Don't get me wrong. It's not that Great Clips is our favorite. Three of the four of us frequent Great Clips, but actually, we've found the quality to differ wildly from location to location. Some are great; others are...er, less great. At home, I've patronized a Great Clips salon for several years for one major reason: it is across the street from our neighborhood.

On this adventure, Great Clips comes with some other useful features. They all share the same computer system nation-wide, so they "know" me when I come in, no matter which location I'm visiting. I never have to tell them how to cut my hair. They already know. Another plus is that they allow online check-ins before you arrive, thus allowing you to skip the line. Ok, sure, neither of those is earth shattering, but it's the little things in life, right?

While these are all very nice features, they aren't the reason we prefer locales that are home to a Great Clips. We actually think there is something about the size of a town in which Great Clips is willing to open a franchise that appeals to us. When we've stayed in places without their own version of the "world's largest salon brand", we've found that we eventually start feel isolated and trapped due to the isolation and distance required to find any city amenities.

Cities--even smaller ones--with the regional population necessary to support a Great Clips, these are places that tend to have ALL the amenities of civilization that we crave: large grocery stores, big box stores, movie theaters, and non-fast food restaurants, to name a few.

I don't think this is a universal rule, but more maybe just a coincidence that exposes some things that are true about us about us and our preferences. I think we just feel more at home in medium-sized city. You know, like Grand Rapids!

So, the next time you get a mediocre haircut for a very reasonable price and your eye starts wandering toward the high-end salons, remember: even a bad Great Clips isn't so bad when it feels like home.

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