Hans

I'm not someone who needs to move around a lot. But when we started looking for a new place a few years ago, we quickly realized that if we were going to do it, we wanted to do it right. Today, we live in an apartment where we felt at home from the moment we walked in.

It's a three-room apartment with lots of light and a clear layout, and you can tell that it's been well thought out. The rooms are designed in such a way that you quickly feel at home. Nothing seems contrived, yet everything fits together perfectly. In the morning, we get up with the sun, make coffee, and look out at the greenery. The balcony has become something like our second living room. No noise. Just a few steps away is the courtyard, where children run through the grass later in the day and someone reads the newspaper on a bench. It's lively, but in a quiet way.

If we want, we can be in the city in a few minutes. Or on the Rhine. We take our bikes, sometimes the train – the station is close by. But we often just stay here. Shopping, bakery, pharmacy, market – most things can be done between two conversations in the complex.

The house itself has character. It is modest, contemporary, and solid. And what you can hardly see from the outside is that the construction is designed for sustainability. You can feel it without being constantly reminded of it. The air is good, and the temperature remains stable, even in summer.

I meet my neighbors as I pass by—sometimes a young family, sometimes an older couple who used to live a few streets away. It's this mix that I like. Open, but not intrusive.

I used to live in many cities and traveled a lot. Now I know what it really feels like to arrive.