I had lunch last week with a friend. We went to the Breslin in the Ace Hotel. I committed what is likely my top lapsed judgement in a while (or a few days) and had a mushroom sandwich. I guess that renders all of our recommendations on the where/what/who irrelevant. But I was feeling vegetarian that day and the Breslin is always a great spot for a long mid-week lunch. We were talking about Indwell and my friend insinuated that we specialize only in the biggest, brightest cities — a positive in his mind.
Though correct, it's not the full story. While we can absolutely connect you to amazing experiences in the cities that continually top the world's list of most innovative, most traveled to and most worth your bookings, we actually have quite a passion for those cities that are just under the radar. And nowhere has that mentality been better rewarded than in the U.S., where over the course of the past decade both brands and humans have begun celebrating — even flocking to — the second tier...the smaller town.
I've been thinking about how we ensure our reach isn't limited only to Amsterdam and Hong Kong and LA and Miami. But to the pockets, the popping, the can't-yet-see but soon-can't-miss spots across the globe that will have to stretch their boundaries to accommodate new residents, change their codes to take advantage of business relocation and brace for the windfall of well-wishers that catch note of something worth discovering.
It's why I'd buy up plot after plot in Kamakura (not only for proximity to the Daibutsu) instead of Tokyo. It's why every damn New Yorker lusts after a life in Beacon (which now most argue is already too big, too Brooklyn'ed).`
So I read a recent piece in The Atlantic with interest... "Eleven Signs a City Will Succeed" by James Fallows. It's an excerpt from his and his wife's journey across the U.S., visiting towns big and small, while interviewing the residents.
And it's a reminder, that "being there" can be anywhere. That some places have arrived long before you do. That the biggest insights, the most powerful movements, and the most inspiring people don't have to reside in Brooklyn or have a storefront on Abbot Kinney. They don't have to be developing Shoreditch or run galleries in Galata. They could be in your old hometown. They could be your high school doubles partner. They could be anywhere, as long as the spirit is right.