A few years ago, I moved to a country that consistently ranked near the top of lists of the best places in the world to live. Those rankings usually measured safety, income, healthcare, infrastructure, and other things I valued. It seemed logical that if life was supposed to be good anywhere, it would be there.

But after moving, I noticed a strange disconnect. Many things had become easier and more convenient, yet I didn’t feel better. I kept thinking about periods when I’d had fewer opportunities and much less comfort, but remembered enjoying life more. I could have put it down to nostalgia. Maybe the past just seemed better from a distance. Still, I wanted to understand what I missed and what had made those earlier experiences feel good.

At first, I thought mostly about the big differences. More opportunities, more convenience, more safety. Shouldn’t that have been enough to make me happier. Then I began paying attention to what happened during an ordinary day. How people behaved around me. How streets and public spaces were laid out. What I could see and hear on a walk. How I felt after a trip to the store. Which tasks were straightforward and which took more effort than I expected.

I started noticing contradictions. I could live in a comfortable apartment and never quite feel at ease in it. I could walk through a well-kept neighbourhood without finding anywhere I wanted to spend time. And I could enjoy a day somewhere completely ordinary, with nothing especially impressive about it. That made me curious. What made me want to stay in one place and leave another? Why did the same activity feel different depending on where I was? What had I become used to putting up with? And what did I enjoy enough to want more of?

Crème de Sens grew out of those questions.

Here, I write about places, people, things, habits, and the way everyday life is organised. Sometimes a story starts with something frustrating. Sometimes it starts with a favourite object, a place, or an experience I want to repeat. I’m interested in what happened, how I responded, and what it made me think about. My own experience is the starting point. Comparing places has helped me recognise some of my preferences, but I also want to share individual stories without having to turn each one into a comparison or a lesson.

At first, I was trying to understand why I didn’t feel better in a place where life was supposedly better. Now, I want to understand what makes everyday life enjoyable for me.