I grew up in a metropolitan area, with apartments stacked on top of each other and young saplings as the only source of greenery.
I didn’t love it, but it was all I knew.
Then a few years ago my husband received a job offer in the rural outskirts of our city. The commute was too lengthy for us to stay put, so we relocated to be closer to his new position. Immediately, I had some things to get used to. There were no outdoor lights at night, and it was eerily silent. We could go days without seeing another person if we didn’t drive into town. But strangely enough, the thing that bothered me the most was the long dirt and gravel driveway we had. The dust that was kicked up drifted directly into the house, and the central heating and cooling system evenly dispensed it everywhere. If you looked hard enough, you could see it coming out of the air vents. My allergies were going crazy. I tried turning off the HVAC system every time I thought my husband would be driving home, but then the house became unbearably uncomfortable without any heat or air conditioning if he was late. Eventually, I called the heating and cooling company and asked if there was anything they could suggest. They recommended adding a filtration system to our current HVAC unit in order to filter out dust particulates before they even hit the air vents. We hastily made the modification to our heating and cooling system, and I’ve been breathing freely again ever since.