Leave your hometown for a while and you’ll come back seeing the things you used to roll your eyes at.

Familiarity hides things. When somewhere is all you have known, its oddities read as simply how life is, and its good parts are invisible for exactly the same reason. Distance does not improve the place, it just lets you see it, including the parts you used to find embarrassing.

Go somewhere different for long enough to be slightly uncomfortable, even if only briefly. When you come back, notice what you now find striking. That double view is worth keeping, since it works on people as well as on places.