Third place

Welcome to Third place, my personal space for long essays, and a newsletter. Thanks for joining.

First, and foremost let me tell you why the name. Third place is a concept in sociology, developed by Ray Oldenbrug, and it refers to the places which are outside of your home and work environment. For some work and home, can be the same place too. The third place though serves a more liberal, connected, creative and inspiring purpose. It can be any place, any situation or activity which aims to create a deeper connection with others and the environment.

In my teenage years I used to roam through my hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria. Exploring, encountering new people or situations, alone or with friends. Slowly over time I started to explore places outside the boundaries of the city. First I traveled across the country. Later in my 20s I started to travel abroad. I ended up in Amsterdam, and few years later I started living there. And just recently in the last couple of years, after an intense grind and hustle in the world of tech , the voice of my inner creative child start to become louder and louder. Asking for more freedom, creativity and connections. That’s also how this newsletter came to be.

Mankind has been living that way for a long time. And the subtitle of The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenbrug says it all: “Cafes, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Get You through the Day.” All places serve a similar function. They are meant to create a save, relaxing and open space for nurturing connections and creativity.

In my world I started to translate that through my interests. Some days we will walk a good 25km in Amsterdam. Enjoy the city, talk about everything with a friend, with no purpose or reason whatsoever. Other days it will be more of photo centric walk. Like in April we did a walk around the the manmade islands of Amsterdam Oost, took so many great images, and learned a lot about the history of that area. It might be a hike in the Bulgarian Southwest, or a bike ride through the dunes of Holland. Or a road trip with a person that you just met, driving through three states, to end at the Zion National Park in Utah, for a bare feet hike in The Narrows. Those moments are important, but they also require effort and a lot of sacrifice. They take time, but they also give something back. They give us back the reasons to move, to keep going, to connect and to create.

As the world keeps moving, we work remotely or from an office, we stay at home, in comfort. We settle in. I always found that hard to accept, and when I start to retrospectively analyse, I see that has been a big influencer in most of my life decisions, good or bad, easy or hard.

“Third place” is about all those decisions. About the places and situations that foster creativity, freedom, connections, and movement. I hope you stay around and enjoy them, as much as I do.

Best,

B