If you could have been born in Middle Earth...

[Nogrod]

I will have to echo Skip here... Umbar, or maybe Dol Amroth. They bring to my imagination places like ancient Alexandria or Rome even. Minas Tirith might be an option but it feels too rigid and "nationalistic" (yes, a bad term but I hope you get what I mean), and clearly too far from the Sea.

Bilbo said you should be careful with the road you take as it might take you anywhere - but with sea it is even a more awesome idea. One has to live by the sea to feel the world is open.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

I will have to echo Skip here... Umbar, or maybe Dol Amroth. They bring to my imagination places like ancient Alexandria or Rome even. Minas Tirith might be an option but it feels too rigid and "nationalistic" (yes, a bad term but I hope you get what I mean), and clearly too far from the Sea.

In the good name of Ulmo, if Minas Tirith is "clearly too far from Sea" for you, I shudder what you would say about Rivendell...

Though I concur with the idea of the Sea. I always considered Hithlum to be a pretty nice place, but the best thing related to it is Cirith Ninniach - and here comes the Sea. Then again, it was generally rather a bleak place otherwise - most of all, no people. I think I could otherwise do without the Sea, and just stay in some place like Rivendell/Lórien (even Rhosgobel)... maybe the White Towers would be actually good, if one can see the Sea from there, but still be quite close to the calm and safe hills and valleys of the Shire (I would not like to live in the Shire itself, too "civilized" for me, but in some deep forest on the edge of the Shire, happily - to stalk Hobbits, sort of behave like the Elves who pass through; therefore the White Towers sounds like a good place). Shores of Lake Rhun (especially if there really is this forest by its north-eastern edge) also sound nice.

I think the problem with the Sea in Middle-Earth is that generally all the locations by the Sea are somewhat lacking in other aspects. Like, there usually isn't anything else except for the Sea. For example, Grey Havens would fulfil some good criteria for me (Elves, Sea), but it sounds like a grey and depressing place otherwise, so... With places like Umbar I would have the issue that, if I ever decided to leave our world and move to Middle-Earth, I would do so for the reason of getting away from our overcrowded, commerce-inflated cities, and going to Umbar of all places certainly wouldn't help it. No, if I moved to Middle-Earth, it would be away from civilization: no Gondor, no Númenor, no early Arnor, no big cities, especially not human ones.