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or varied temperatures?
• Safe or risky?
Atmosphere
Do you prefer…
• Noisy or quiet?
• Calm or bustling?
• Formal or casual—for example, do you want to call your coworkers “Ms. Smith” and “Mr. Jones,” or do you prefer that everyone is on a first-name basis?
• Lots of contact with coworkers or very little?
• Lots of contact with the public (clients, patients, customers) or very little?
• Working by yourself with minimal contact with others or working frequently or constantly with others?
• A hierarchical setting (where the boss tells everyone what to do) or a collaborative setting (where the staff works together to determine goals, priorities, and workload)?
Size/Type of Business
Do you prefer…
• Large or small? (Think about what “large” and “small” mean to you.)
• Locally owned, national chain, or multinational?
• Knowing all your colleagues and customers or always having a chance to meet someone new?
• A for-profit or nonprofit organization?
• Running your own business?
Clothing
What would you like to wear at work…
• A suit?
• Trendy clothes?
• Casual, comfortable clothes?
• Jeans and a casual shirt?
• A uniform (for example, military, firefighter, police officer, waiter/waitress)?
• A lab coat?
• Different clothes for different aspects of your job (for example, a suit when meeting an important client, casual clothes for regular days in the office)?
• Whatever you want to wear?
• Something else?
Write each of your answers on a small slip of paper or sticky note, then put them in order of what is most important to you. (You may want to include one or two items from each of the categories—Location, Work Space, and so on.) Select the five factors that are most important to you. Write these in the My Ideal Work Environment section of My Parachute .

Your Ideal Community
    Everyone has different ideas of what makes a great place to live. If you love to ski, you’ll want to be within reasonable distance of the mountains. If you love to surf, you’ll want to live near the coast. Another person may want to live near a lake or river, or in the desert. You may want to live near good friends or family. Or, if you have excellent foreign language skills (or want to develop them), you may want to live in a foreign country.
    And, more directly related to their jobs, some people want to work within a few blocks of a mass-transit stop. Others want to drive to work and therefore want lots of parking. Some people might want their gym or favorite coffee bar nearby, a grocery store located on the route home from work, or a park close enough for eating lunch or taking a walk. What characteristics do you want in the community where you’ll live and work?

YOUR IDEAL COMMUNITY *
Geographical Features
Do you want to live…
• In or near the mountains? near the coast? in the desert? on the plains?
• In a small town (less than 5,000 people), a medium-sized city (5,000–20,000), a large city (20,000–500,000), a major metropolitan area (500,000 or larger)?
• In a rural area with a town or city within a reasonable distance or in an isolated area, far from “civilization”?
People
Do you prefer…
• A good mix of age, ethnic, economic, and religious groups?
• Mostly people your own age or in your own ethnic, economic, or religious group?
• Living where you already have friends or family or in a place where everyone is new?
Neighborhood/Housing
Do you prefer living…
• In a subdivision?
• In an apartment or condominium?
• In a single-family home that doesn’t look like everyone else’s?
Culture
What is important to you…
• Good bookstores, art galleries, libraries, and museums?
• Movie theaters?
• Music, dance, and the arts?
• A local semipro or pro sports team?
Educational Opportunities
What is important to you…
• Personal enrichment classes?
• Professional development classes?
• A college or university?
Recreation
What would you like your