We cosplay. We play Quidditch. We visit the Pottermore website to receive our wands and get sorted into our Hogwarts house. We even purchase annual passes to Universal Studios to experience some magical phenomenon. As Harry Potter fans, we have tried everything to feel like we’re living in J.K. Rowling’s incredibly magical world. But have we actually thought about living there? Let’s use the wizarding society in the United Kingdom as an example.

Imagine spending your teen years at a school with a constant presence of dark magic threatening you, your professors and your classmates. The Hogwarts castle is massive. Imagine trying to navigate through a large castle with moving staircases, forbidden floors and people in paintings that move, not all of them helpful. Let’s not forget that your homework is by parchment length, so there’s no changing the margins, fonts or spacing to fulfill the required number of pages.

A problem I see is with shopping. Why do I still need to visit shopping centers like Diagon Alley to purchase school supplies? Why would I still have to go shopping for anything for that matter? As someone who did all of her Christmas shopping online in her pajamas last year, I do not think I will ever go back to crowded shopping centers during the holidays.

The currency is another reason not to go shopping at Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley or Hogsmeade. The clunky gold Galleons, silver Sickles and bronze Knuts will create an irritating rattle and be a large weight to carry while shopping, which is already a tedious endeavor. You would need to purchase a bag with an Extension Charm, I guess. I wonder if you could buy one on Amazon?

But the stress and aggravation that come from school and shopping shouldn’t outweigh the joy of wielding magic, right? I think I would like to be a wizard, despite how I would not enjoy handling their currency or writing essays on parchment.

The magic in the wizarding world is well thought out. Those witches and wizards don’t use magic for everything and neither would you. The life you live now wouldn’t change too much. Do you think you would miss going to foreign language lectures or experimenting in chemistry labs? At Hogwarts, you could learn ancient wizard script in Ancient Runes and concoct potions in Potions class. Ancient Runes is sort of like a foreign language. Also, Potions is like chemistry, but you use a cauldron instead of a beaker.

So… have you actually thought about living as a witch or wizard? There could be some ultimate factor that inclines you say no, and that does not make you any less of a Harry Potter fan. Still need more information about whether or not to live in the wizarding world? Crack open the first book. It’ll be like a brochure. But I warn you, you may not be able to stop reading.