It is very different coming back to a place you were in not too long ago -- my experience is completely different now. I can't pretend this is my first time here, and as a result, I actually have preferences. I realize that when everything is new, it is both interesting and exciting, or bearable if nothing else. 

When it is not new, it occupies a place in a ranked order of preferences -- is this as good as it was before? Is this the experience I want this time or not? 

In my case, I wanted to so much for my second time in Jordan -- to live in an Arabic speaking environment, to get to walk more (see earlier posts about how Amman is not a walkable city!), and of course to make headway on my research! Initially, I figured that I would live in a homestay, but my original plans for a homestay turned out to not give me what I needed in terms of walkability, central location -- luckily, I've found a wonderful place now. I really love my current apartment, it is in a beautiful old neighborhood, that is very walkable, and I have a wonderful roommate who is American but speaks Arabic in the house. I feel very lucky to have found exactly my combination of what I want! 

Also, my new neighborhood is lovely. Amman simply doesn't have the same focus on details that makes North Africa so beautiful, but what makes Amman lovely is the cityscapes are lovely from so many different vantage points...