Time to move home...
Oct 27th 2017, 5:20 am
#16
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Portlandia Metro
Posts: 7,425
Re: Time to move home...
When I went back to Ambleside couple of years back, to see family, not much had changed. People that I knew had got older, but the countryside was still the same, the pubs were pretty much the same and the atmosphere was as I remember it. I guess it all depends where you are from and what you are going back to.
Oct 27th 2017, 11:09 am
#17
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Scotland
Posts: 3,337
Re: Time to move home...
Arrived home last year after eight years away and only big change is more cars on the road
Oct 27th 2017, 3:56 pm
#18
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: bute
Posts: 9,740
Re: Time to move home...
Next summer my brother and I plan a visit to that part of Scotland where we grew up in the 1950s. I will be very surprised if we find ANYTHING that resonates with or or propmpts the memories !
Oct 29th 2017, 5:42 pm
#19
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 120
Re: Time to move home...
So by home I mean the UK, certainly won't be moving back to Kent where i'm originally from. When I left I was living in London, but when I return it will be a very different place, since I don't have that many friends there now and I've never lived in my flat, so whilst it will all feel familiar it will still be like a new adventure...i've not really been a 'proper' adult in the UK, so i'm actually really excited about what that will be like.
Nov 1st 2017, 5:00 pm
#20
Born again atheist
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Europe (to be specified).
Posts: 30,259
Re: Time to move home...
I disagree. I've been home for 2.5 years now after 38 years as an expat. Of course many things have changed (they have everywhere) but it's definitely home and many changes have been for the better.
Nov 1st 2017, 5:02 pm
#21
Born again atheist
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Europe (to be specified).
Posts: 30,259
Re: Time to move home...
My mother always said "you can never go back". I think it was only as I grew older that I fully came to realize how wise her words were. My mother still lives in Gloucester, but I was at uni the last time I in any sense "lived" there and it feels very different when I go to visit. There is no "back" for me to return to. 
A couple of year ago I was in Gloucester at Christmas and walking through the pedestrianized city center my ears were telling me that I had slipped down a wormhole and emerged somewhere near the Carpathian mountains!
A couple of year ago I was in Gloucester at Christmas and walking through the pedestrianized city center my ears were telling me that I had slipped down a wormhole and emerged somewhere near the Carpathian mountains!
Nov 1st 2017, 7:16 pm
#23
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Portlandia Metro
Posts: 7,425
Re: Time to move home...
As you grow old, different aspects of a place will appeal to you. Maybe when you were younger you were drawn to more drinking establishments, maybe as you grow older you drawn more to eating establishments, or bowling greens. So what appeals to you at home will be different as you age.
Nov 27th 2017, 8:39 pm
#26
Born again atheist
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Europe (to be specified).
Posts: 30,259
Re: Time to move home...
I never moved countries without a job to go to though. I lived in different countries four times. But the move home (the fifth country) was after retirement, so an exception.
Nov 27th 2017, 9:11 pm
#27
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2016
Location: Scotland
Posts: 200
Re: Time to move home...
After 6 years in England and 32 years in Arizona we are returning to Scotland next year. All my immediate family live in England but it’s Scotland that I miss. I have no expectations of certain things being the same. I left Scotland as a 21 year old for my first job after University in Dunstable. It would be naive of me to think that things hadn’t changed. I believe that you absolutely can return home. For me returning home means returning to my homeland. I feel so fortunate that I have this choice.
Nov 27th 2017, 10:20 pm
#28
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 10,006
Re: Time to move home...
My mother always said "you can never go back". I think it was only as I grew older that I fully came to realize how wise her words were. My mother still lives in Gloucester, but I was at uni the last time I in any sense "lived" there and it feels very different when I go to visit. There is no "back" for me to return to.
A couple of year ago I was in Gloucester at Christmas and walking through the pedestrianized city center my ears were telling me that I had slipped down a wormhole and emerged somewhere near the Carpathian mountains!
A couple of year ago I was in Gloucester at Christmas and walking through the pedestrianized city center my ears were telling me that I had slipped down a wormhole and emerged somewhere near the Carpathian mountains!
Nov 27th 2017, 10:31 pm
#29
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,439
Re: Time to move home...
After 6 years in England and 32 years in Arizona we are returning to Scotland next year. All my immediate family live in England but it’s Scotland that I miss. I have no expectations of certain things being the same. I left Scotland as a 21 year old for my first job after University in Dunstable. It would be naive of me to think that things hadn’t changed. I believe that you absolutely can return home. For me returning home means returning to my homeland. I feel so fortunate that I have this choice.
Guess it depends a lot on what part of the country to a degree. When I visit London now it certainly doesn't feel the same in many sections compared to time I spent there in the 70's. Going back to Northumberland ( except for Newcastle which has changed for the better) still home, and even more so by the sea.
It is more than just a piece of real estate for me, so, for me there is no "home" in the UK to return to, because almost all the things I listed above no longer exist as I remember them in the areas where I lived.
Nov 28th 2017, 12:07 am
#30
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2016
Location: Scotland
Posts: 200
Re: Time to move home...
My DH has always said to me that when he retires (which he did in May) he doesn’t mind where he lives as long as he has access to 3 things: a car, a computer and a T.V. He’s very happy to return to Scotland but he certainly doesn’t feel the longing that I feel. I am so fortunate that he understands the depths of my feelings about returning.