Hutch

At the risk of encouraging the disenfranchised to weigh in with the mind-numbingly predictable 'Well some of us ....' comments (we get it, you're not happy), I was just curious about this aspect of emigrating and thought I'd naively make a new thread about it.

I was just wondering when it was that people moved from that new-country mode to home mode. It occured to me today that, seven Christmases in, it feels far more natural to go for a post-lunch surf on Xmas day than it does to go for a post-lunch walk in the woods in wellies. Like many things in life I suspect it's one of those gradual changes that you only really notice when someone points it out to you.

Jan4kids

For me it's realising that I haven't needed to look up where I'm going in the street directory for ages and not being surprised when I meet someone I know whilst out.......and losing that feeling of just wanting to drive and drive until I get back to my U.K Hometown.

It also became home when I was no longer Homesick.

Best I can do at this hour Hutch.....

Jan

Pollyana

Six years, 2 months and counting....if I ever feel its home I'll let you know

I know you will lump me in with the disenfranchised, but as I'm online and most people aren't you'll have to put up with it

Alfresco

Home is where the heart is.

livinginreality

Well I guess I'm one of the "Some of us"brigade but you know what Hutch?Been there and done the whole surf thing,xmas included and now I'm older I prefer the walk in the woods!I still hit a surfboard,but usually in places like South India,and Sri Lanka!How times change!

Pollyana

Never a truer phrase

emelems

I was telling a family member about my current relationship scenario, she immediately said to me "are you coming home now?"

I replied "I am at home" ... That's when I knew

It hadn't actually occurred to me before that.

This is where my friends are now, my job, my kids are settled and have their own lives, my whole life is here. Now, ok, it Its far from perfect, but it is most definately my home.. That is for definate

Em x

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Australia will never be home in the emotional sense. I'm more than happy living here now but if people ask me about going home I think of Manchester.... and I haven't lived there for close on 20 years !!

quoll

Being one of the acknowledged disenfranchised, I guess I must be more Australian than I thought because I know that no self respecting Aussie would call it Oz.

Still waiting for that magical heartfelt "OMG this is HOME" moment after 30 years and 9 months (tomorrow). Probably not going to happen in this lifetime

carolinephillips

We have been here all of 16 months now, and are trying to make a mental effort to call this home. It is slowly stopping feeling like a long holiday- OH still calls the UK home, but corrects himself.
You see we plan to stay here permanently, although you never know what the future might bring, and we intend to make this our home, so we are trying to call it that now. Christmas this year was better than last as we own our house now instead of being in a grotty rental, and we have made some friends, so we could have them over for drinks etc. Made up a little for not having the family here.

Devlin

Good to hear you are enjoying yourself. Out of interest. why would you ever sign a lease on a "grotty rental"? I find it hard to believe that you could buy a better house than what you could rent in Sydney.

Dreamy

This has been home since we arrived - someone else said, home is where the heart is, and home for me is where my other half and the kids are. Also, PITA BIL (who gave us until August 2008 before we returned back to the UK) asked us when we were seeing sense and returning home and was told 'we are home'

But on the level you say? I don't know. Its only been our second Christmas here and it has felt more like a 'proper' Christmas, mostly, I suspect, because Christmas Day itself was 'cold' and wet. It still feels weird to be in a shopping mall and be sweating me bits off and there be Christmas songs playing though

We still stop and think - omg we LIVE here! We used to do it as we drove over the bridge from the mainland to Bribie Island, and now we do it at a certain point as we drive into our village and have an amazing glimpse of mountainous woodland. I hope that doesn't wear off, as it would mean we were taking this beautiful place for granted. To be honest, I used to do it as we drove from my mother's back home to York, so perhaps its just me.

On most levels, this feels like Home now. There will always be oddities which will throw me, there will be things in the UK that I miss - but I moved around there a lot and there were regional things that I missed too.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Just to add... should I ever return to the UK it bloody well won't be to the East Manchester council estate I think of as 'home'.

Hutch

I guess the many Australians I know who use the phrase aren't self-respecting then. Actually, maybe that's why I like them.

Dorothy

It only took a few months for Australia to feel like home to me. We had some really great friends and neighbours in Adelaide who made me feel like it was home. It took well over 2 years for Perth to feel like home, though.