Homing Instinct
Jun 2nd 2008, 10:26 pm
#1
itchy feet again!
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Ex-Canada: now rural West Sussex.
Posts: 1,013
Homing Instinct
I've just realised that's what it is. I was posting a reply on another thread and used that term....and that's when it hit me. Just like other animals, some of us have this Homing Instinct; no matter what quality of life we have in another country, no matter how many negative things we hear, see or read about in the UK, we just have to make our way Home! Simple......that's the reason, funnily enough, I gave to someone at the weekend. I'm not going to justify my reasons for going home anymore.........it's the Homing Instinct. 
Jun 3rd 2008, 1:32 am
#2
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 40
Re: Homing Instinct
I've just realised that's what it is. I was posting a reply on another thread and used that term....and that's when it hit me. Just like other animals, some of us have this Homing Instinct; no matter what quality of life we have in another country, no matter how many negative things we hear, see or read about in the UK, we just have to make our way Home! Simple......that's the reason, funnily enough, I gave to someone at the weekend. I'm not going to justify my reasons for going home anymore.........it's the Homing Instinct.
July 13th and counting!
Maybe we're 'homing' because homing pigeon racing was popular in Yorkshire and they've spread the bug - could this be a variation on bird flu??!
Sorry I'm rambling this morning - lack of sleep due to stress and an impending trip to No Frills for the weekly uninspiring shop to blame!
Nikki
Jun 3rd 2008, 1:48 am
#3
Heading for Poppyland
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: North Norfolk and northern New York State
Posts: 14,727
Re: Homing Instinct
Yeah, I'm sick of the "this weather must remind you of England, ha! ha!" comments. I live in Northern NY (just 25 miles from Ontario 
) and the annual precipitation is about 45 inches ... in London & SE England, where I'm from, the annual precipitation is about 25 inches.
Just got back from a weekend in Montreal and it poured with rain for two days!
) and the annual precipitation is about 45 inches ... in London & SE England, where I'm from, the annual precipitation is about 25 inches.Just got back from a weekend in Montreal and it poured with rain for two days!
Jun 3rd 2008, 9:22 am
#4
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Canberra
Posts: 8,379
Re: Homing Instinct
Yup, definitely a homing instinct! The holiday is over and I wanna go home!
Jun 3rd 2008, 10:15 am
#5
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2008
Location: Hamilton, New Zealand
Posts: 328
Re: Homing Instinct
I've just realised that's what it is. I was posting a reply on another thread and used that term....and that's when it hit me. Just like other animals, some of us have this Homing Instinct; no matter what quality of life we have in another country, no matter how many negative things we hear, see or read about in the UK, we just have to make our way Home! Simple......that's the reason, funnily enough, I gave to someone at the weekend. I'm not going to justify my reasons for going home anymore.........it's the Homing Instinct.
Jun 3rd 2008, 12:10 pm
#7
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Joined: May 2006
Location: M'cr-Red Deer-M'cr-??
Posts: 1,309
Re: Homing Instinct
Nice one J....I like it! You've started the "Homing Instinct" and my "warts 'n' all" seems to have taken off too - all this talent from Tameside eh 
Jun 3rd 2008, 1:01 pm
#8
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 511
Re: Homing Instinct
I've just realised that's what it is. I was posting a reply on another thread and used that term....and that's when it hit me. Just like other animals, some of us have this Homing Instinct; no matter what quality of life we have in another country, no matter how many negative things we hear, see or read about in the UK, we just have to make our way Home! Simple......that's the reason, funnily enough, I gave to someone at the weekend. I'm not going to justify my reasons for going home anymore.........it's the Homing Instinct.
I was just thinking - I don't care how bad it is : recession, bad weather, blah blah blah - it's HOME and that's what counts!
Jun 6th 2008, 6:01 am
#9
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2007
Location: northamptonshire
Posts: 108
Re: Homing Instinct
No regrets, just glad we rented our house out for 6 months in UK !!!!!!!
Lorraine x
Jun 6th 2008, 6:13 am
#10
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2007
Location: Kansas, USA
Posts: 2,620
Re: Homing Instinct
I've just realised that's what it is. I was posting a reply on another thread and used that term....and that's when it hit me. Just like other animals, some of us have this Homing Instinct; no matter what quality of life we have in another country, no matter how many negative things we hear, see or read about in the UK, we just have to make our way Home! Simple......that's the reason, funnily enough, I gave to someone at the weekend. I'm not going to justify my reasons for going home anymore.........it's the Homing Instinct.
Jun 6th 2008, 7:12 am
#11
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2008
Location: Southern Spain
Posts: 224
Re: Homing Instinct
Hi Guys, just popped over from the Spanish forum. I love to read all your stories being as you're all so far away from the good old you kay, but may I ask a couple of questions. Might be best to grab a cuppa and put yer feet up
I'm from Hertfordshire and would have loved to have moved to Australia, but sadly too old, so decided to move to Southern Spain. Now, like you guys there are times I get a real hankering for 'home'' and so I hop on a plane and in 2 hours I'm there. I luurve going home and seeing all the greenery, being able to converse in English in the shops and especially to officialdom on the phone ( a real difficulty here in Spain even with a good smattering of the lingo). I luurve going to the pub and having Sunday lunch and I adore worshipping at the altar of Tesco, Matalan, Debenhams etc. However after a few weeks, I get a big urge to come back here to Spain, I miss the sun, and strangely enough driving on the right.
We have all the same problems as you , with the expats generally (not always of course), mixing with only other expats, and the Spanish accusing us of living in English ghettos . Poco inglatera, but particularly in the coastal area, the Spanish are not the most friendly of all. I hear it's different in village locations where foreigners haven't arrived en masse trying to ''change things''.
Anyhoo I digress.
A few questions for all the honest peeps
Why did you move half way across the world? Would you not have preferred to make a stepping stone and move to somewhere like Europe (Spain/italy/Greece for example) and see if you could hack being away from the Uk for an extended period of time before going soooo far?
2) Do you worry that no matter how homesick you feel for the UK that after a short period of time you will see through clear coloured specs and remember why you left in the first place?
3), and lastly , what was the catalyst that made you realise Australia was really not for you? ..totally honestly.
I read these forums (worldwide) and rarely does anyone really specify why the have to go back. Homing instinct is one reason, but for how long?
What are the real reasons for going back?
If I were to leave Spain for good it would be because of the rising prices, corrupt politicians (I know I know it happens everywhere) and the sheer difficult of dealing with beurocracy in a foreign language.
For the moment I stay, been here 5 years now, but who knows for how much longer.
Hope you don't mind me asking these questions, but I can see you're all fab people and willing to be upfront about your experiences!!
I'm from Hertfordshire and would have loved to have moved to Australia, but sadly too old, so decided to move to Southern Spain. Now, like you guys there are times I get a real hankering for 'home'' and so I hop on a plane and in 2 hours I'm there. I luurve going home and seeing all the greenery, being able to converse in English in the shops and especially to officialdom on the phone ( a real difficulty here in Spain even with a good smattering of the lingo). I luurve going to the pub and having Sunday lunch and I adore worshipping at the altar of Tesco, Matalan, Debenhams etc. However after a few weeks, I get a big urge to come back here to Spain, I miss the sun, and strangely enough driving on the right.
We have all the same problems as you , with the expats generally (not always of course), mixing with only other expats, and the Spanish accusing us of living in English ghettos . Poco inglatera, but particularly in the coastal area, the Spanish are not the most friendly of all. I hear it's different in village locations where foreigners haven't arrived en masse trying to ''change things''.
Anyhoo I digress.
A few questions for all the honest peeps
Why did you move half way across the world? Would you not have preferred to make a stepping stone and move to somewhere like Europe (Spain/italy/Greece for example) and see if you could hack being away from the Uk for an extended period of time before going soooo far?
2) Do you worry that no matter how homesick you feel for the UK that after a short period of time you will see through clear coloured specs and remember why you left in the first place?
3), and lastly , what was the catalyst that made you realise Australia was really not for you? ..totally honestly.
I read these forums (worldwide) and rarely does anyone really specify why the have to go back. Homing instinct is one reason, but for how long?
What are the real reasons for going back?
If I were to leave Spain for good it would be because of the rising prices, corrupt politicians (I know I know it happens everywhere) and the sheer difficult of dealing with beurocracy in a foreign language.
For the moment I stay, been here 5 years now, but who knows for how much longer.
Hope you don't mind me asking these questions, but I can see you're all fab people and willing to be upfront about your experiences!!
Jun 6th 2008, 7:48 am
#12
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2007
Location: northamptonshire
Posts: 108
Re: Homing Instinct
Hi Guys, just popped over from the Spanish forum. I love to read all your stories being as you're all so far away from the good old you kay, but may I ask a couple of questions. Might be best to grab a cuppa and put yer feet up
I'm from Hertfordshire and would have loved to have moved to Australia, but sadly too old, so decided to move to Southern Spain. Now, like you guys there are times I get a real hankering for 'home'' and so I hop on a plane and in 2 hours I'm there. I luurve going home and seeing all the greenery, being able to converse in English in the shops and especially to officialdom on the phone ( a real difficulty here in Spain even with a good smattering of the lingo). I luurve going to the pub and having Sunday lunch and I adore worshipping at the altar of Tesco, Matalan, Debenhams etc. However after a few weeks, I get a big urge to come back here to Spain, I miss the sun, and strangely enough driving on the right.
We have all the same problems as you , with the expats generally (not always of course), mixing with only other expats, and the Spanish accusing us of living in English ghettos . Poco inglatera, but particularly in the coastal area, the Spanish are not the most friendly of all. I hear it's different in village locations where foreigners haven't arrived en masse trying to ''change things''.
Anyhoo I digress.
A few questions for all the honest peeps
Why did you move half way across the world? Would you not have preferred to make a stepping stone and move to somewhere like Europe (Spain/italy/Greece for example) and see if you could hack being away from the Uk for an extended period of time before going soooo far?
2) Do you worry that no matter how homesick you feel for the UK that after a short period of time you will see through clear coloured specs and remember why you left in the first place?
3), and lastly , what was the catalyst that made you realise Australia was really not for you? ..totally honestly.
I read these forums (worldwide) and rarely does anyone really specify why the have to go back. Homing instinct is one reason, but for how long?
What are the real reasons for going back?
If I were to leave Spain for good it would be because of the rising prices, corrupt politicians (I know I know it happens everywhere) and the sheer difficult of dealing with beurocracy in a foreign language.
For the moment I stay, been here 5 years now, but who knows for how much longer.
Hope you don't mind me asking these questions, but I can see you're all fab people and willing to be upfront about your experiences!!
I'm from Hertfordshire and would have loved to have moved to Australia, but sadly too old, so decided to move to Southern Spain. Now, like you guys there are times I get a real hankering for 'home'' and so I hop on a plane and in 2 hours I'm there. I luurve going home and seeing all the greenery, being able to converse in English in the shops and especially to officialdom on the phone ( a real difficulty here in Spain even with a good smattering of the lingo). I luurve going to the pub and having Sunday lunch and I adore worshipping at the altar of Tesco, Matalan, Debenhams etc. However after a few weeks, I get a big urge to come back here to Spain, I miss the sun, and strangely enough driving on the right.
We have all the same problems as you , with the expats generally (not always of course), mixing with only other expats, and the Spanish accusing us of living in English ghettos . Poco inglatera, but particularly in the coastal area, the Spanish are not the most friendly of all. I hear it's different in village locations where foreigners haven't arrived en masse trying to ''change things''.
Anyhoo I digress.
A few questions for all the honest peeps
Why did you move half way across the world? Would you not have preferred to make a stepping stone and move to somewhere like Europe (Spain/italy/Greece for example) and see if you could hack being away from the Uk for an extended period of time before going soooo far?
2) Do you worry that no matter how homesick you feel for the UK that after a short period of time you will see through clear coloured specs and remember why you left in the first place?
3), and lastly , what was the catalyst that made you realise Australia was really not for you? ..totally honestly.
I read these forums (worldwide) and rarely does anyone really specify why the have to go back. Homing instinct is one reason, but for how long?
What are the real reasons for going back?
If I were to leave Spain for good it would be because of the rising prices, corrupt politicians (I know I know it happens everywhere) and the sheer difficult of dealing with beurocracy in a foreign language.
For the moment I stay, been here 5 years now, but who knows for how much longer.
Hope you don't mind me asking these questions, but I can see you're all fab people and willing to be upfront about your experiences!!
I think everyones reasons are individual and personal, so here are mine:
1. My 17 year old son missed his friends and slowly sunk into depression
2. My husband and I was working more hours and spending less time as a family.
3. I was crying more times than I was laughing!
4. my 9 year old did not like school
5. too many deaths on the road ( at least 1 everyday at the beginning of the year).
6. alot of violence which was swept under the carpet
7. lots and lots of graffitti everywhere
8. expensive second hand cars, than transfer fees and stamp duty
9. expensive blocks of land, a block of land on Burns beach $800 000 or hocking 280 000, then build your house!
10. food is so expensive, cauliflower $5.69, mars bar $2.00, cooking oil $4.99, etc...
11. too many fast food places !!! and obese people
12. no one playing in the street!
13. walk to shop and be sizzled or attacked by the flies!!!!
14. having to buy insect repelent, insect spray, sun cream etc..
15. puppies being sold in pet shop windows and left overnight whining.
16. empty beer bottles at traffic lights!!!!
17. redbacks in back garden all over the trampoline.
18. boredom!!
19. being called immigrants!!/poms
etc..etc...
but most of all missing friends and family at home! These are my reasons why I wanted to come home, I truelly believed we had a much better standard of living in the Uk but we just did not realise it. It took the move to Oz to realise just how lucky we (as a family) were in the UK and what a fantastic place England is. Everything on our doorstep! we love travelling but love home more.
To tell you the truth we just got fed up with trying to make everything work, having to find out how to do everything from the beginning! I applaud everyone who gives it a go because it is the hardest thing we have every done in our lives. But I also met alot of people who regretted staying so long and had grand children so could not go back to UK. I did not want to be in that situation.
Jun 6th 2008, 7:51 am
#13
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2007
Location: Kansas, USA
Posts: 2,620
Re: Homing Instinct
Hi Guys, just popped over from the Spanish forum. I love to read all your stories being as you're all so far away from the good old you kay, but may I ask a couple of questions. Might be best to grab a cuppa and put yer feet up
I'm from Hertfordshire and would have loved to have moved to Australia, but sadly too old, so decided to move to Southern Spain. Now, like you guys there are times I get a real hankering for 'home'' and so I hop on a plane and in 2 hours I'm there. I luurve going home and seeing all the greenery, being able to converse in English in the shops and especially to officialdom on the phone ( a real difficulty here in Spain even with a good smattering of the lingo). I luurve going to the pub and having Sunday lunch and I adore worshipping at the altar of Tesco, Matalan, Debenhams etc. However after a few weeks, I get a big urge to come back here to Spain, I miss the sun, and strangely enough driving on the right.
We have all the same problems as you , with the expats generally (not always of course), mixing with only other expats, and the Spanish accusing us of living in English ghettos . Poco inglatera, but particularly in the coastal area, the Spanish are not the most friendly of all. I hear it's different in village locations where foreigners haven't arrived en masse trying to ''change things''.
Anyhoo I digress.
A few questions for all the honest peeps
Why did you move half way across the world? Would you not have preferred to make a stepping stone and move to somewhere like Europe (Spain/italy/Greece for example) and see if you could hack being away from the Uk for an extended period of time before going soooo far?
2) Do you worry that no matter how homesick you feel for the UK that after a short period of time you will see through clear coloured specs and remember why you left in the first place?
3), and lastly , what was the catalyst that made you realise Australia was really not for you? ..totally honestly.
I read these forums (worldwide) and rarely does anyone really specify why the have to go back. Homing instinct is one reason, but for how long?
What are the real reasons for going back?
If I were to leave Spain for good it would be because of the rising prices, corrupt politicians (I know I know it happens everywhere) and the sheer difficult of dealing with beurocracy in a foreign language.
For the moment I stay, been here 5 years now, but who knows for how much longer.
Hope you don't mind me asking these questions, but I can see you're all fab people and willing to be upfront about your experiences!!
I'm from Hertfordshire and would have loved to have moved to Australia, but sadly too old, so decided to move to Southern Spain. Now, like you guys there are times I get a real hankering for 'home'' and so I hop on a plane and in 2 hours I'm there. I luurve going home and seeing all the greenery, being able to converse in English in the shops and especially to officialdom on the phone ( a real difficulty here in Spain even with a good smattering of the lingo). I luurve going to the pub and having Sunday lunch and I adore worshipping at the altar of Tesco, Matalan, Debenhams etc. However after a few weeks, I get a big urge to come back here to Spain, I miss the sun, and strangely enough driving on the right.
We have all the same problems as you , with the expats generally (not always of course), mixing with only other expats, and the Spanish accusing us of living in English ghettos . Poco inglatera, but particularly in the coastal area, the Spanish are not the most friendly of all. I hear it's different in village locations where foreigners haven't arrived en masse trying to ''change things''.
Anyhoo I digress.
A few questions for all the honest peeps
Why did you move half way across the world? Would you not have preferred to make a stepping stone and move to somewhere like Europe (Spain/italy/Greece for example) and see if you could hack being away from the Uk for an extended period of time before going soooo far?
2) Do you worry that no matter how homesick you feel for the UK that after a short period of time you will see through clear coloured specs and remember why you left in the first place?
3), and lastly , what was the catalyst that made you realise Australia was really not for you? ..totally honestly.
I read these forums (worldwide) and rarely does anyone really specify why the have to go back. Homing instinct is one reason, but for how long?
What are the real reasons for going back?
If I were to leave Spain for good it would be because of the rising prices, corrupt politicians (I know I know it happens everywhere) and the sheer difficult of dealing with beurocracy in a foreign language.
For the moment I stay, been here 5 years now, but who knows for how much longer.
Hope you don't mind me asking these questions, but I can see you're all fab people and willing to be upfront about your experiences!!
Ive been here about 8 months, came to the US and then decided (now) hub and I didn't want to be apart any longer, got married to my hubby and applied to stay.
So I don't think I would be disappointed about returning home, it's not like I ever gave any consideration to leaving, it just sort of happened.
I've just had enough for the only reason being it isn't home. I can't call it home, there's nothing here that I'm even attached to (except hub, but he'll come with me
)I never realised how attached I was to the UK until I came out of it and went goofing off around the world, now I know what it's like away from the UK I want to go home.
There just comes a time when you realise where you belong, where your life is, and where your priorities lay.
I realised all that very quickly, wouldn't have been here this long if I had the money to go back, but I haven't, and we're stuck until we do.
Don't get me wrong, I'm having a cool time here, I'm not moping about clutching my chest and wailing "woe is me!!" because I cant go back yet, but the bottom line is I just want home now.
Jun 6th 2008, 8:09 am
#14
Heading for Poppyland
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: North Norfolk and northern New York State
Posts: 14,727
Re: Homing Instinct
Another major reason for living overseas is that you marry a foreigner. In my case, I married an American 30+ years ago. We've lived in both the USA and the UK, and we both like both counties & also we both clearly see some of the problems with each country.
But, I like the "Homing Instinct" formulation that the OP made. I feel that as I get older, I'd rather live in my own country. For people in my age group, aged parents are an issue - you can't just up and leave Mother (or, Mother-In-Law) in the nursing home, you used to visit her four or five times a week and now you'll never see her again. Children might be an issue too - can you just tell your adult child, "Sorry, not only are we clearing out your old bedroom, but we're moving back to England. You'll need to go somewhere else for Thanksgiving."
So, there is a lot to work out, but I'd rather be living in England.
Jun 6th 2008, 8:17 am
#15
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2008
Location: Southern Spain
Posts: 224
Re: Homing Instinct
#gsqrmad what a totally honest post Too often people are afraid to put what they really think on a forum because of being accused of being a whinger.
Yes I can see exactly how you would feel given all those circumstances. Some of which I can relate to here in Spain. How do you find the UK now you've been back for a period of time?
~Emma, apologies I should not have specified Australia, really I meant any country that's more than a hop skip and plane ride from the UK, and therefore easy to get back for things we miss and people we love.
#Robin, oooh yes I agree with a lot you say. I moved here leaving my adult daughter in the UK, with her blessing. She reckoned that because of her heavy workload, she'd actually probably spend more quality time with me when she comes over for hols than when she was living a 15 minute drive from us in the UK.
However, we're always urged to rent before we buy in a new country ( we didn't we bought straight away, and wished we'd rented to get a feel for the area we moved to)....now has anyone considered just renting temporarily in the UK before giving up their home abroad, because your old home may not be the place you remember it to be. Fortunately I am able to travel back to the UK regualrly and even over short periods I can see the big changes, so are you concerned that you may be making a big mistake, and would you consider moving to a European country if the UK is not for you now!?
Too often people are afraid to put what they really think on a forum because of being accused of being a whinger.Yes I can see exactly how you would feel given all those circumstances. Some of which I can relate to here in Spain. How do you find the UK now you've been back for a period of time?
~Emma, apologies I should not have specified Australia, really I meant any country that's more than a hop skip and plane ride from the UK, and therefore easy to get back for things we miss and people we love.
#Robin, oooh yes I agree with a lot you say. I moved here leaving my adult daughter in the UK, with her blessing. She reckoned that because of her heavy workload, she'd actually probably spend more quality time with me when she comes over for hols than when she was living a 15 minute drive from us in the UK.
However, we're always urged to rent before we buy in a new country ( we didn't we bought straight away, and wished we'd rented to get a feel for the area we moved to)....now has anyone considered just renting temporarily in the UK before giving up their home abroad, because your old home may not be the place you remember it to be. Fortunately I am able to travel back to the UK regualrly and even over short periods I can see the big changes, so are you concerned that you may be making a big mistake, and would you consider moving to a European country if the UK is not for you now!?
