"Home" away from 'home'..

Ok so this is my first rant, well over here it is at least as I have been ranting away on all sorts of media for neigh 35 years now.

I have decided to start "penning" my thoughts over here - not that anyone has actually used pens for anything nobler than pea-shooting for quite a while, perhaps the occasional wood mark but nothing much else - and see if any good comes out of it, or mischief even.

First of all we need to tackle a serious shortcoming in the English language that is also evident in most other tongues I am familiar with. We do not have a word for what I have become. In its absence I am labeling the condition as "AJ1976ism" and basically it is the position an expatriate finds himself in upon returning to his home country if said ex-expatriate (it is not even a word, I know, and I still want to use it, so sue me) is not exactly over the moon about the whole affair. Home, so to speak, no longer feels quite like home.

I have personally found it very hard to accept my return even though things are much easier for me over here and my friends and family are all here. I have traveled to and from several times in fact. The few people I know who have been through the same events seem to share my distress to a degree. Has anyone else been through anything of the sort? Any tips? And seriously what is one to do? Pursue a life back in one's motherland or actively seek to re-expatriate (this one probably exists, if it does not just add it to the aforementioned lawsuit) at all costs?

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Comments (8)

Hi AJ, its not easy to answer, as there are many could be many reasons, e.g. things not working out how you foresaw when you initially left; or that you have not yet settled down with someone & started a family.. dunno I'd maybe give it a bit of time to re-evaluate where you would like to see yourself going and then, hopefully achieve it.. No matter what, keep hold of your hat.. cheers
wave hiya AJ

i have had to return to the land of my birth this weekend after just over 4 years away!!! and my only reason is to get a chance at a descent wage!!!!
i had never wanted to come back to the land of yUK.....with is cold, wet, greyness for 90% of the year!
ive even had to leave my kids living in beautiful sunny spain!!! which makes coming here more of a turn off!!!
i cant wait to go back home......spain!!
so i know how you feel!!
comfort
good luck with look for and getting a job!!!
im on an intence training course in suffork at the momment...training to be a live-in carer!!! oh joy!!!

never mind ....think of the money wave
There are no boring jobs only boring people. You exude life so I am sure you will make it interesting ;)

Thanks for your kind words, they are truly appreciated thumbs up
hi AJ in abbreviated form, expat is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence.

Good idea re to penning your thoughts I have been keeping journals since 1998 of thoughts, dreams, synchronicities etc.

Some times when we leave home even our birth country it isnt until we go back that we have a greater understand of the reasons we left in the first place.

Personally I think you need to make it ok to live where ever it is you want to be for your own positive growth, somewhere that has something to offer you and you it ...

Follow your intuition on this one AJ and I am sure all will turn out for the best and remember what ever is best for you will be best for everyone.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment Annie :) Personally I am for following one's intuitions and one's heart even but what has troubled me is that for a while the two have been pointing in opposite directions. There are things which are simply outside our control and having given it my best shot for a while I wonder if I should just retrench and accept Fate's hand, until such time as the circumstances are right for me to follow my good old heart.. it is a tough position to be in, I did not expect it would turn out this way but I have no regrets as it has made me grow a lot as a human being, and I do not mean my waistline :)))
Not feeling at home in your own country..yeah know that too..I left Germany when I was 21 and came back 14 years ago..I still don't feel at home here..I came back because I thought it was time to come back..but it was a mistake..now I feel like I really don't belong anywhere..it is strange.. the only family I have left here is one sister but she lives on the other end of Germany..I would like to leave again..start someplace new altogether..but it's not that easy since I have a teen age son..can't just pack up and leave..unless i win a lotto jackpot that is..lol..

what you need to ask yourself is..what would make you happy..you and not what others would like you to do..and then..do what you think is best for you..
Yes I know what you mean. Everyone seems to have their own ideas about what is best for me and they do not always match my desires. But it is also problematic when you have to start from scratch back home. Even if I go back to my adoptive country I have to start from scratch since I need a new place to stay and a new job and obviously a visa since it is outside the EU.. Times are hard and the latter two are not easy to find so I am also a victim of circumstance in a way. I too think that we should do what we think will make us happy in the long term, after all we are the ones who have to live with the consequences of our choices and our loved ones should be able to understand that much.
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created Nov 2010
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