Returning home

[loira]

I'm officially moving back to Canada on 20th September. It seems so surreal, like I'm just going for a holiday, except I'll be staying. H is either coming with me or staying until Christmas, depending on whether he gets a small teaching opportunity. I'm expecting a bit of reverse culture shock. I've been mainly living abroad since 2003, except a few months here and there between countries. That's most of my adult life. Has anyone else returned after a long stint abroad? Was it relatively easy to readjust?

[mrsukyankee]

Good luck with your move back. I'm sure you'll hear from a few people about moving back.

[anna7602]

No advice as my stints abroad haven't been nearly that long, but wishing you all the best, Loira!

[azure]

We moved back to Canada after 18 years abroad, we stayed 8 months and recently returned abroad.
I had major culture shock and I didn't feel at home. If we had stayed, I'm sure we would have gotten used to living there. Good luck with your move! Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[loira]

Aug 19, 2015 6:49:55 GMT -5 azure said:

We moved back to Canada after 18 years abroad, we stayed 8 months and recently returned abroad.
I had major culture shock and I didn't feel at home. If we had stayed, I'm sure we would have gotten used to living there. Good luck with your move! Let me know if you have any specific questions.

This is what worries me. Though my years abroad have been in different countries, so I'm not really sure where 'home' is anymore at this point. I guess London is where I've lived the longest (coming up on 6 years)... I'm sure I'll be fine the first few months. I'll love being so close to family and old friends, but the honeymoon period will wear off, and I don't care about hockey and I hate Tim Hortons. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually, though. Luckily we'll be in Victoria, so no winters to deal with.

[Grimmy]

Good luck with your move!

I felt the same way when I moved here. Sometimes I still kind of feel like I'm only visiting.

[irish]

What I found hardest about moving home compared to visiting was that everyone at home had kept on living and moved forward with their lives while I was gone. So, they had new jobs, new friends, new relationships, etc... and I found it hard to identify where I fit back into life. Or how I would create a new life for myself.

But I was single. I had been away for 4 years in my mid twenties. All my friends were starting their careers and I went back to college out of town.

[UnderProtest]

No advice, but I will miss you! Let me know if you want to get together before you leave!

[loira]

Aug 23, 2015 16:34:52 GMT -5 UnderProtest said:

No advice, but I will miss you! Let me know if you want to get together before you leave!

Definitely! This week's bad for me, but next week is free. I'll send you a text towards the end of this week and we can schedule something.

[Wanderista]

I have done this several times actually, lived abroad for a few years and then moved back, then lived abroad again. Now I'm back indefinitely for the time being. I guess I have adjusted pretty well. I don't think that you need to only have one concept of "home". I focus a lot on where I am now but that doesn't lessen the time that I spent abroad. It's true that not everyone can relate to your experiences, but making a mix of different friends is helpful. You have an instant conversation starter with receptive people.

I would say that I adjusted much better this last time. I really put myself out there and I've learned to appreciate the things around me but I'm also happy that I feel like I've "lived" and that I will have that foundation for the rest of my life. If I want, I can stay here. If I ever feel compelled to leave or go abroad again then I'm prepared for that too. It isn't daunting. I guess I'd say that living in the moment and putting yourself out there is a good way to adjust.

[Deleted]

Hey loira!

We just moved back to Canada after 4 years in the UK. So far there hasn't been a lot of culture shock - for us, 5 year old a different story - and we are loving being back. The worst part by far has been our move logistics. Very draining but we made some poor choices and have been living in a lot of temporary housing.

DH and I still catch ourselves getting excited when we hear a Canadian accent. I'm sure that will fade.

Probably a different move for us as we were moving from very small town remote UK back to a big Canadian city that we love. Plus we moved at the beginning of summer and the weather has been amazing.

Good luck!!

P.S. Our stuff we shipped is still MIA