11 Comments

  1. Andrew
    June 6, 2010 @ 6:20 pm

    Thanks for the comment and the link. I do remember seeing that article, but good to read again.
    Home is a mindset. It is feelings and other connections. Places don't feel like home after a while because the mindset has changed.
    I have actually been away from Freiburg before, twice in fact. This is the third time I've lived here, each is almost random chance why I ended up back here. I just feel better here than anywhere else. Each time is different, but really I feel at home.

  2. suzyguese
    June 6, 2010 @ 4:43 pm

    Interesting question you present. For me, home has always been where I was born and raised, Colorado. The comfort I feel in Colorado can't match anywhere else. Also most of my family still lives in the state. However, I did live in several cities in Italy for several months at a time. They became “home” in a sense that they were less foreign when I arrived and familiar and comforting when I left. When I returned to some of these places, they didn't feel like home anymore. I don't know if you have ever left Freiburg for say 6 months to a year, if it would feel like home to you still. I only say that because I had that reaction with this small town in Sicily I lived in. Here's the post if you are interested http://suzyguese.com/can-you-really-go-home-aga… .

  3. Andrew
    June 1, 2010 @ 6:13 pm

    That is a good answer. Is is always nice to have a home that moves around with you.

  4. Tom Volpe
    June 1, 2010 @ 6:39 am

    Really interesting post. This is something that I have given quite a lot of thought to over the last year since I came home from living in Australia, which had been my home for a couple of years. I came to a different town to the one I grew up in and have been busily trying to make a home there. I have finally come to the conclusion that home for me is where my wife is 🙂

  5. Earl
    May 31, 2010 @ 6:09 pm

    These days I try to stay in one place for 4-6 months and then spend 5-6 months traveling around with shorter stays in each place I visit. And over the years, I've been able to train myself to be somewhat detached in most circumstances. I guess it's natural when you're constantly moving around, saying hello and then goodbye to everyone you meet. So now my theory is that moving on to a new place will bring new opportunities into my life that I would never know about otherwise and so instead of it feeling painful (which it still does to an extent), I normally head off with increased excitement, eager to know how the next stage of the journey will turn out.

  6. Andrew
    May 31, 2010 @ 4:19 pm

    Great comment Earl. It is amazing how much the concept of “home” affects travelers who from some point of view don't have one. I like how you say you feel at home on the road. That is a cool place to be.
    How often do you change locations? Does it feel painful to move from a place, or exhilarating to be on to a new one?

  7. Andrew
    May 31, 2010 @ 4:19 pm

    Great comment Earl. It is amazing how much the concept of “home” affects travelers who from some point of view don't have one. I like how you say you feel at home on the road. That is a cool place to be.
    How often do you change locations? Does it feel painful to move from a place, or exhilarating to be on to a new one?

  8. Andrew
    May 31, 2010 @ 4:15 pm

    Hey, thanks for the thoughts. I'm totally with you on some places feeling more like home quicker than others. Knowing what a place like that offers to make it feel like home is important in understanding what makes you happy. People and relationships are definitely a part of it. I feel better in places where i know people and hang out with people. There is also the relationship with the self to look at. If Home is in your head, you can be happier unattached to place. No, I haven't managed this yet, but I've met some that seem to.

  9. Andrew
    May 31, 2010 @ 4:15 pm

    Hey, thanks for the thoughts. I'm totally with you on some places feeling more like home quicker than others. Knowing what a place like that offers to make it feel like home is important in understanding what makes you happy. People and relationships are definitely a part of it. I feel better in places where i know people and hang out with people. There is also the relationship with the self to look at. If Home is in your head, you can be happier unattached to place. No, I haven't managed this yet, but I've met some that seem to.

  10. Earl
    May 31, 2010 @ 3:54 am

    This is a great post Andrew as it touches on a subject that affects every traveler. I am actually back in the US at the moment for a short visit, so technically I am home. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I am only truly “at home” when I am overseas, exploring new lands, whether familiar or unfamiliar ones. And the fact that I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can leave the US again (not too long to go!), is not necessarily due to my strong desire to travel. After 11 years of near constant travel, I now consider my comfort zone, my home, to be wherever it is I may be during my adventures. So naturally, as most people do, I long to be “there” even though it is not a specific place.

    These days, I am more “at home” in places such as Delhi, Prague and Mexico than I am right now in the US. To say that my trip “back home” has been a struggle, would be a great understatement!

  11. TravelholicA
    May 30, 2010 @ 6:45 pm

    Hi Andrew,
    Great post! I often think about same things you talked about.
    After moving so much it is hard to define “home”, but as you said, I call a place home when I feel confortable there. When I know how to get around, where to find the services I need, how to use the public transportation, where to go to enjoy my free time, etc. However, after some time, a place is not home anymore because after so many years it will be so different, people I knew might have changed from there and I might not remember the basic things about that city (as I have mentioned…getting around…etc).
    I guess, it depends of your experience in the place. I can tell from my experience that I have felt more like “at home” in a place after leaving only for a month than in another after spending more than half year.
    Perhaps the key word is relationship or family/familiar. When you develop links with people it might be easier to call a place “home”. Am I wrong?