I generalize the idea of home more than others. When someone says "home" I think of Denver or Chicago at large (Denver is my home, and Chicago is my home away from home). The specific place where I keep my belongings and spend my nights asleep deserves a different name. Maybe you could call that my 'abode' or 'dwelling'. 'Home' is more of an all-inclusive term for me, which represents the people around me with whom I feel close and at home with, friends, family, places of importance, and so forth.
I get this. I feel like I am "home" when I am near where I went to boarding school. While we've all moved on, and the school has grown, I am most comfortable around that area, even in the city nearby, probably due to such good memories. The river, the beach, the bush through there feels like Me. Unfortunately much of it is being subdivided and the little bay of our own has a real stairway entrance now meaning more people know about it.
I used to get teased by my inner capital city friends for being a country bumpkin by going to that boarding school near such a small city... only around 40,000, I love visiting there but would not want to live on anything smaller than 4 acres near there as city dwelling is not for me despite spending my childhood right in the middle of the big smoke.
Until the mass culture shock of moving away further than a few streets hit. Where I grew up and at the time it was not a nice way of life for a lot of people. At that time there was a ton of crime (which I've talked about before but it was normal if you grew up with it) but I did not realise how priveleged I was to grow up in the biggest city until I wasn't there anymore.
So, Yeah I experienced this too. When I went to board, it was different, everyone there was
trying so hard to be like the capital city, the kids were much wealthier with fewer mental problems. I had my pony and I didn't care. Now I live in a town with a population of under 300 people. My primary school had more people in it. Culture shock is an understatement. I enjoy the small town charm, but the busybody business is difficult, I want to be involved at a community level but I have no time for petty gossip. Hating the city is the only thing we all have in common haha. Crime is near on non existent in town (but theft is common on empty farms).
The biggest difference being the level of education (partly due to the aging population). I have a low level of education in comparison to international standards, but here, to have even got through year 12 was well out of the scoop for most. I don't really want to go back to uni myself, but I need something a bit more intellectually challenging than small talk at the pub. There is not much in the way of anything here. Events all feel like an awkward family reunion you're only invited to cos a parent married in.
For me home is simply the place where I got all my stuff and where I can lock the door behind me and just be by myself for a while.
I think that is my problem here. I didnt feel attachment to any of my stuff when I moved down and didnt want it - but my family insisted and I ended it up with it. Learning to love all of this fancy stuff is an adjustment. It feels more like a display home of all the things my family want me to have, than mine. I rarely entertained while living in the shed, but now I have so much room its tough to keep everything looking neat incase of visitors. There is no where I can relax and let loose because I leave to much of a mess behind.
