Do you regret leaving your home town?

[sandrasimuchassi]

I left my hometown in Scotland at 18 and never returned. The type of work I have is only found in London so I had to move.

I miss knowing somewhere like the back of my hand. I miss having family all around and friends from school days.

But, I wouldn’t be the person I am now if I hadn’t moved. I wouldn’t earn anywhere near as much and I enjoy London life.

I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to go back.

I have an issue with not going back words and to keep moving forward and I would see this as going backwards and would really struggle with it.

I think I’m a bit extreme though as I struggle to even visit places where I used to live.

No, and it’s unrecognisable from how it was when I grew up as there’s been so much building work. It often features in those “best places to live” lists, which confuses me! I still have family there, but most are looking to move.

God no

I grew up in a large city up north

Met dp and moved 136 miles away

It's the best thing I ever did-i hated living in my home town,my family are narcissistic and have mounted the worlds biggest smear campaign against me

I'm hated by people who have never met me-attacked by people who are too thick to question what they've been told about me and I can now make friends and live the way i want to without my undeserved bad reputation getting in the way

Plus,I knew I'd outgrown the city long before I did move

No, I left Central Belt Scotland for Highland Perthshire. It's hellish to return.

If you have left your parents behind in the place you grew up, it gets difficult when their health becomes fragile and you would like to help. There are drawbacks to moving around for jobs, not immediately obvious, but as the years go by, they are there.

No, the exact opposite in fact. Every time I go back which is rarely it traumatises me to the point where I turn to the bottle to cope. Awful memories make me lose the plot.

Most of my family and extended family live within a 10 mile radius of each other. Sometimes I miss it - mainly when my life gets too much and the thought of returning seems comforting. But in reality I would’ve been bored stiff living there as a young adult. I don’t live too far away now, a 1.5 hour drive. And we are moving a bit closer so will be about 45 minutes away. Which feels like the right balance for us.

Yes.

But we had to leave. Priced out of even renting, no hope
of buying.

No, it's rubbish. Village, not town. Literally no amenities whatsoever apart from a primary school which is locked so you can't let your kids use the playground. Not even a pub. I always wish my parents would move to absolutely any other village/town in the area that actually had a shop/pub/park. It's the worst village in the whole area. There was fuck all to do when I lived there either.

Born in East London. Moved away when I was 9. No way could I afford to live there now, not that I'd want to, I like a quieter life.

Same here - I wanted to move on in my twenties but I’d love to move back now. But my kids’ home is somewhere else.

God no, it’s an ugly depressing city and every time I go back I’m reminded of why I dislike it, despite how much it’s changed in 20+ years. I do wish I lived closer to my family but I left at 18 and never looked back.

I moved a few hours away from my hometown for many years then moved abroad. I honestly miss nothing other than a Sunday roast with gravy occasionally

I don’t. My mother said something insane at Christmas — “how can you know if someone’s all right if they’re not from the village?” in re dating people and I realised she’s basically a medieval peasant who’s never moved from her rubbish small town in the north of England. Thank Christ I left.

Nope! I moved at 17 from small town I. Scotland to manchester

Wouldn't ever move back never ever

So much more to do here and so much more open minded opinions
I do go back to visit my family but god no regrets leaving and will never go back!!

Nope, can’t think of anything worse than never having left my home town! So depressing.

I couldn't afford to stay there and I'm happy where I am now.

My mum is still living in our family home in the village where I grew up. Lots of her friends are still there too.

All of my friends moved away because of the cost of property there. I don't know anyone of my generation there anymore.

Gosh no. The nearest city was and still is a vile place.
My parents' village is bearable for a little less than 48 hours. So pleased I moved.

I do think there’s a lot of benefits to staying in one place but there’s no way I could’ve stayed in the small market town in Hertfordshire. It was boring AF when I was a teenager and continues to be so now, with the addition of some good coffee shops at least

I didn't have much choice, I come from a very affluent town in south east, it wouldn't have been possible to get a house down there (other than via local authority) so relocated to live with my partner 20 odd years ago elsewhere in the country where we bought a house. I miss it, but not desperately- most of my family have now either died or relocated throughout the country.

I left my northern 'grim' city about 25 years ago and miss it desperately. I've moved all over the world and lived in some wonderful places but, for me, there's no place like home.
Now that we're thinking seriously about retirement, I'd love to return but DH is from a different area and doesn't have the same pull as me. He really can't see the attraction of moving back to England, never mind to my home town but I'm hopeful that we'll come to a compromise and perhaps have a small home in both countries.

I don’t really have a “home town” as lived in a couple of very different places as a child. But using the place I lived in the longest and where my parents are now - no, no regrets. I didn’t hate it but don’t miss it at all. I love where I live now.

Dear god no, a lot of heroin overdoses there and a lot of social decline in the 20 years since I left. I’ve not been back in over a decade, but sometimes I do a little street view tour and it’s depressing.

Absolutely not. Getting into university was my means of escape and I haven't lived there since. It's a nice place to visit though.

My home town is very depressed, big fat no. I genuinely feel lighter when I leave.