How long did it take for you to settle?

[BacksideFirst]

I’ve been living back in the UK for going on 7 years. I still don’t feel settled.

How long does it take?

It's stages, surely. I've lived all over and I'd say the first year is always dreadful. Years 1-10 get progressively easier depending on things like work, friends, family.

I find it always difficult.to settle back-maybe it's because I've lived over half my life overseas but when I come back I always come back to the same scrappy place. Currently commuted to staying till the kids finish colleg e and I m counting down the days-over 700 :(

Been back in the UK six months so I'm interested in these answers! Very much missing or overseas home!

I never did. I left the UK again after 20 years of trying to make it work. I had some great times, but having known what it was like to live overseas (in four European countries), I just felt hemmed in and frustrated on a daily basis. Ostensibly, I had a lovely life (and I did love many aspects of it) but I didn't feel "me".

I'm still struggling after 8 months. I wish we had never left Singapore

Tbh I think that the reason a lot of us moved in the first place is that we're not the settling types and will always have a bit of Wanderlust/ itchy feet/ grass is always greener/ sense of the world being full of other possibilities/ nomadic tendency/ tendency to feel restless or whatever you choose to call it.

It’s complicated!
I think it’s a bit like a relationship breakup - so, half the time spent overseas to get used to ‘home’. Or, if you have spent longer away than you have spent at home, it’s possible you’ll never settle. Especially if you grew up in another country.
Then, if you were horribly homesick while you lived away, you settle almost instantly, but if you had to move back and didn’t want to… you get the picture!

I moved back to the Uk after only 3 years overseas. Never felt settled being back, planning to leave again soon