When did you first feel like you had a 'home' as an adult?

[nostimo]

I grew up rurally in the west country. Moved away for uni and now live in London. Think London is great and have fun, do things, and need to be here for my career. Have a few friends but not hundreds.

Dp and I rent a small flat together. It's a lovely area. Convenient for work. But it doesn't feel like home. It's just a couple of rooms that are filled with my things. I own all the furniture and have been allowed to paint to my taste. I don't really have time to do community type stuff, and I guess the closest thing to feeling within the community is that the man in the wine shop knows me😂

When did you first feel like you had a 'home' after moving out of your childhood home?

I moved into my partner’s house and we married, but it didn’t feel like home. I didn’t get that feeling until we bought a house together.

Probably now at 44! Me and my husband have seperated, I'm buying him out the house. I was reminded, often, that he was the one who paid for most things (he had a higher paid job, I went part time when I had our son).
When he left, I think he thought I wouldn't manage.
We get on better now apart than we did together!

Immediately, went from parents home to our own first bought house at age 22.

DD and DS however went to uni, halls, rented house to shared house after uni to buying their own, I would guess for them the latter.

When we moved into the house we are in now. We were in our previous house for ten years before that, but I knew we weren’t going to be there long term.

The first night in our first home circa 1979.
We had pizza and chips and watched ' Tales of the Unexpected '.
To this day, whenever I hear the opening music, it takes me back to that little 2 bedroom semi detached.

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When I relocated and bought a house. Everywhere before that I was just living, but it wasn’t a home, think that stems from a fairly unstable childhood and lots of moving about during/after uni.

its nice to feel centred and secure 😊

Immediately - the home when I got married. My mother moved me from my childhood home when I was twelve and I hated the house and area we moved to. I moved from an old rambling house with a big garden in the country to a much more modern urban house - despite being large it was so claustrophobic because it was hemmed in by other houses. I felt right at home in the little house my husband and I bought together because I had a say in choosing it.

When my exh and i divorced i bought him out and kept our home. At that moment it shifted from being his (he was domineering and everything about the house was him) to mine. I still rememver standing outside the front door, putting my key in, knowing it was mine. But, i never loved that house and it wasn't until my dh and i bought this place together that i felt I'd got a true home. I love it and we hope never to move.

We bought our first house 20 years ago and lived there for 15 years it was the house we came home to after getting married, brought our kids home to but I never felt at home there, we've been in our current house 5 years and the minute we moved in it was home. We have just accepted an offer on this house I just hope our new house feels like this.

A few months ago when we bought this house. The first house we bought didn’t feel like home, it was our house but it wasn’t home. This does though. We’ve not done much community stuff, we were a lot more involved in the community where we used to live but something here has just clicked. We’ve said a few times now how it feels like home, even though we haven’t decorated.

I was allocated a council house when I had my DS, so although it was rented I had a secure tenancy and could decorate as I pleased, and was responsible for maintenance. I was 19 and did lots of exploring the local area and attending community events with my child.

When I got my cats. 😻

I moved to London at 22 and rented my flat, the first place I’d lived alone, and although it was mostly furnished so I didn’t have a huge amount of my own stuff there, it really felt like my home. Later on, DH and I rented a few places together before we bought and they all felt homely too. We’re currently in the second home we’ve owned, and the feeling when we walked in here to view it was very special - both said straight away it just felt like our home. Been here ten years now, and have said we will never leave.

When I bought my first flat at age 24

I haven't found it!

I grew up in the city centre fringes. Moved very often since I was 17. Not a sentimental type e.g. i am very clinical and no problem getting rid of photographs and knick knacks.

Gave birth to both kids in the last house (which was pokey but modern). We moved on the pretext of finding more space after 2nd child.

Now have been in the same place for 8 years - my longest yet. Nothing wrong but it doesn't feel like home. It's spacious, old character, an outer London suburb, but a headache to maintain. I don't mind staying in the area though. I'd like to move to the next neighbourhood which is pricier so we'd downsize.

I asked my husband to promise me we will move out as soon as the kids are old enough (they are 10/11 now, so another 8 years). I don't know if it's psychological or what. I don't even think the next one will be my forever house. Any advice welcome!

When I bought my first house at 26 and lived there with partner & baby, felt like home.

The first property I bought myself. Before that, I'd lived with an ex and felt very much like a lodger as he'd done the house up how he wanted it, and wasn't willing to change anything, and wasn't averse to emphasising that it was his house. Then after splitting from him I rented a studio flat from a friend who became an ex-friend while I was still renting from her (fun, not!)

Then I bought myself a small one-bedroom flat and loved it, it really felt like home. Was sad to leave it when I met DH and moved to a different part of the country.

Flat shares did not feel like homes. When DH and I first moved in together we rented a couple of tiny flats which didn’t feel like homes either. When we’d been together for three years, we got engaged and then bought a house which was the first one that felt like a home.

Renting always felt temporary.

Buying was a step to a home (but it was in a right state so couldn't move in immediately and have the real 'home' feeling).

Having children and the meeting people in the area through NCT / Church / Nursery / Primary school really built the web of people to make London feel like home.

I rented various flats from the age of 19 but the first time I really had the ‘home’ feeling was when I was 27 and picked up the keys from my solicitor for a house I’d (well me and my fiancé at the time) had just bought. I literally went straight around to the house and hugged all the walls. I was so happy, weirdly though we only lived there for 17 months as we then bought another house and moved area.