Are you obsessed with where you grew up

DoozerT6 · 24-06-2017 12:15PM

I have fond childhood memories of where I grew up, but my parents no longer live there so I rarely go there any more, as tbh once I left to go to college, and moreso after my parents moved, I more or less lost touch with everyone I knew there. I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people!

I think the nostalgia (and my occasional desire to move back there), stems from the fact that even though I'm years and years away from home and I now own my own property, I've never really settled in the area, and always considered my home town 'Home'. Once my parents moved, those roots were taken away from me, as such.

However, logically, moving back there is not feasible for me. It's a small rural town that hasn't recovered from the recession and really has nothing going for it except a reasonable proximity to Dublin and a decent community spirit.

But I can still enjoy the memories I have

DundalkDuffman · 24-06-2017 12:23PM

Academic wrote: »

I think this is often the case: the attachment isn't so much to the place as to the people one has known longest in one's life.

Germans have a word which covers that, Heimat. I don't think there's a proper equivalent in English but it's basically your connection to your childhood upbringing family wise and experience wise being very important.

bluewizard · 24-06-2017 12:25PM

No, I have lived in many places, I'm on the move. Hard to get attached.

Robsweezie · 24-06-2017 12:28PM

Yeah, every so I often I go back to my old gaff and **** in the letterbox.

DoozerT6 · 24-06-2017 12:33PM

Robsweezie wrote: »

Yeah, every so I often I go back to my old gaff and **** in the letterbox.

Lovely image :eek:

DundalkDuffman · 24-06-2017 12:35PM

Robsweezie wrote: »

Yeah, every so I often I go back to my old gaff and **** in the letterbox.

Still working for ParcelForce?

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/northern-ireland-delivery-man-who-pleasured-himself-through-letterbox-caught-on-cctv-making-unwanted-delivery-35485854.html

tastyt · 24-06-2017 12:47PM

I dont think its obsession at all, I think its human nature.

It has been the norm for hundreds of years, people live in a community, you grow up, have kids and all live together as a happy family.

The death of rural ireland has meant people can no longer live, work and raise families in their homeplace, they have to move to cities, away from friends and families and support systems.

There will always be people who like to get away from home and like the anonymity and lure of the city life but I would argue that they are the minority.

People talk about their homeplaces being dumps that they would not want to go back to, but they might not always have been like this. The government do have a lot to answer for as regards these rural towns becoming ghostowns.

Urbanisation is a fact of modern life but I find it a little sad that people have to live hours away from friends and family ( if they would rather not ). Family and community are concepts that are losing value.

So I dont think its an obsession for people, just a lot of people are half living their lives in a place where they dont want to be but have no choice

Electric Sheep · 24-06-2017 01:08PM

tastyt wrote: »

I dont think its obsession at all, I think its human nature.

It has been the norm for hundreds of years, people live in a community, you grow up, have kids and all live together as a happy family.

The death of rural ireland has meant people can no longer live, work and raise families in their homeplace, they have to move to cities, away from friends and families and support systems.

There will always be people who like to get away from home and like the anonymity and lure of the city life but I would argue that they are the minority.

People talk about their homeplaces being dumps that they would not want to go back to, but they might not always have been like this. The government do have a lot to answer for as regards these rural towns becoming ghostowns.

Urbanisation is a fact of modern life but I find it a little sad that people have to live hours away from friends and family ( if they would rather not ). Family and community are concepts that are losing value.

So I dont think its an obsession for people, just a lot of people are half living their lives in a place where they dont want to be but have no choice

Emigration to other countries and migration to the cities has always been the norm in Ireland. It's nothing new and has always been a matter of survival. 50 years ago there was no work in rural Ireland, just as there is little to no work in rural Ireland now. It's not something new about "modern life".

Solomon Pleasant · 24-06-2017 01:27PM

No, not at all. I grew up in a small village in the north west of Ireland where public transport is virtually non existent, employment was the highest in the country during the deepest recession in Irish history and the people are backward, judgmental and fearful of change. I have few friends and even fewer positive experiences there.

My animosity peaked when I was in secondary school and wanted a part time job as I despised being a burden on my parents and always felt guilty if I had to ask for money. I applied to every local business I could find. I didn't receive a single call, reply or interview. Many others similar to my age were in an identical position and some turned to crime to help themselves. The only people who actually got part time jobs were those who knew someone. It was gut wrenchingly sickening to witness some airhead from school gleefully earn money because "daddy" knew the manager. Good old nepotism, eh?

Fortunately, I left for college in Dublin a few years ago and things have improved substantially since then. I work part time, study a course which I adore and generally have a much more enjoyable time.

Summer holidays, of course, are the highlight of the year for many students, for me it's a little different.

Mrs OBumble · 24-06-2017 01:36PM

Scarcity always make something valuable. Ireland is a tiny place really, land is in short supply, so sought-after. The land you grew up on especially.

There's also a huge national insecurity, which causes non-Traveller people to be desperate to prove to everyone that they're not. Foundational identify being based on place not who you're related to is a key way of doing this.

tastyt · 24-06-2017 01:38PM

Electric Sheep wrote: »

Emigration to other countries and migration to the cities has always been the norm in Ireland. It's nothing new and has always been a matter of survival. 50 years ago there was no work in rural Ireland, just as there is little to no work in rural Ireland now. It's not something new about "modern life".

I agree it been there to an extent but has accelerated hugely in the past 20 years.

The recent CAO figures show a quarter of the population live in the greater dublin region, far more than 50 years ago.

Also, there was a lot better chance of securing a job rural ireland 20 years ago in farming, trades, civil service, post office, manufacturing.

Not so much anymore

Doctor Nick · 24-06-2017 01:45PM

Nope. I'd hope to never set foot in the place again. 2 of my old mates were cousins who ended up falling out and now spend time shooting each other so I'm glad I'm not in the middle of all that.

PMBC · 24-06-2017 01:54PM

I now live away from my home town and I did spend 90% of my years there. More recently I lived abroad and I don't have any great wish to return to 'my home town' with all its good and bad points.
The familiarity and predictability of ones home town is probably an attraction. Most of the time I live in my head, so it doesn't really matter where I am!

harry Bailey esq · 25-06-2017 02:32AM

LirW wrote: »

His mother had a hard time understanding that we can't afford Glasnevin because she wanted us to live around the corner.

Im using bono as an example here,he claims to be from finglas,but grew up in cedarwood which is technically Ballymun but geographically is Finglas East.Yet,the postal address of Cedarwood is Glasnevin North.True Glasnevin,is bounded by Drumcondra to the east,phibsboro to the south and southwest,Finglas to the north and Cabra to the west. If pacifying the mother in law is top of your agenda,buying anywhere in that triangle will shut her up.For the time being at least.

Arcade_Tryer · 25-06-2017 03:15AM

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

These days I am only in Dublin because that's where my job is but I'm working on that. I couldn't be arsed dealing with the ridiculous rent prices, the traffic/congestion, the cost of living/going out, and there's really nothing in Dublin that you can't find in any decently-sized town.

Maybe for your specific needs, but simply not true in general. Dublin is Ireland's only claim to a world city.

DivingDuck · 25-06-2017 03:18AM

Doctor Nick wrote: »

Nope. I'd hope to never set foot in the place again. 2 of my old mates were cousins who ended up falling out and now spend time shooting each other so I'm glad I'm not in the middle of all that.

Every so often on here, you read a post that just goes in a direction you would never have imagined... :eek:

tomwaterford · 25-06-2017 03:26AM

While where im from is very scenic etc

If it wasnt for the farm (and inturn being so close to my dad) i probably wouldnt live there

Not that i see particularly see the draw of dublin etc....imo life is what you make of it and your if your outlook is miserable/self pitying....youll be just as likely miserable on the moon as your hometown

25-06-2017 09:36AM

I am. I grew up on a farm in a rural area and love it. Moved out of home at 24 and been living a few hours from home the last few years for work but no intention of settling where I am now, I'm back home loads of weekends too also. Been tailoring my work experience to suit jobs close to home and hopefully in the next year or so will move back and get a job and get started building a house next door to my parents. I'm very close with my family so living beside them would be brilliant, most of my friends have settled around the area so no worries on not having friends around, like working on the farm etc etc. Overall I just can't wait to get back there and be able to see family everyday again etc.

Are you obsessed with where you grew up

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