I left a western European country (think sunset at 16:30 in December) for a southern European country. I'm visiting my family for the holidays, and it just feels very strange to be back here.

I now live in a city, and the contrast with the urban sprawl in my previous country is almost jarring. Car dependency is also quite high, while I mostly walk around where I live now.

For people who experienced similar situations, did you find any way to deal with it? I'm only here for a few weeks, so it's fine, but I guess I just wanted to see if someone has any tip.

It also probably means I made a good decision to move where I live now.

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[–] MrsDoyle 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I grew up in the southern hemisphere and have lived in the northern hemisphere for 30+ years. Going back for a holiday can be weird - one time it was snowing when I left home & hot hot hot when I arrived. I was pale as a fish's belly, plus the coinage had changed shapes while I was away. I joked that people probably thought I was on day release from an institution. But I did get the fun of sending selfies from the beach while my friends were suffering arctic blasts, so there's that.

It's interesting going back - I sound local but feel like (and often act like) like a tourist. But I'm always happy to get home.

[–] Lemminary 2 points 1 year ago

I'm back to my home country after so many years of living abroad. I still get told on occasion that I don't sound local even though I've been here a while and it kind of bothers me. Lol