What do you miss about the town/city/country you grew up in ?

Silverbrooks

I was born in London and now live only 40 miles away. I worked there for 50 years. Now retired I can still be back there in under 30 minutes by train and go as often as I can.

I ascribe to the saying: When a (wo)man is tired of London, (s)he is tired of life.

I hope I will never tire of everything London has to offer in terms of history and culture. Just to walk along its streets always gives me a thrill.

Were I to quit suburbia, I would seriously consider buying a small apartment in London so I could fall out of bed and have all that culture on my doorstep.

Ever since I was 20 I’ve fancied living in an apartment in the Barbican. It’s a Marmite thing but I like the Brutalist architecture.

Ah Silverbrooks - you said it for me. I don’t live quite so close but DD1 lives in Mike End so I get to visit often.

Mile End!

I miss the Brummie humour.

I was born in Southport. Apparently I left at 9 months old so no memories. Then lived in Cheshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire. Settled in Leigh on sea in Essex for a while then back to Staffordshire and Warwickshire before moving to Trinidad at the age of 11. At 12, back to Staffordshire, before going to Kuwait. My son finds all this hard to understand but my biological father was a naval engineer and so was my stepfather. My journey didn’t stop there. We returned from Kuwait by car in the sixties and I am writing a book about it. My education was interrupted obviously but, how can I put this? I passed entrance exams for further education and only wanted to go to medical college. My teachers always told my parents that I was so ahead of their students who never left home. Not sure why but my parents just wanted me to be normal and get married and have a baby. Oh well.

Oh there’s some wonderful posts and memories here, I love reading them. Most areas ,including where we live, don’t seem to improve much with time because they keep shoving up more and more houses with less and less green space in between. They don’t seem to have a lot of aesthetic sense these days.

I miss having a dog. My 8 year old brother got me one the day I was born. He decided to call her Bronco.

I grew up in Bristol and Bournemouth. I miss all the shops in Bristol and the 2 for 1 pub meals, bargain shops where things were cheap and my remaining family that live on the outskirts of Bristol. Fond memories of Bournemouth with my mum on the back of her bike off for picnics after school most days. Plus the community there seemed much friendlier. Had 2 very good years there when I was 6.

I certainly don’t miss the ‘dark, Satanic mills’ which employed members of my grandparents’ generation! However, there was a greater sense of community in the 50s/60s/70s. The irony of it is that architects seem to think we want to be reminded of said mills, by designing modern apartments in the same style and preserving the mill chimneys! We can see one from our house…

I lived on the Isle of Skye for 7 years and had I been married to my present husband would still be there. Sadly though when I've returned everything has changed. The bridge has made the main road running through the island to the north into a juggernaut highway. The feeling of isolation, which I enjoyed, has gone completely for me although some visitors still love the island as they have never known anything else. Nothing stays the same but I suppose that's progress for you.

I grew up in the middle of Chelsea. No definitely not rich. Very working class. There were estates owned by Trusts bought to house working class people. In those days the land in Chelsea was cheap .Now a housing association has taken over and there was a struggle to maintain the tenancies at affordable rents. Some are now fully renovated and ready for the,wealthy to live in. Loved Chelsea, next to us was St. Luke’s, the Parish Church,where Charles Dickens was married (and so were we). Kings Road was where you could see famous faces,strange outfits and often bare feet, not because shoes couldn’t be afforded. Chelsea Art School provided plenty of artists who dressed whichever way they chose. Then there were the South Kensington museums. The Victorian and Albert and the Natural History were my favourites. Used to visit frequently armed with a sketch book and pencils to draw the wonderful dresses in glass cases or a huge bear. Then the science museum was interesting and we always enjoyed the door that opened as you approached. A number 11 bus could take us to the art galleries and we could feed the pigeons or look at Van Gogh’s sunflowers. All free entry. Then there were all the parks Battersea, Kensington, Hyde Park. All within walking distance. When I was at school there was still a work house.My brother had a friend who invited him to tea there and described it. I also had friends there. We were a mixed bunch as children of antique dealers, journalists, policemen, all at school together. Going shopping you could be standing next to Dinah Dorrs Clair Bloom etc etc. There was always something to do. You could walk into St Paul’s or Westminster Abbey etc etc no payment was needed although there were donations. The Royal family were out and about in Victoria when I was at my secondary school. As we went swimming one day the teacher said “look girls, Prince Charles”. There he was sitting on his nanny’s lap in the front next the chauffeur.The car stopped and we crossed over in front of it all of us waving to Prince Charles while he waved back. Loved living in Chelsea.



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I still live in the area where I grew up but most of the architecture has been destroyed and replaced with glass and metal boxes.
We no longer have proper shops, not one department store or M&S, the hight street is dominated by coffee shops and fast food outlets.

I grew up in Lichfield and loved it. We were able to roam freely and safely everywhere and could walk to the shops, the park, roam through the fields and walk to school in a group from being very young. We had a lovely group of friends who cared for each other.
I still like it when I return (infrequently) now, but it is much more developed now, housing estates everywhere and more like Birmingham overspill. But I still like the tow centre and the history.

My home city has seen better days like many others I suppose. I have lived away from there for 62 years. Love going back there on family history visits. So many roads not far from the centre of town and still intact had the businesses or homes of my ancestors. So much to see, churchyards to visit. What I really miss is the opportunity to volunteer at the family history library and similar opportunities. I would love that.

I left my birthplace at age 2. I continued to visit family there and always thought of it as home. During many unhappy years in Wales my longing to return became overwhelming.
At last I came back and will stay here forever, loving my little town and never wanting to leave.