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Any Gransnetter living abroad?

(37 Posts)
Sheila1952 Mon 28-Dec-20 18:45:15

Hi everyone, I am British and left my hometown at 21 to live in Germany with my husband. 47 years later I'm still here and have two very young grandchildren in the between time. My problem is that my homesickness has grown over the years, especially since I stopped working 2 years ago. Are there other gransnetters who live or have lived abroad for many years and have/had similar feelings. How do you deal with these feelings especially not being able to travel due to Covid19.
Looking forward to your input.:-)

welbeck Wed 06-Jan-21 04:32:27

it would be interesting to know what people miss being away from UK, also what they find so different when they have returned for visits.

Mamie Wed 06-Jan-21 05:08:06

I miss Waitrose, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer. Shopping in general really. In normal times I visit four of five times a year. The things I notice most that have changed are increased obesity and more aggressive driving.

JackyB Wed 06-Jan-21 08:07:43

I'll have to think about that - what do I miss in the UK?

The general friendliness and informality, the humour and fish and chips. The jostling at the bar in pubs and the nice gardens.

Philippa60 Wed 06-Jan-21 11:12:53

I also miss the shopping! Next, M&S in particular and also food shopping. Every time I come I stock up on favourites that I can't get here.
I also long for a proper English cream tea with scones, jam and clotted cream!
What I don't miss at all is the weather!

Ellianne Wed 06-Jan-21 12:56:04

Like Mamie and Philippa I missed shopping. I used to cheat and cross to Jersey every couple of months for an M &S fix! French clothes didn't suit my shape and shoes were so expensive in France.

Mamie Wed 06-Jan-21 13:11:28

I buy all my clothes in the UK, but also get my daughter's cast-offs. Obviously I haven't bought any this year, but then I have only worn about a quarter of my wardrobe!
I would also add pubs and gardens to my list.

GagaJo Wed 06-Jan-21 16:18:28

Very little really, other than family. I bring Yorkshire Tea with me. Have Rich Tea biscuits, which are my preferred dry biscuit if I have a dicky stomach, and brought Marmite with me but have hardly touched it.

I miss being able to pop to the coast in the car, because I don't drive here and live in a landlocked country.

But mainly, just miss family. Everything else is just stuff.

Framilode Wed 06-Jan-21 16:41:22

When I lived in Spain the things I missed most were the wide variety of tall, deciduous trees in the UK, Spanish trees were mostly pine or olive. Marks & Spencer food hall of course and gentle english rain.

JackyB Wed 06-Jan-21 17:31:01

Gagajo I miss being able to pop to the coast in the car, because I don't drive here and live in a landlocked country.

The sea - of course! I ache for the sea. I live 1000 km from the North Sea, the Baltic, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Soooo far! Coming from Suffolk, I was used to being at the seaside most weekends.

The Baltic and the Med I don't really consider proper seas though, because they don't even have tides!

Fennel Wed 06-Jan-21 19:58:10

The things I appreciate now that we are back in England are firstly the lovely Geordie accent and friendliness of my youth.
Then the sea.
I was trying to explain to our Romanian cleaning lady why I liked England. She's experiencing some negatives at the moment. I said because it's my home.
How do you explain what "home" means?

sodapop Wed 06-Jan-21 20:08:54

I miss shopping and takeaways but not the volume of traffic. I prefer my quiet life in the countryside on balance.