Any Gransnetter living abroad?

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

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?

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

I've never been to Berlin but before I went to Paris, many people warned me not to judge France by the 'cold, rude and aloof' Parisians.

I found them helpful and friendly wherever I went in the months I was there.

You just have to make sure you keep up with the vocabulary
!! and the fashion in clothes and hairstyles! When I used to arrive back in London I was always amazed at the different styles and the array of colours in vogue. Coming from France where French ladies tend stick to more neutral tones and classical cuts, I used to think I was in a carnival parade.

Moving away from Berlin would most definitely help in my opinion.

I know and have known many delightful Germans, but the people from Berlin and the surrounding area are not among them. Berliners tend in my experience to be arrogant and devoid of humour, which doesn't apply in other parts of Germany.

Ooh I love Israel. Mind you I was there in the early 70s and it has changed a lot since then, like all countries.

Which brings us back to the topic in hand: all countries have advanced and changed in parallel over the years. When I go back to the UK it is not really such a shock because the differences mirror those we have been having here. You just have to make sure you keep up with the vocabulary!

I moved to Israel for love too, and have lived here mostly for 40 years (moved back to the UK for 5 years in the middle for work, and also brief stints in Belgium and the US, also for work).
I am constantly torn between life here in Israel and back in the UK. I have family in both places, about half and half. My DD and her family live around the corner from us here which is the main reason we wouldn't consider leaving.
But if our DS and DiL so have kids one day, that will add to the feeling of being torn.
There is so much of the UK that I miss.
Pre-Covid I would travel there around 4-6 times a year but obviously not at the moment.
I am really hoping to be able to visit again come April by which time we will be vaccinated.

This has turned into a fascinating chat. So it would seem a lot of people left their birth country very young for love! I guess there must inevitably come times when you think of what might have been, or indeed what could be if you were to return home now.
I'm interested that many of you say the UK isn't what it used to be and that would make it difficult for you to resettle.

Like you, Sheila, I have lived in Germany for over 40 years. I only have a sister in the UK now and some cousins who I only really exchange Christmas cards with.

I do get homesick a little, and wonder if I would go back if my husband died.

In the 70s I was busy growing up and settling in. In the 80s I was busy with bringing up children. In the 90s I threw myself into work and trying to do it all, so there wasn't much time for anything else.

Then along came the Internet and I could keep up with things in the UK, listen to Radio 4 and 3, so homesickness was alleviated somewhat.

I also have a lovely group of friends from all over Britain. We haven't been able to meet up this year but have been in regular contact in our WhatsApp group.

We have all now taken on German nationality, except those from NI who got Irish passports.

You have 2 homes now, so, if you can't go back, can you somehow make your home here more bearable by finding other Brits or any English-speaking expats. There must be loads in Berlin.

My DS3 is studying in Berlin,by the way. We haven't managed to get out there the whole time he's been there. Hope to make the effort this year before he leaves!

Hi Sheila, I have lived in Malta for forty years since marrying my late husband who was Maltese.

In the early days I was very homesick but as the years have passed I have grown to love this little island, the way of life and its kind people.

Covid has put a stop to any travel and I must admit I have felt very lonely and cut off from friends and family in the UK, plus my two eldest daughters and only grandchild who live in the US.

I would normally be going to Florida for DGD’s birthday next month, so feel sad to have to miss it. I do realise how fortunate I am to have two adult children still living in Malta as well as some good friends, but I miss my husband so much even five years on from his death.

I could never return to the UK to live, it isn’t the same place I left forty years ago, but I still love the land of my birth and will be very happy when I can visit again.

Are your grandchildren in Germany?

I’m sorry you are feeling homesick.

We have lived in France for fifteen years. We are in Normandy so the countryside is similar to England and as the crow flies I am only about 130 miles from where I was born. I speak French and have French friends, but we don't do a huge amount of socialising, even in normal times. I can easily get on a ferry within an hour from home, so trips to the UK are cheap and easy as a foot passenger.
Our children are spread out across Europe but we talk a lot via FaceTime and help the grandchildren with homework.
I think it took me about five years to think of France as coming home and there is not much I miss about the UK now.
I don't think we would go back, but never say never.

I've moved around the world a fair bit. USA, China, Spain & now Switzerland. None of them have really felt like home, other than China, which I regard as my 2nd home.

I have a love / hate relationship with the UK, but warts and all, I regard it as home. I can't imagine retiring anywhere else, although would follow my DD/GS if they moved away.

You're right BradfordLass, NZ is a beautiful place. My uncle was a naval surgeon and travelled around the world, but once he had seen NZ he decided to move there and bought a GP practice. The people are lovely, we have family all over South Island and often visit.

Although I settled almost immediately when I came to NZ in 1973 with my husband and all his family, none of the others did (though Dad stayed on, alone, for years).

Eventually, my husband, Mil and sisters in law came back to the UK and settled back just fine.
It nearly killed me!
I pined for New Zealand in a way I'd never done for England even though I'd left my own Mum and sister behind.

It may sound strange to add that I love England and I'm fiercely proud of my heritage and history. It's a beautiful country and holds so many happy childhood memories...but Aotearoa-New Zealand is where my heart is.

Within 18 months of being back in UK my husband regretted leaving NZ and wanted to return but a change of government and re-entry rules prevented it.

I did come back a few years later, and we've been here 35 years and taken 2 holiday trips (8 weeks each) back to the UK which, as others have said, has changed beyond belief.

I think settling in a new country has very little to do with what's around you (unless people are particularly cruel and racist towards you) and much more to do with ones own emotions and personality.
I loved NZ before I knew anything about the place or people (who are indeed mostly kind and generous).
I just felt I'd come home - there's no way I can explain it.

After over 10yrs of living in Spain running a very profitable business which we hoped to pass on to our son's they met girls and returned to uk to get married,my husband missed the boys so much as I did so we sold up and returned to uk .
It was the best 10yrs of our lives and sometimes wish we had stayed,I was never really homesick as the flight home was just over 2 hrs and I could pop back when I wanted then.

We lived in rural France for 18 years, a similar situation to Sodapop. We were very happy there, no complaints at all. You need to be able to speak french though.
But with old age slowing us up at last gave in and returned to UK. Where we do feel 'at home'.
Now there's not the freedom of movement as in the past I would be more cautious.
Sheila you've been in Germany a long time,do you still have many family and friends in the UK?
I've a vague idea that you come from Hull?
Things in the UK have changed so much over the last 10 years, never mind 47.