People who have moved away from your home town/area, what do you miss most?
There was this one mom and pop burger joint that had the simplest, most basic, super greasiest burgers but to this day they were the best burgers I've ever tasted. The place was tucked away in an alley and it was one of those "you have to be a local to even know this exists" places.
Also, having moved from a smaller town to a bigger city, I miss how close everything and everyone was. You wanted to go see someone, or go do something, it was always just a walk away instead of having to deal with all the hullabaloo of traffic and bus lines and yada yada.
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The last time I went back to visit my parents, I just sat in the living room and listened to the quiet. They're on the outskirts of a small town, and there is zero traffic. The house stays at the right temperature with no fans or other mechanical help. The nearest neighbor is much further away than at my suburban house.
Do you get to see a lot more stars out at night there?
Oo, that's a good one, yeah I didn't even think of that but it's just so much louder out here always. Brighter, too. I miss seeing the stars without all of the light pollution. If you've never laid down in an empty field away from city or town lights to see the stars in the absolute dark, it's amazing.
Language. The dialect from home.
Nothing. Small town country Australia wasn't a great place to grow up, and it's not a great place to go back to...
What about those drop bears though? Aggressive cuddles
Apparently they've discovered drop crocodiles now.
They died out. Killed off by the kangaroos
Small town in the Netherlands: same.
I miss the layout of my neighbourhood from when I was 5-10 years old.
I lived in one of the middle units of a 10 unit townhouse. Each had a ~30'x30' fenced in backyard that opened up to a large field and playground. The u-shaped roads that flanked this field and the houses along them left a large cross shaped grassy alley on either side of the field.
I'm not sure that description does it justice, but this setup created a huge amount of grassy space for the surrounding neighbourhood kids to run around in, while keeping them somewhat contained. There were only 3 entrances/exits to this neighbourhood that were pretty well supervised by parents, so the kids were able to roam a pretty big area without anyone having to worry. Something I've come to appreciate more with age.
It also meant a TON of snow to build and play with in the winter, without playing in the road :D 🇨🇦
The quiet.
Went from living in a small rural town to an actual city. It's always loud af no matter what time of day or night.
I felt that when I moved to NJ. It was 07306 above a prime fire route. The first week I was there I actually heard gunfire. It makes, as a quote goes, a distinctive sound.
But it was constantly noisy: not as in loud crashes and drama, but the background noise of so many sounds blended together to make a constant noise baseline that no one talks about. I didn't hear it in Morristown but I heard it in JC, and it took a while to get used to.
i live in a major city and it's quiet af every night.
you just need to live in a area w/o poor people. rich people like it quiet.
Except the biggest noisemakers are the rich fucks in the gated community across the street and their constant parties going until 4am on a weekday.
I'm from NYC. I miss good public transportation, museums, and nightlife.
Same. Add family in too, I miss em.
I miss the night sky. Chicago has too much light pollution to see the stars.
I miss eating frybread.
I miss the arid climate, the open sky, and even the wild weather of South Dakota.
And I miss the tight-knit concert scene of Sioux Falls, where a core group of people went to every. single. show. no matter the genre or location or age because it was all we had. Years later touring bands who came up Chicago would still recognize me as "that headbanging guy" even after I cut my hair.
Not a single thing. Small town America sucks.
Seems kind of silly...but the downtown started this tradition years back in coating the entire facade of the buildings in Christmas lights...not in a gaudy, cheesy way, but one single color per building. One shop would be blue and the shop next door would be red, etc. It started to become "known" in the area that this town would have the most lights ever in the downtown. They basically made a festival every year about it and more and more visitors seemed to come from out of town. And as time went on, more and more business neighboring the downtown started taking part. It looks amazing at night...every single building entirely lit up in a different color. I haven't seen it in years...I guess it'll be almost 10 at this point.
That sounds amazing, not silly at all. One of my neighboring towns used to do something similar back home. They had like a "Christmas Alley" I think it was called where everything was decked out to the nines in lights and decorations, people (including my family) would drive through just to see it.
The place I grew up had three houses and was miles from the nearest shops.
Spent most of my childhood in the woods making dens and getting stoned.
I've ended up in Madrid, I miss the quiet. Like the no noise at all kinda quiet. On the other hand I don't miss the inconvenience of having to drive to go and get milk or a pack of skins or other mundane stuff.
Shops closing half day Wednesday and not open at all on the weekend - don't miss that either.
The dialects - miss those too
I struggle to find anything. Maybe affordable housing, but that's a thing of the past. It changed a lot in 20 years and everything that I may have been missing at some point is long gone.
The people there proud themselves in being a rural region with a small town surrounded by close villages, but everyone knows everyone and if you don't fit socially with the others, mainly conservative, they will all bitch and talk about you in your back. Also, they take their cars to go literally anywhere. The next town is 7 km away, there's a dedicated bike path, and they whine that "everything is so far away in the countryside that you absolutely need a car". Yet, I moved in a metropolis where my work is 9 km away through dense urban landscape, and I can cycle there just fine.
I'm glad I left and I don't really miss any of it. I don't even like going back there. In fact, I prefer the services, and geographical features, of my new home.
Bagels (though now I make my own), fruit/veg, and Mexican food.
I moved to Germany from the USA and I now teach German to immigrants. The most universal experience for immigrants to Germany from warmer countries is the slow resignation not to even try peaches, corn, berries, or avocado (it’s reasonable based on geography, just still sad). I was astounded when my husband said he didn’t like peaches, but then I tried a German peach. They’re woody, flavorless, and expensive.
most fruit doesn't travel very well. it's very regional.
most fruits that are national/international are specifically bred for their ability to be transported long distances, and lack flavor and texture that local produce has. hence why your garden strawberries/tomatoes taste like 10x better than the ones at the store.
same with the bagels.. guess you at least get to enjoy pretzels though?
and perhaps funnel cake?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funnel_cake#cultural_variations
In south German cuisine, the equivalent is called Strauben or Strieble and is made and served similarly.
US -> Japan. Mostly, I miss family. I have basically no love for the area in which I grew up nor contact with anyone there (half my family never lived there, the other half moved to another state).
I do miss some foods that are hard to find or very expensive here. Things like PC parts are (or at least were) much cheaper in the US since it was generally a niche hobby device outside of business use here until quite recently.
I miss TexMex food.
When people ask what I miss about the US that's my first answer.
The Ocean
Walks along the sand and the sea front sidewalks were beautiful. I have so many pictures from that time and I look at them fondly, also because the dog we had passed away since then and he's in a lot of the photos.
The aphids singing on summer nights. That chorus really doesn't exist in other parts of the world and it's even hard to explain to people!
Unless there's a type of aphid I can't remember and also can't find online, there aren't many aphids that can make a sound audible to humans, and those that can are extremely quiet and don't really "sing." Are you thinking of cicadas or something similar?
Ah, my mistake, they are katydids: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O4wv-cMO0aw
Yeah, cicadas get loud.
The sunsets, and the smell after a rain.
Literally everything else can get fucked.
Hey, we left the same place
Maybe. Please select a food trope associated with your youth from the following:
Rubio's or Del Taco
Cactus Cooler
Green chilies red chilies in and on everything always at every moment of every day
Glass boot full of rock-colored jelly beans
HEB
Basha's
Smith's
I think about Basha's around Thanksgiving every year. The coupon game was intense back then
They have a smell. It's not bad, but it's also not amazing or anything. It's just....the Basha's smell.
Turns out, same place.
Pizza, bagels, knishes, Jewish delis, and whitefish salad.
I really miss my family and friends. And also pulled pork.
QuikTrip
Kansas City style BBQ
Cheez-Its
I live in Norway now and despite musing these things, wouldn’t trade them for my life now.
I’ll go eat taquitos at the QT and have diarrhea in your honor
It used to be Smokin’ Guns in NKC. I think they closed up ago a few years back though. Best pulled pork in the ‘verse. Gates > Jackstack imo though.
I appreciate the cheezit offer, that’s very sweet. But probably something that seems better in my head than is in reality after all this time.
My husband works in tech and his skill set managed to match exactly what a bank here was looking for. It was a pipe dream turned reality of sorts. It was a big change but I’m grateful every day to live here. Language isn’t easy to learn as a middle aged person but after 5 years we know enough to get by.
Halloween. I grew up in the Boston area and absolutely loved the seasonal attractions.
Im from tulsa. When i was 21 my brother died. I moved away 2 weeks after the funeral. I cant go back there. Too many memories 😪
I spent a year living in Tulsa on south gilete ave, the only redeeming quality was the sonic like 6 blocks away.
The familiarity. I knew where everything was. Businesses, places to go for leisure, outdoor activities, beach, skiing, whatever. I knew streets, neighborhoods, demographics, etc. Friends, the people I grew up with, where people lived… The very essence of what “roots” are.
I’ve moved so many times that I still don’t know 95% of the street names where I’ve lived for the last 5 years. I have to look online for businesses to see what is available and take a guess which one might work. Eating out someplace new is a risk, who knows if it’s any good.
That all said, leaving has presented far, far more opportunity and done better for me than staying in my hometown ever would have.
But I’m tired of moving. I need roots again. I miss that.
i've lived in the same place for 10 years and don't really have 'roots' here.
i think that's more if you live with/nearby family. a lot of people won't move because of family, even if they hate where they live.
The ocean, the mountain looking over the ocean, the friendly and warm people, the legality of weed, my climbing friends, my other friends, my mom, the freedom that comes with owning a car and having a valid driver's license, the free availability of building materials for whatever hobby you may have, a medical system where you get to make decisions about your own health care and find doctors who actually give a fuck, the outdoor lifestyle, the non extortionate pricing of things.
Im sure I can find quite a lot more if I have it some thought.
Given that weed is legal there, were there a lot of people who grew their own weed or actually not that much? Or is that something people would just keep to themselves anyway?
I didn't know many that grew it before being legalised, and the same for after. I know one of my old friends dad had a huge plantation and would just pay off the cops.
I was friends with a dealer so I rarely ever bought it myself before. Then they legalised it, you could have it, smoke it, transport it, but just not buy it. The loophole there is being part of a cannabis club. I left before they really became a thing though.
The memories, and not much else.
I think if you stay in a place your whole life, you don't really get how much it changes. Go away for a few years and come back, it's almost like a new place sometimes.
Every now and then I go on Google Maps, satellite view, and look at places I used to live. You see trash piled up everywhere. Cars everywhere. Three or four cars to a driveway in what used to be single family homes.
I know a lot of people who still live there. They haven't changed at all. Even as the trash piles up around them, they still think they're living in paradise. Especially now that weed's legal there. I think the government just said "fine, smoke a jay and delude yourself with our blessing." Shit should be legal everywhere, at least as long as more dangerous shit like cigarettes and alcohol are. I don't partake in any of it, I think it's all shit, but I think people should be free to do shit that harms no one. Maybe more limits on alcohol since drunk driving kills so many, and the problems caused by alcoholics... but I wouldn't push it.
Oh yeah, the weather's still pretty nice there. Temperate. But you couldn't pay me enough to live there now.
I moved from a decently sized city (100k inhabitants) to a small city (10k inhabitants) in a different country. I enjoy the more peaceful environment, but I miss being able to casually greet and talk with random strangers, as I don't know the language here and very few people here know English. It was so much easier to find events and things to do when I knew what everyone around me were talking about, and the posters were easy to read. I oftentimes find myself using a translating app, but it's a hassle, comparatively.
nothing. where i grew up was a hellhole of miserable people.
now i live in a major city and life is pretty great
I don't miss anything about the town I grew up in. It was full of chavs(who hated the fat nerd), had no entertainment options (the high street was banks and betting shops), very white and racist, 45 minute bus trip to the nearest cinema and the only thing it was known for was having a very high rate of teenage pregnancy.
I even lived there for a while after I came back from uni and tried really hard to keep in touch with my school friends but nobody made an effort.
Where I live now is much better.
The food and the people
There's a 24 hour bakery that also makes the most
disgustingdelicious burgers: https://clarksbakery.co.uk/.It's a mainstay after the pubs and clubs close and/or when you wake up and need something greasy.
Used to live right next to it. Would get hungry at night and go at 2am, then find myself regretting it as I have to wait for 20 minutes for all the drunks to be served!
Yusss that looks similar! I somehow doubt their 60 minute guarantee, being in the US and all, unfortunately lol
At the moment, I can't even think of anything I miss that would still be there in my home town. The place has changed so much that the only thing it shares with the town I grew up in is its name. So, in a contemporary sense, I'd have to say I don't miss much anymore.
If I could go back in time, I'd love to take another walk through the woods I used to play in when I was a kid. They're gone now, cut down for a factory that's no longer in business.
Also, I think it would be neat to go do my grocery shopping and run into my aunt and cousins or an old friend I haven't seen in awhile. It was a small town, so it was almost guaranteed if you were shopping in town, you'd run into people you know and like.
Being less than 10 miles from the beach no matter where in town I was. That said I have woods now and I like that just as much.
Edit: I do miss how many concerts were always happening. Guess I'll go play my banjo.
Honestly, not much.
I went from the west coast (Nevada) to the Chicago area. I miss a couple of friends, fast commutes, and good Mexican food. That’s about it. Chicago has so much more opportunity and access to a ton of things.
Chicago does have some amazing Mexican food though! To be fair, I haven't had any in Nevada, but I would imagine it's comparable?
There’s a larger portion of migrants from Mexico and South America, in general, so Nevada (the west coast really) has a ton more authentic selections.
There are some good places here, but it’s also sporadic whereas the west coast it’s all over the place!
I miss the sandwiches. Every time I go back to Philly I eat too many.
My only experience of Philly is IASIP. What the fuck is milk steak?
It's an IASIP joke.
That is such a relief.
All the mom and pop restaurants I grew up with that have since closed.
Also knowing all the short cuts it took through the neighbor's yards to get home.
The weather. Moved from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest. I like it here, but even after three decades the winter gloom still gets to me.
I am a winter person through and through. Rain is pretty cool too, which is what I think you get most of in the northwest? Ideal temp is like 45⁰ lol. I'd melt in southern Cali
Yes, mostly rain on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. Rain and 45 F is pretty much the default for winter here; you'd probably like it. I don't mind the cold (within reason), but the constant cloudiness gets to me. I miss the sun already, and the rainy season has just started.
I moved from the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast and I miss the steady temperatures and near constant drizzle. Having four seasons bites.
Nothing. Village of 1400 people, the only "shop" was the bakery, no other commercial activity whatsoever, anywhere to spend money was concentrated in one nearby town (one supermarket, one movie theatre with one screen, some doctors, some construction trades) surrounded by several similarly dismal villages. Loads of disillusioned teens headed for dead-end jobs in the surrounding area or lifelong unemployment, and probably the extreme right. Everybody with a bit of brain left as soon as possible.
(I just tried to check the results of the most recent national elections - it's too tiny to have its results listed separately. They REALLY like conservatives down there.)
Nice landscape though, good for retirement you might think - until you learn that, since you left, all the doctors have moved away from the area, the teeny tiny hospital in that central town and the slightly larger one 30 minutes away by car have closed down and my parents now have to drive an hour (if traffic permits) to get to the hospital.
Gawwwd you made me think about that place, day ruined, thanks a lot....
Family and the memories, I think. And the hills, and maybe some of the architecture. Otherwise, every time I go back, I’m glad that I left.
The slim chance I'll see one of my school friends while it and about. There is not no way I'll see anyone I grew up with unless we plan to.
Being next to my servers all the time.
The bicyclability
Moved from a mega metropolis and got shuffled around a lot
Might be an oddity here but... I basically missed nothing. I grew up pretty sheltered, and on top of that my hometown didn't really have much going for it despite its size. Probably the only redeeming quality is the high-quality public transit... which isn't remotely as good as it seems if you actually live there
I think now that I've grown up & have more defined interests, my hometown is starting to feel a bit more exciting since there are all kinds of hobby groups & such... But still feels mostly soulless to me IMO
We had a small restraunt similar to chipotle but like, way, way better. Nothing away from home even comes close, I miss that place.
I'm from Ft. Worth, TX and have lived in CT for 20 years and I couldn't put my finger on what exactly it was that I missed most about it until I went down there last year. It's the balmy evening breeze. Gets me every time.
Mountains.
Definitely the curry - cheap and really tasty. Also the moors are great to wander in a Wuthering Heights kinda way.
Feeling superior to everyone.
I miss being able to hear my own thoughts when I go out in nature.
I used to live in a dense mega-city. Traffic and pollution aside, I miss how most things were reachable by walking or a short public transportation ride. A convenience store on every other corner, grocery store 5-10 min ride/drive away, and everything you need within a 4 mile radius.
The food variety
yup. I don't miss much about the south at all - the lack of seasons, the horrible infrastructure, the shitty schools and shittier politics, but goddamn do I miss cajun food and texmex.
it makes me hungry just to think about what I'd eat landing in NO or san antonio.
Honestly? Not much.
I grew up in the countryside, there was maybe like 50 kids in my entire school. Somehow I became the main bully victim. Later I spent a few summers at the grocery store which doubled as a cafe in the weekends, and honestly it showed me the adults weren't any better with their constant gossiping and rumour spreading.
I got out of there as fast as I could afford it. It took a few tries in different places both big and small, but I eventually landed on my feet in a small city.
Still close enough to nature that the countryside of me doesnt feel cramped. Found my crowd, made friends, and discovered passions I never knew I had. Life is pretty good right about now. Bought an apartment with my partner a few years ago. Now we're gonna be parents soon!
I've reestablished connection with my family too. We've talked it all through, and now I go home to visit and spend time with them once or twice a year, so I guess that's the answer to your question. Anyone else there I couldn't care less for.
Air quality. I moved from eastern Canada to southeast Asia. It's always hazy here by comparison. And you can see like half the stars. There has been a little improvement in recent years. Maybe China is getting its shit together.
Home.
The food, the city, pretty much everything... Except the people
Moved away from a small rural village. Except for a couple of friends/relatives that are still living there am not missing a single thing.
I grew up in the Okanagan, and moved to a rural coastal community.
I miss the seasons, coldy snowy winter's, asphalt melting summers.
I also miss the fruit and veggies, while I have blackberries here, I don't have the apples, peaches, strawberries, and endless veggies.
One dozen warm, salty panisses rolled in a paper and an anisette to slide them down peacefully. Yes I'm a walking cliché so what
I grew up in a small town in rural Scotland and now live in a city in England. So I miss the fields, the sea, the hills, the forests, the food, the people, the closeness, the pace of life, the community.
Zestos and Polly's Freeze and that's about it.
I miss their malts, they were always the best.
I'm from a what was a little town in Western North Carolina and a kind of missed the smallness of it but now it's just turned into and Asheville suburb.