I notice several people here who have lived all over.
I moved back to the city where I grew up… I had moved away for 6 years and started my prodromal stage away from home as a prodigal son. I found my way home to be welcomed by my family and have my mental meltdown at home.
Now I get a sense of peace from having deeper roots in my home town, knowing the territory so well and seeing familiar types of people. Anybody else?
My hometown had a Drive-in with a big yellow crescent moon against a blue background. There were small lessons I learned in that town - not all of then adding to my well-being. So there it is - the larger than life + the nitty-gritty. Life. In my hometown. I no longer live there.
We still go to the same old A&W for hot dogs and root beer in the summertime.
You’re right though, there’s a rich texture of good and bad memories here.
I’m glad you have a sense of belonging and peace back in your home town.
I grew up in rural Appalachia, in a small town with a population of only 1500. It was a quiet existance there. But it was a very religious area. There were more churches than businesses lol.
Growing up there, my family were very strict pentecostal Christians. I was the pianist and music director of my church starting at the age of 14. So everything revolved around religion.
As I grew up, and came to terms with my sexual preference, I was no longer welcome there. In fact, I was threatened on an almost daily basis. It became unsafe for me to live there. So I moved away to Florida for college and never looked back.
Things haven’t changed at all there. So I could never move back. I simply wouldn’t feel safe, and certainly not welcomed.
The religiousity of my family has been an issue with my schizophrenia too. They still believe its a form of demon possession and can be prayed away.
Definitely not a place for me to live again!
Blessings,
Anthony
I grew up in Auburn. I am living in Auburn now. So many things have changed here. There was hardly anything in Auburn before. Now there are Starbuck’s all over the place along with many others. My family moved away from Auburn. I didn’t graduate with my class in Auburn because my junior year I had a psychotic break. Instead of getting treatment. My mother sent me away to a school in Citrus Heights. I graduated with the Citrus Heights class. So I lost all those connections with my friends in Auburn. I didn’t know hardly anyone in Citrus Heights except my Aunt and cousin.
My Grandparents and parents were born in other nations and places, but my parents met in their high school years here in Seattle. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, cousins all live here… I was born here and I’m still here.
I’m a little sad to see it grow and grow and become some huge place where all the quirky is getting gentrified. I feel very lucky to grow up here. But my life here has been pretty lucky.
@radmedtech Ugh…no wonder you moved away for good.
I was born in a small town in Northern Iowa, most people haven’t heard of it…Wuakon. It’s about 45 minutes North East of West Union Iowa better known on the maps as Allamakee. Or if you’re looking it’s about an hour South West of La Cross Iowa. I grew up in though in Bridgeton County Missouri which is located in St. Louis. (In most places it would be considered a suburb, but we like it weird here St. Louis and it is it’s own county. Well before Bridgeton we moved to Florissant County MO, but I was still to young yet to remember much of that experience.
When I was a teenager (after having one of the worst last days of school ever) we moved to Jefferson City Missouri. I was first diagnosed with Schizophrenia in Jefferson City…then at 16 we moved into the city of St. Louis where we lived until we moved here into University City (yet another subburbish type place which is part of St. Louis County).
We have an empty lot at the Lake of the Ozarks, and when my mom gets her inheritance from my grandfather we want to build a small house out there move there. Right now there is no way we can afford to do that, and with my grandfather still alive it will be a while yet before we come close to achieving that goal. Don’t get me wrong I love my grandfather and am glad he’s still here with us, but I’m tired of living in the city and would like a change. Maybe I’m just tired of the SallieMae calls.
I still go back to my home town in Iowa though because my dad still has family up there. One of his sisters lives in the town and is the city treasurer. My grandmother (his mom) is still living and is in an assisted living type place within the county. We’re planning on going back next year for my grandmother’s 90th birthday.
Hometown is a word of complex meaning to me. I had a bitter childhood so I shut everything out of my world including the concept of home town (Nantong), the people and the place. And then I had a happy time after I moved to Nanjing. I had a wonderful college life, a successful career and a very good family. So I took Nanjing as my hometown. I love its weather, its street scenes, its food and the accent of people… And then I immigrated to Australia. I tried hard to make friends and have a job there, but failed. I love Australia very much for its natural beauty and stable social system. But I don’t have a sense of belonging in it, feeling like I was drifting in the clouds just because I don’t have friendship or relatives on this land…
I’ll probably go back to Australia soon because I don’t have social security in China. I was wondering how I can build friendship in a western country and make it a hometown to my life.
Sallie Mae is who I have all of my student loans through. Is that why they’re calling you?
Blessings,
Anthony
Yep, I’ve put them on deferment in the past but I guess it’s run out. Now they want their money back, and I don’t have it…very stressful and very depressing struggle for me right now.
I’m in the same boat. Since I’ve been disabled for so long, I’ve ran out of deferments. But since I’m on disability, they let me go to Income-based Repayment. My monthly payment is 5 cents. Seriously. I’m not sure why they even bother.
There is a program called student loan forgiveness, where people who are expected to be disabled for most of their lives can have their student loans discharged. You just need a doctor’s certification of your disability. Ive been thinking about asking my doc to fill out the forms.
Something to think about.
Blessings,
Anthony
I used to dream about retiring back to where I was raised in Newfoundland, Canada. Of buying the same house I grew up in that my dad pretty much gutted and rebuilt. My profile background pic is that house. A beautiful place but can be harsh in the winter 
^^^^
My grandfather was from Cape Breton Island,Nova Scotia. Right under Newfoundland. 
I was born in Cape Town, grew up in Cape Town and still live in Cape Town. Home is where the heart is, and I wouldn’t like to move away. But I stayed in various suburbs of Cape Town, I spent my early childhood in one suburb, spent almost my entire school years in another, and got my first breakdown there afterwards, then moved to a third suburb where I stayed for nine years until 2012. Soon after I got married and moved yet again to two more suburbs and am now settled by a seaside suburb in the far southern reach of Cape Town.
Despite the bad reputation, New Jersey is a good place to grow up in.
I loved my hometown, I also worked there most of my life. I moved out of my hometown when I was married and never returned. Today I live about 45 min. away from my hometown - apparently my hometown was taken over by affluent transplanted New Yorkers, it is a different place now.
I have nothing but bad memories of my home town.
I don’t believe that schizophrenia is demon possession. But my schizophrenia has gotten worse and become much like I assume real schizophrenia feels like since being in treatment for it. I just feel like it was my fault for being different. I was never psychotic until I was laced with ketamine and bullied and assualted in Ohio. I just know something happened and there are lapses in the order of things, but that I was given a pill and woke up and had flashbacks, then I refused to eat so the boarding school called my parents who hospitalized me for having no emotions. Then I was given an EEG, put in an adult ward, and not allowed to leave until I took anti-psychotics. That my mom slit her wrists and had borderline paranoid delusions, eventually was put on Prozac and had a depressive meltdown. That I came to this town when I was 12 and had a horrible time because I’ve never found anywhere that I belong here. That now I smoke weed and want to do drugs to escape the pain of this life. That I do not even know what the ■■■■ schizophrenia is and feel like I’m supposed to be this way. That no one ever asked me to change my behavior in the hospital, and then I was given a handfull of pills including risperdal and risperdal gave me insomnia that never went away the 9 weeks I was in the adolescent ward. Where I was raped, then came home and was later labelled with schizophrenia at age 15 1/2 which isn’t even the age you should be labelled. That I was forcibly drugged and hospitalized a bunch of times, but I don’t even remember why. That I had a strong disagreement with my father over my diagnosis from age 15 and onwards, and that Abilify caused mood swings and depersonalization from the start of 3 months. I would cry that it made me feel crazy and like I wasn’t myself, but was convinced to take it. Eventually I gave up and have had a dysphoric sense of reality ever since. I also know that the students I believe drugged and raped me were kicked out after I left for drug charges and I was told this by a fellow student.
I am so sorry that happened to you.
StarryNight, I can’t say from experience but watching from the outside I’ve seen that eventually doing drugs leads you deeper into the pain of life.
I like your art. It’s a productive way to spend your time…