Putting down new roots.
By 41Combedale
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
Greece
February 17, 2016 10:59am CST
I grew up in a small terraced house in South East London. The garden was tiny, the toilet outside, the only view was of the houses opposite. We played in the street, the only playground was in school and that was concreted. It was too far to go to the park.
I hardly saw the sunset as the houses in the area blocked the view. With the exception of the kitchen the house was unheated, the windows rattled in the draught. I did not feel deprived, all my friends lived as I did.
I have moved several times since and 10 years ago I pulled up all my roots. The house was built to our design, we have a large garden that is unfenced and opens on to open land, we have 4 toilets, the view is of olive trees, sea and mountains. There are a few villas dotted around and olives and pines dominate the surrounding area.
Putting down new roots has not been easy or fast, but it has been an adventure and given me new views in every sense of the word. How rooted are you?
13 people like this
13 responses
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
19 Feb 16
I was content with England too, but my husband remembered a childhood in a land where the sun shone almost every day....
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
19 Feb 16
@41CombedaleRoad The sunshine is why we spend a couple of months in Spain every winter, but I wouldn't want to live there permanently.
@celticeagle (159008)
• Boise, Idaho
18 Feb 16
Glad you have had the opportunity to this adventure and new views. I have lived in this area and town most of my life. I now live about three blocks away from where I grew up. I have lived in this area for probably 45 years of my 64 years of life. In this north end of town it is much cooler than the other parts of town due to the abundance of trees. There is a park about two blocks away too. I have traveled in the states but have never found a place I liked better. My family is here too and so that makes it nice.
3 people like this
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
19 Feb 16
Your roots went down into a good environment, there was no need to pull them up. Just a lifetime to enjoy them.
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
19 Feb 16
I have come to the conclusion that there is something to be gained and something to be lost with every uprooting. May your next move, if you make one, bring you great contentment.
1 person likes this
@Scindhia (1906)
• India
18 Feb 16
My parents re-designed our ancestral home couple of years back at our native place. It was tough in all aspects -- physically (we lived in a different part and travelling to oversee the work progress was tough), financially (we had a budget and we went way over with it), and emotionally (It was difficult to see the place where my grandparents lived being torn down to create something new).
2 people like this
@Shayani (250)
• Pune, India
18 Feb 16
well to be very frank with you, we all will not be comfortable in putting new roots. You are lucky in that sense I must admit, But yes currently I am staying away from my family , my childhood home and people. So if my life takes me to create a new root , definitely i will create one as I wanted. But still in some parts inside us, do crave for those days when we were really rooted , with all its shine, happiness and of course the warmth.
2 people like this
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
19 Feb 16
It is true, there is a downside to moving into a new area and the old roots can not be completely forgotten because even if the times were tough there were some good moments and some good friends.
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
18 Feb 16
I guess you could say not very rooted. I have lived in a number of different states so moving was a way of life although for the first 18 years of my life I was rooted to one home. I have had an "Adventure in Moving". I am a few thousand miles away from my hometown which is okay with me as there are not much in the way of family there any more.
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
19 Feb 16
@41CombedaleRoad
Since I have no close family there is no reason I would want to go back there.
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
19 Feb 16
I forget that the USA is so large that you can move so far and yet still be in the same country! It sounds as though you are glad to be away from your family. I miss mine but rely on Skype to keep in touch.
1 person likes this
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
20 Feb 16
I came from a poor family but I did not feel deprived because we had a big yard where all fruits and vegetables were readily available for us. We were poor in money but we never went hungry and we were always happy. We had a wooden house but it was always clean and tidy. The wooden floor was always shiny and up to now I would sometimes see that in my dreams.
Now I have my own family. I am happy with what both my husband and I were able to achieve through hard work but can never forget my humble beginning. It is a sweet memory that i will cherish forever.
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
26 Feb 16
As the saying goes, 'Home is where the heart is' and your heart was certainly in that wooden house. Your parents provided a loving environment and a perfect childhood for you.
1 person likes this
@divalounger (5849)
• United States
18 Feb 16
Uprooting is always difficult! But it is an adventure--as I come closer to retirement age, I would love to find a way to live in Europe--but I fear that is just a dream!
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
19 Feb 16
I was retired when I moved to Greece. I wish I had come earlier because it is hard to learn a new language at my age. I also dreamed about how it would be and some of it is better than I imagined and some of it less so. The less so part mostly being about friends. I have made some new ones but they did not share my life when I was young, they know me only as grey haired and older than they are!
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
26 Feb 16
May I wish you every happiness in your new home and an easy move to get you there.
@whiteream (8567)
• United States
19 Feb 16
sounds like you did hat was best for you. change is never easy.
@Shiva49 (26200)
• Singapore
18 Feb 16
I spent half my life in India and then moved to Singapore and Indonesia for work.
Moving around different cultures widens our outlook but also reaffirms the fact that we share the same emotions. It is indeed a blessing to see other parts of the world and to feel comfortable everywhere - siva
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
19 Feb 16
That is something that I learned too. I moved to Singapore when I was 18 and met with people from different ethnic backgrounds. When I was 23 I moved to Nigeria and learned that we are all the same at heart, men and women share the same concerns worldwide. It was a good start for me to learn this so young. It stopped me developing the prejudices that sometimes develop in people who live a confined life.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26200)
• Singapore
19 Feb 16
@41CombedaleRoad I feel comfortable everywhere, we are same. My British friend talked about his time in Nigeria. Children will come closer to him and rub his skin to see whether the white will come off and he also did the same to see whether some black will do likewise!
I had enough topics everywhere to spend quality time and share thoughts. We are concerned with the same issues but few fall prey to the machinations of few evil. We have so much in common - siva
1 person likes this
