dlish

i was looking at some pictures of pop art a few days ago which i havent stopped thinking about ever since. they were so intruiging they've been in the back of my mind and have never left. ive always been an artistic person but ive let work take over my life and havent really nurtured my innate artistic nature for quite a while.

i miss art quite a lot, but there isnt much of it here. sure theres some galleries here or there but its not an arty city to live in. living in a new city that is only 10 or so years old, has its perks, but it also has its -ves.

seeing a city being built or a landmark going up knowing that in 50 years time you can tell your grandkids that you were there when this building went up or when something happened would be great for those bedtime stories.

the downside however is the lack of depth that a new city has in terms of art culture. looking at those pop art pics made me realise that i live in a city that is devoid of art altogether. theres no grungy areas yet, theres no graffiti, theres no urban underground, no artistic expression in the streets, no people selling art by the roadside..things that most people in older cities take for granted. but in saying that theres no crime here either and its fairly safe to walk any alley at any time of day.

i miss sitting on a sydney 'red rattler' (the old maroon coloured sydney trains that rattle loudly as it moves - hence the name) and seeing graffiti artists at work by the train lines in the mornings, or incriptions (tags) in permanent markers on window sills and on the leather chairs, things we take for granted. things we associate with crime and adolescence. the underground is intruiging to me as it is comforting. its these things that i dont see nowadays that makes me homesick, even though i enjoy being where i am.


has anyone else gone through similar phases where they miss things like this after going changing jobs, moving home, moving states/countries etc? what have you missed? what makes you homesick?

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snowy

Coffee and beer.

Even with the prevalence of Starbucks, it's sometimes really hard to get a good cup of coffee elsewhere. It's also hard to find similar coffeeshop culture beyond the PacNW, with the exception of some college towns.

And though there are other places in the world with excellent beers, nowhere else beats the selection available to me here. There is no doubt about it; Oregon loves beer. Though microbrewing has caught on in other parts of the United States, certainly, there are still enormous black holes where the predominant beer served is Budweiser (shudder). And often, when I do find a beer that I like somewhere far away, it makes me think of a beer back home, brewed in my home state, and that makes me very homesick indeed.

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Poppinjay

For six years in Kansas, I missed decent seafood and good pizza. I also missed all the things Eudora Welty wrote about.

Back in the south, I miss high schools with 100 students, 50 of whom are in the school's music program. I miss small towns that get together orchestras. I miss the strong work ethic and honesty of Kansans.

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abaya

Yes. And VARIETY... cheeses, breads, vegetables, even toothpaste... the market is SO LIMITED in Iceland, it actually depresses me every time we go grocery shopping now. I mean, how can one of the largest supermarkets in a capital city have rotting onions and apples?

Not to mention the $10/pint beer... and it's seriously average beer, too.

And the lack of trees. And the weather. And the people. And the language.

Yeah, I'm due to get my ass back home, in a hurry.

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Tully Mars

Sometimes I think it's odd the stuff I miss. By the sounds of it my current situation, shopping wise, is way better then yours. I have Sam's Club, Costco, Wal-Mart etc... all within 20-30 mins of me. For the most part once in the store by simple appearance you'd think you were in the US. But a closer inspection reveals you're definitely not in the US. Many items I'm used to are available, most are just very costly. If it's been imported it's likely 50% more costly. If it's an electronic item it might be more than double the price in the states. And if you buy an item and it breaks often the only solution is just throw it away. Returning an item to the store is just unheard of here, yes even at Costco. Finding a replacement part is often not an option. I spent weeks, maybe a month, trying to find a replacement spool for a new weed eater I bought and promptly broke. I'm currently using the motor from that with a belt from a vacuum cleaner to run an air compressor I found. It keeps air in my tires but does little to solve my weed problem.

Then there's whats available food wise. I have fresh fruits and veggies year around, so that's a big plus. Some is way better then home and some I don't even recognize. Some stuff simply isn't available. Personally I like soup. I read several books on living in Mexico and all said finding US style soup at restaurants and stores would be no problem. They were obviously talking about other parts of Mexico. there I'm at I have two choices brown bean and black bean. They both are very bland and tasteless. So it may be odd but I miss soup.

I also miss driving in the states. Driving down here is a white knuckle experience almost everytime. I asked my good friend here why the locals don't stop at the stop signs. He explained that stop signs are more like a suggestion here. Along with not stopping at stop signs one of the other traits here I dislike is their cars seemingly have two speeds- full throttle and sudden stop. And there's no use of turn signals at all. It's not unusual for the person in the lane to your right to decide to make a left hand turn in front of you at an intersection. I walk and take the bus a lot.

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ktspktsp

Indeed, there is much that we miss here. And yet, when we move back to the US, I know I will miss those things, at least:
* Skyr, a dairy product that resembles a firm yogurt. Tasty and all protein. Very Icelandic.
* The swimming pools heated to perfect temperatures, in the open air, and with mutliple hot pots. And of course the natural hot pots and rivers.
* The beautiful nature.
* The Northern lights.
* Being able to walk to work, and downtown.
* The safety.

I guess, more often than not, it's just a mix of good and bad things wherever you are. In the end we're lucky to have stuff to miss, because that means we've had varied experiences.

/abaya says I'm getting all "Wonder Years"-y with this so I should stop now.

Cynthetiq

you can get skyr and smjör at Whole Foods... Free range, organic Icelandic lamb from Sept to October. call for availability

bugs me that they market it as such, but well when you're malbik endar and and you have to come to a skid on the gravel because there are sheepies blocking the road.... yeah they're free range.

I missed lots of things when living in Singapore, and then when I moved away.... now I miss things from Singapore. Go figure...

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barkeyes

It's the beige cities that get me. A place that has been around for a long time but sucked dry of any agitating culture or ideas. Where nothing is supported or expected beyond spin art and busy activities. Vision has vanished or crawls on its knees to make any strides. I don't know what's worse...what your experiencing with a fresh site void of depth and voice or a surrounding that paints everything one color and stomps out any unharnessed creative imagination.

Charlatan

I don't miss things on a regular basis but every once in a while I find myself missing something from Toronto. Some of them are:

*Good pizza
*Fall weather (and maybe just a little taste of winter but not too much)
*Our cottage
*Political Satire
*Cheap Beer (actually any alcohol but beer especially) (I can get variety I just have to pay for it)
*Cheap cheese in many varieties cheese is ghastly expensive here and not all that easy to source)

I am sure when I finally leave here I will miss many of the things that I love about this place too...

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guyy

Walking in Tokyo

used bookstores

The smell of the ocean, even Tokyo bay.

Soba.

Good tofu.

Good tea.

The smell of autumn fish cooking in the neighbour's kitchen.

Japanese peaches.

Japanese soap.

Trains.

The clear winter days when you can see Fuji from Yokohama

CinnamonGirl

I'm back at "home" now, and have been for a while... but I miss the ocean. Horribly.

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dlish

sounds just like the place i live in charl!



i miss the good ol sydney style kebabs. theres nothing like them. not even in turkey!

sydneys a great place to visit all year round, so i miss almost everything about it.the weather, the food, the confort zone that you can only feel at home. when i finally do decide to head home, ill probably end up going some place else for another stint.

theres a lebanese saying that only ktsp could fully understand - that goes like this 'bteezou doodeh' - which is said about someone who cant sit still. i wont give you the literal meaning though

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I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
- Filthy