Just visited my home country (EU) and I am now returning to my expat country (US) and a wave of depression hit me.
I never considered myself to be very attached to my family or my country but after three years and now finally coming back to visit, last night I was extremely depressed. I created an overall good life for myself in the US and I don’t think I would ever see myself coming back to the EU to live permanently, but now I am at the airport leaving and I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sadness.
I’m wondering what experiences other people had in regards to this. Does it get easier? And is leaving after visiting always this sad?
I am from the UK originally but left 35 years ago and have never lived back there since. I am from a poor provincial town. It depresses the hell out of me to go home, I find it ugly and dirty in many places, the people are downtrodden and cynical and the quality of life is decreasing by the year.
The sheer cost of living in the UK now is off the charts coupled with the cost of housing people are so badly squeezed. I can manage a week at most before I am totally depressed.
I am always so happy to be heading back to the airport to get the hell out.