interesting read as an american who has left, returned, and is leaving again (though the previous moves were on a smaller scale). solidarity with all y'all!
Thanks, Margo! It's the going and coming that wears ya down, I think. But for some of us that's easier than wrapping your head around the staying. You were in NO, right? Where ya going?
yes still in new orleans, but just accepted an offer for a grad program in europe! nervous and excited for sure, but really looking forward to the opportunity
When you leave home, there is a particular kind of hole in the middle of your chest that never closes, and it stays put until you return or die. Which ones are we?
Elizabeth! Don't say it aloud, it hurts too bad. I hate the damn either/or, isn't there something between returning and not? And now you have summed up this entire newsletter in a sentence. What do I do now?
Nice ! Ill be over in a month for about 3 months. Im bringing my 14 year old son whos going there for the first time since he was 1. We are gunna eat all the pies. I work my bag off in Florida for 9 months - for living it up in the bush in Coromandel for 3 months.
Dude! Coromandel heaven! Gonna blow your boy's mind, for sure. Waikawau is one of my fave beaches in the whole damn country. Have a blast man. Drink ALL THE COFFEE and enjoy never being asked about syrups n shit
wow this was such a fantastic, high-quality, beautiful piece of writing. i'm two months into living here in lisbon and i really resonated with this. exactly what i needed to read.
Thanks Karen! Glad you liked it. Ah, two months in...the crazy salad days... It'll be a ride for sure. I'm six years into NZ and still learning from the gringos who've been here 20. This stuff never really goes away!
another great piece. Officially coming out here as a moving back-er, it feels shameful on the FB group, like a failure. But half our family aged up to adulthood/independent decision-making over these past 6 blissful years in NZ so now we are half-there half-here in every sense. sick family here in the US, college students there, sometimes it feels amazing to still have a home there (bit of a shabby uni flat really) and here, sometimes it feels like we're never home. we'll be back!
Thanks, Samantha! Welcome home, if I can say it from the other home? I know that failure feeling. Sometime I think that's half the reason I stay out? I find myself looking forward to the kids gettin up and out just becuase it'll shrink the decision's footprint. You're there, and it sounds like everyone's where they need to be. Safe travels back and forth to all y'all, and c'mon back when the time is right!
I just moved back to America after 15 years of living abroad, mostly Europe. The timing could have been better but if I didn't do it now, it might never have happened. I'm horrified by the political situation but I'm also glad to be back and feel happy and safe here.
Dakota on Courtenay Place. The owner's a Texan, and I'm already feeling sheepish for being such a gloomy poet about the place. They've been here ten years already and another American has already taken me up on the bet! The footnote was only a note to say Wellington has no cowboys, but I don't know how many demerits to issue for that
I grew up in the UK, another individualistic (as long as you know your place) alleged meritocracy (it's all about class), and The Netherlands (more community minded), and now in the US, another alleged meritocracy (it's all about money). New Zealand, when I visited, seemed to have much of the best of UK, but without the stifling class system, so I landed differently for me.
I'd be interested to see return rates by country of origin.
Hi John! That's a great point. Where you came here from would certainly move the dial. The class system is here for sure but it's nothing by UK standards, and everybody still works really hard to act like we're all just regular folks, and maybe even believes it. NZ is SO down to earth (and performing down to earth) that I actually miss a bit of *cultural* snobbery every now and then? Not economic/class kind, though they're all related. Just a tiny dash of too-coolness, for flavor? Can I say that??? But it's where you came from, I guess. I'm a hinterland American (Phoenix) still chasing the cool kids aroung the block, and it's wild how little most of NZ cares at all.
I've ridden that mechanical bull, and I have great pride in my skills, though that's probably based more on place of birth than actual ability. The last time I rode it my big win was managing to neither throw out my back nor worsen my hernia.
Thanks to you and brother-in-law for the BBQ plate. I'm here for the food photos
Wellington has no cowboys
Wellington has no cowboys,
the poppies aren’t as tall.
Auckland has a beach or two,
but no Vegas or mega mall.
Christchurch has a cathedral, though
it’s pretty much a ruin.
Dunedin has little penguins;
I hope to see them soon.
A house here costs a fortune;
don’t ask about the rents.
But there’s a kiwi on the dollar coin,
and it costs just sixty cents.
THANK YOU SIR. I promise I won't ask about the rents.
And one I promise to BE that Wellington cowboy
Good on ya mate!
Bravo, sir
Aw thanks Rosie!
interesting read as an american who has left, returned, and is leaving again (though the previous moves were on a smaller scale). solidarity with all y'all!
Thanks, Margo! It's the going and coming that wears ya down, I think. But for some of us that's easier than wrapping your head around the staying. You were in NO, right? Where ya going?
yes still in new orleans, but just accepted an offer for a grad program in europe! nervous and excited for sure, but really looking forward to the opportunity
Hell yeah! Well done. Have a blast, and write us about it when you can!
Why are you leaving again and where are you going?
Great piece thanks Dan. Keep em coming.
Also: "razed to the ground..."
Not "raised". Sorry, it's the Asperger's me in me; typos hit me in the face.
Argh, fixed. Thanks for catching it! Feels like having spinach on my teeth
When you leave home, there is a particular kind of hole in the middle of your chest that never closes, and it stays put until you return or die. Which ones are we?
Elizabeth! Don't say it aloud, it hurts too bad. I hate the damn either/or, isn't there something between returning and not? And now you have summed up this entire newsletter in a sentence. What do I do now?
Someone wiser than I told me once that we always know. The problem comes when we don't like the answer. 💚
Nice ! Ill be over in a month for about 3 months. Im bringing my 14 year old son whos going there for the first time since he was 1. We are gunna eat all the pies. I work my bag off in Florida for 9 months - for living it up in the bush in Coromandel for 3 months.
The coffee alone makes it worth going back. :)
Dude! Coromandel heaven! Gonna blow your boy's mind, for sure. Waikawau is one of my fave beaches in the whole damn country. Have a blast man. Drink ALL THE COFFEE and enjoy never being asked about syrups n shit
wow this was such a fantastic, high-quality, beautiful piece of writing. i'm two months into living here in lisbon and i really resonated with this. exactly what i needed to read.
Thanks Karen! Glad you liked it. Ah, two months in...the crazy salad days... It'll be a ride for sure. I'm six years into NZ and still learning from the gringos who've been here 20. This stuff never really goes away!
another great piece. Officially coming out here as a moving back-er, it feels shameful on the FB group, like a failure. But half our family aged up to adulthood/independent decision-making over these past 6 blissful years in NZ so now we are half-there half-here in every sense. sick family here in the US, college students there, sometimes it feels amazing to still have a home there (bit of a shabby uni flat really) and here, sometimes it feels like we're never home. we'll be back!
Thanks, Samantha! Welcome home, if I can say it from the other home? I know that failure feeling. Sometime I think that's half the reason I stay out? I find myself looking forward to the kids gettin up and out just becuase it'll shrink the decision's footprint. You're there, and it sounds like everyone's where they need to be. Safe travels back and forth to all y'all, and c'mon back when the time is right!
I just moved back to America after 15 years of living abroad, mostly Europe. The timing could have been better but if I didn't do it now, it might never have happened. I'm horrified by the political situation but I'm also glad to be back and feel happy and safe here.
Hi David! Must be a trip to return now. I feel that same ticking clock and I don’t know what to do with it. Glad it’s working out for you!
Where’s the cowboy bar? I saw the 4 after it but couldn’t find footnotes
Dakota on Courtenay Place. The owner's a Texan, and I'm already feeling sheepish for being such a gloomy poet about the place. They've been here ten years already and another American has already taken me up on the bet! The footnote was only a note to say Wellington has no cowboys, but I don't know how many demerits to issue for that
♥️
I grew up in the UK, another individualistic (as long as you know your place) alleged meritocracy (it's all about class), and The Netherlands (more community minded), and now in the US, another alleged meritocracy (it's all about money). New Zealand, when I visited, seemed to have much of the best of UK, but without the stifling class system, so I landed differently for me.
I'd be interested to see return rates by country of origin.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post!
Hi John! That's a great point. Where you came here from would certainly move the dial. The class system is here for sure but it's nothing by UK standards, and everybody still works really hard to act like we're all just regular folks, and maybe even believes it. NZ is SO down to earth (and performing down to earth) that I actually miss a bit of *cultural* snobbery every now and then? Not economic/class kind, though they're all related. Just a tiny dash of too-coolness, for flavor? Can I say that??? But it's where you came from, I guess. I'm a hinterland American (Phoenix) still chasing the cool kids aroung the block, and it's wild how little most of NZ cares at all.
What are you talking about?! I'M A COWBOY!
I've ridden that mechanical bull, and I have great pride in my skills, though that's probably based more on place of birth than actual ability. The last time I rode it my big win was managing to neither throw out my back nor worsen my hernia.
Thanks to you and brother-in-law for the BBQ plate. I'm here for the food photos