Are you local? If not have you fitted in?

[Alison]

I'm from Nottinghamshire and 12 years ago moved to North Yorkshire, not a great distance you might say, but we are still outsiders here. I don't even think the last two of my four children, who have been born here, are considered local as us parents are not.

Have you moved from one county to another or one country to another and found yourself forever the outsider or have you managed to integrate with the locals?

Alison

 

[Pyro Tim]

I've lived all over the place and have managed to blend in. However, I believe I will be considered a stranger in the county of my birth, as I moved away when 2, and Devon is strange like that.

 

[gtRTSdh]

Berkshire to central Somerset in '95 and I was in my early teens. I'll never fit in properly here.

Most seem to have an invisible barrier holding them back, and a resigned attitude to it.

I mainly put it down to geographical issues, house price Vs income and retirement to the country. Low population density and inherent lack of trains in the area.

 

[Koupe]

Home counties to N Wales, nearly 10 years ago. I'll never, ever feel like a 'local', but it really doesn't bother me in the slightest. People here are nowhere near as hostile in general as I was told they'd be, in fact I find them a lot nicer to be around than the 'locals' I left behind. Course, they'd be nicer still if I bothered speaking their language, but hey...

 

[Russell]

Moved to the Isle of Wight (from Gloucestershire) and was forever referred to as 'the Overner'. Fitted in fine though.

Moved back to Gloucestershire and am now called 'the islander'.

Can't win.

 

[hamster]

Lived all over the place - but generally brought up in Hertfordshire.
Leicestershire: fine
Co Durham: brilliant, people judged you on character
Lanarkshire: always going on about me being English but 'at least not Catholic' :roll:
Singapore: Plenty of jokes about being a 'crazy ang mo', but some people I met there are friends for life.
Hampshire: nobody interested in where I came from.

In summary: I think it depends on whether those societies are inward- or outward-looking.

 

[gavinda]

I moved from slough to Santa Barbara in the early eighties and was known at school as 'the Limey'. Came back to England and was 'the yank'. Can't win, don't care. I think you get out what you put in but if people can't accept you then that's thier issue.

Those that matter, don't care. Those that care, don't matter. Or something

 

[argonsixar]

Been in Greater London all my life. Depending on where you hop off the tube you can feel like a stranger 10 times in a day

 

[B77]

I've lived in....

Czechoslovakia. Amazing place great people very welcoming.
Germany. Again very welcoming, very correct and polite.
Holland. Weird people, very liberal but very facist at the same time. (not right wing facist)
Spain. Drunk welcoming, they just don't care about time or punctuality.
Portugal. Don't like the spanish but love the english as long as they're not vomiting in the street.
India. Insane people very welcoming
Norway. Insane alcoholics reserved but after a few drinks......they really don't like anyone non scandinavian apart from the english, they don't get on well with the Lapps.....
Italy. Just one big happy family. Capiche ?

Now living in France, for the last 7 years, I get on ok because my wife is french and we have a shop so are seen to contributing to the town economy etc but when we lived in Normandy I was spat on at work and called a 'white arab'. Depends where you are in France,the north hates the english.

It may seem the some of the above observations include alcohol but tbh the best way to get on in a culture is to go out drinking with it.

It also seems that english men are adored throughout europe, all you have to do is act like a gentleman and open doors, pull out chairs etc and you're in.
This isn't sexist, I don't know what it's like to be an englishwoman abroad.

 

[greenstiles]

I got moved to wales from the east coastwhen i was 5 ...i recently moved back to england aged 43 a couple of years back.......

North wales wasn't so bad but when i moved to mid wales in about 91-2009 it was a different matter...........regardless that i grew up in wales had welsh friends, could speak some welsh....i was not welcome, nor we other english people...........one chap i knew was like me, spent most his life in wales grew up with others, but all through his life he was reminded he was an outsider............when i moved a few miles to a new village, i was imediatly asked'' why have you moved here'' and not in a friendly way...........us and them..........now i'm in england it's kinda a relief after all these years just to be accepted as english..........BUT i know small villages can be very clicky where ever you go !