I didn’t like my home town so I came to London

There are plenty of reasons but one of them, not mentioned often, is because people just don’t like their home town.

People feel sometimes in their home lands like their don’t match to the standards of their town. They don’t feel accepted – the way they think, the way they look, they way they want to live their life. Tiia from Finland, 9 years in London says:

“There was no room to be different and if you were, you were just plain weird. In London, people are different and weird, and it’s wonderful!”

A home town may have its own life and young people may not feel like being a part of it. Or may not want to become like everyone else around. They may want to be individual, see the world, do things in a different way. They don’t want to be part of all the same routine they see in their family and friends’ life.

Then, there is growing frustration with people, neighbours and colleagues. They get tired of them being nosy, conservative, afraid of new ideas. There is no other option but to leave.

Aska from Poland, 6 years in London says:

“What I didn’t like most about my home town (small town south of Poland) was the narrow-mindedness of the people. They always wanted to know your business and always wanted to judge you. If you were not willing to follow the only ‘right’ path (finish school, get a job, get married and have kids before you are 27) you would become an object of constant head-shaking and pity. Londoners are much less bothered about how you chose to live your life and no-one brands you a lost cause if you’re still single in your 30s!”

Despite the cultural differences and totally different upbringing, the same topics were brought up when I asked some other expats from different countries around the world about what they didn’t like about their home towns and why they left them. All of them have met with and couldn’t accept – racism, homophobia, church dominance in public life, unfairness, prejudice, bigotry.

Mike from New Zealand, 4 years in London says:

“The place in some ways seems years behind the modern world and there is this feeling of isolation if you don’t follow the crowd, for example if you’re not a fan of rugby.”

In London they feel like people living here are more open for being original, they feel more freedom. Their creativity in how they look, how they behave, music they listen to is more valued and appreciated. No one cares about what religion they follow, if they are straight or not, if their partner has a different colour of skin, or if they choose career over family life.

Photo from Flickr by DrPleishner