Never been homesick...

Nobody should make you feel guilty for not being homesick! Everyone is different. I've experienced the opposite -- people have made me feel horribly guilty for missing the US!  So I kinda understand how you feel. Those of you who never feel homesick, I actually admire you... it makes life a whole lot easier! 

I moved many many times growing up, so I thought the move over here would be a piece of cake and my adjustment would be painless ... but it definitely wasn't, for a variety of reasons. Although I'm doing perfectly fine here now and I enjoy my life here, I am one of those people who IS close to my family in the US, and I personally think I had a better quality of life over there -- although at the same time I really appreciate the freedom of being far, far away from them when I'm here!    

My fiance and I are starting the process of moving back to the US sometime next year. I know I'll always feel torn between both countries, especially after the total amount of time I've spent in the UK and how used to it I've become.  I know I'm going to have some major reverse culture shock.

I don't get homesick either...I moved 1200 miles away from home at 17 to go to college, and it's never been a problem.  Then I moved even farther to England last February when I studied abroad, and it wasn't any different than being at my regular uni, because at my out of state school I was already used to not seeing my parents for months at a time.  I'm pretty close to my parents, but you could hardly call my family close-knit, and it's only my immediate family that lives in the US- all of my extended family is in another country far far away.  I've always been a pretty independent person as well, and so while I missed some general "American" things sometimes when I was in England, I'm thankful that I never had to deal with really missing home a lot (on the contrary, I would have given almost anything to stay by the time my semester was over!!)

Some people on this board have tried to make me feel almost guilty for not being homesick, but I cannot control it. Everyone is different. 

Snap!
A couple of people on this board told me that i was arrogant and that i thought that i was better than others simply because i have said (everytime this topic comes up) that i have never been homesick!   Also that i was 'bragging' because i have been here a long time.    

i missed my mother so much it caused me physical pain after i had my first daughter, but i can't say i've ever been homesick to the point where i'd trade a second here.

Thanks everyone for your support and comments, especially Sprigged and Otterpop. Glad to know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Regarding the comments about "so-called friends": when you move overseas, you definately discover who your "real" friends are, as opposed to acquaintenaces.  Only a handful of the 60 or so friends and family members on my "Christmas Card List" still keep in touch with us now that we've moved.  The plus side: I cut down the number of cards I mailed this year to half, saving time, money, not to mention the heartache of trying to maintain a one-sided relationship.

I do miss certain American stuff like conveniences, real cheesburgers, lower cost of living, first-run movies and television programs, a real Halloween, Independence Day, owning a car and driving (too expensive for us in London), and personal SPACE (our little townhouse in Virginia is a mansion compared to our flat!)

There are things I miss, naturally, but then there are many things I missed about Texas when I moved to Denver, and things I missed about Denver when I moved here - Whole Foods, for example.  Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap, Dean & Delucca, Jamba Juice, Nordstroms . . . okay, you get my drift.

There are things I miss, naturally, but then there are many things I missed about Texas when I moved to Denver, and things I missed about Denver when I moved here - Whole Foods, for example.  Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap, Dean & Delucca, Jamba Juice, Nordstroms . . . okay, you get my drift.

Trader Joe's, Wild Oats Market....mmmmmm.....

When I moved over here for my job I missed having a set group of friends who understood who I was...it was magnified by a group of not so nice people at my job who spread rumours about me & basically got me blackballed from most of the young faculty groups.  But I got over that and ended up finding a place in London with a variety of people to hang with...very few from work.  And I see that it's healthier that way...the rumour mill people never do anything but hang out with each other - such a small world to only hang with Americans when you live in a diverse community.  Other than that I've not been homesick - I don't miss any particular food as I've found so many good places to eat, I don't miss any particular place as I've moved quite a bit over the years...I do miss my friends who are tried and true...we don't talk regularly but when we do it's like we've never stopped talking.

And yes...I'd love there to be a Trader Joe's...but there are such cool markets here that I don't 'miss' it at all!