Being asked where I am from is a hard question to answer. What does it mean anymore when everyone moves around so much?
I'm thinking about this today because it's around now that I hit my thirteenth anniversary of moving to Melbourne. Thirteen years is the longest time I'm ever lived anywhere, so I'm thinking that I now know the answer to the question about where I am from. Before that, it was twelve years in Brisbane.
When I moved to Melbourne, I immediately felt like I had come home. I remember the feelings I had when I stood on the kerb in Lonsdale Street trying to hail a cab to the airport one Friday afternoon to head back to Brisbane when a bloke helped me get a cab and get my stuff into the cab. It felt so civilised and something that I would never expect or experience in Brisbane.
Given that I'm still here, thirteen years later, and not looking like going anywhere, it was a good feeling to follow. The six months I spent in Darwin in 2007 made Melbourne seem even better, both while I was away and when I came back home.
One thing that's changed though - it was never this consistently hot at this time of year. One of the first things I bought after moving here was a serious, down quilt. Can't imagine ever needing it again!
So happy anniversary to me and to being able to say where I am from. Melbourne. It's home. I am home.
Congratulations, and welcome home! Having lived (and basically grown up) in the US I always knew it was just a place I lived. When I returned to SA after 10 years ... I knew I was home. Its in my blood, my soul. You just know when you're there. I'm glad you're there too.
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