In “The Keys to Europe?” (FT Weekend, May 3), Lisa Freedman’s House & Home feature on the US citizens considering a move to Europe, she quotes a property relocation adviser commenting that “you have to be realistic about all you are leaving behind”. But that cuts both ways. The emotional and social upheaval of expat life, in either direction, can’t be underestimated.
In reverse transition, after living for almost 21 years in Europe, mostly in the UK, but including long stays in Greece, unexpected widowhood and imminent grannyhood compelled me in March to move back to the US, despite the dreadful outcome of November’s presidential election.
Wow. I’m a stranger in a strange land. My sense of identity and my loyalty to any one country (I have three passports) are totally distorted, quite aside from the dizzying culture shock of resuming daily American life.
How the hell did I miss the creation of a new US federal holiday? Why have I traded my wonderful NHS surgery for the complexities of Medicare and a for-profit healthcare industry?
Will I ever readjust to the MM/DD/YY format? Who needs 27 brands of ketchup? Is my flat on the ground floor or first floor? What is hot honey? Where did all the newspaper stands go? And when did my old friends grow so . . . old?
Despite living closer to family and a new grandchild, I remain conflicted. Where do I belong?
Maybe, like your columnist Janan Ganesh, I’ve become a citizen of nowhere.
At least the FT remains constant in my life.
Donna Anton
Boston, MA, US
