In my more nostalgic moments, I sometimes feel that I could again inhabit any previous house I've ever lived in. This was more the case when their neighbourhoods remained largely unchanged (as they did for many a year), but sadly there have now been quite a few alterations, demolitions, additions, etc., in most of those former areas I knew as a youngster. I suspect that, if I ever won the Lottery and bought all my old houses, it wouldn't be long before those aforementioned changes would erode some of the joy I felt at once again being able to live in the places I stayed as a child, although, who knows? Maybe I'd be able to tolerate things.
So here's a question for all you loyal, reflective, deep-thinking Criv-ites. Imagine for a moment that your childhood home (or homes) yet stands and you could afford to buy it (or them). Would you? If so, why? And if not, same question (more or less) - why not? On with your thinking caps, frantic ones, and let loose in the comments section. Don't let me down.
If I bought the old family which is impossible I think it would depress me because that part has gone. All are dead and in my view it would be like opening up the family tomb. Restocking the lost toys comics etc that is part of your inner nostalga . But going back in time too much for me.
ReplyDeleteInteresting answer, LH - very much along the lines of what I touched on in 'A Wolfe In Past's Clothing...'
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't bother either the house only became a home due to the people / animals that inhabited it (mum, dad ,brother, pets etc) and sadly they are all now gone. The memories aren't of bricks and mortar but of family Christmases, summers in the garden etc. And at times revisiting those houses as they are now can be depressing 2 of my old homes once pristine are borderline slums as folk seem incapable of looking after their houses. I find it strange that others living in my old homes will have memories (hopefully good ones as well) similar to those that I had as a kid etc.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I would buy the second of my childhood homes like a shot if it was possible Kid! It wasn't the first place I lived in, but it's the first place I can remember because we moved in when I was 1 and moved out again when I was 8. The reason for my parents moving out of there was because it was a hovel by today's standards - no bathroom, a shared toilet, a theoretical 2nd bedroom was uninhabitable so I had a bed in their room - actually, it was probably that last point that did it! Anyway, I can remember pleading with them not to move out, absolutely begging them, but as far as they were concerned we had the chance of a 2-bedroom council flat with all mod-cons and Mum's told me since that they didn't think they would be offered anything else if they refused it. Anyway, from then on we lived in a succession of flats and never had peace of mind in any of them due to noisy neighbours. So, apart from all those comics and TV shows from those years in 'my' flat, I also associate that place with peace and being completely content. I still dream about the place regularly and would give anything to move back there. Unfortunately, the prices in that area have skyrocketed due to 'gentrification', so even if I flogged my current place, I still couldn't afford our our flat in that Victorian house! Perhaps one day I'll regain 'possession' a la 'Harry's Haunted House'...
ReplyDeleteI hear what you're saying, PM, but people do generally tend to inextricably associate happy times with the house they were living in at the time, though I sometimes wonder if it's a mistake to do that. For 20 years after moving away from one house, the street and surrounding environs stayed pretty much the same, so I always felt at home whenever I revisited the area. That's harder to do now because the church and school were demolished (with new ones taking their place), and new houses and flats being built on the site of the old school, obliterating the expansive view from the top of the street. Like you, I sometimes find it odd to think that other people will look back on my former houses and think of them as THEIR former houses, with happy memories of their time there. I touched on that very thing in a post once, but for the life of me I can't remember the title.
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I think the only way to do it, HS, is to be rich enough to buy your old home without giving up your current one. Then you could live in your old one for short spells just to recapture the memory when the mood took you, but you could still live in the present in your current house, as you'll have had happy times there as well. That's why I'd buy ALL my houses, because whichever one (or ones) that I didn't own would be the one(s) I'd probably miss most. When/if I remember the title of the post I alluded to in my response to PM, I'll add it to this post's comments.
The house I grew up in from the age of 2 was a council house and I wouldn't buy it because I'm totally opposed to the Tory "right to buy". Here in Wales the right to buy has been abolished by the Welsh Assembly I'm glad to say.
ReplyDeleteAs has the SNP in Scotland, CJ, but I think that creates a two-tier society as now, in some streets, the council house tenants will probably be looked down on by the home-owners. Had the government invested the money they got from house sales back into housing, there wouldn't be a shortage of accommodation to rent. I pay rent on my house, which means that the council have been receiving rent from my family since 1960 - that's a huge profit for them and I have nothing to show for it.
ReplyDeletePossibly but then no. That would mean I would now live in the master bedroom and I don’t think I could handle it.
ReplyDeleteWould you be obliged to live in the master bedroom though, PS? If I ever managed to buy any former residence, I'd sleep in my old bedroom. Otherwise there'd be no real point to returning to the property. If I had kids, I wouldn't mind them sleeping in the master bedroom.
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