Have you ever....
- Thread starter Debi
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ozentity
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I went back not long ago to Concord West in Sydney where I grew up.My gran lived in the same street as us.The houses used to be old federation style,now all modern, box like structures.Not being racist but I grew up in a mixed working class neighbourhood,now it is all wealthy Asian owned.I won't be going back.Apart from that I could still feel the echo's of my childhood through the lifeless concrete.
garnetsilver
Truth Seeker
Yes, and I was shocked at how different everything was! There was one house that my family had lived in, and it was torn down and a lot of fancy, expensive condos had replaced it. We moved house a lot when I was growing up, but some places remained unchanged enough that it was nice to pass through there again.
Context, I grew up in a suburb of a dying rust belt steel town .
Since I only live 15 miles south of the neighborhood I grew up in, yes, and it's always nice to drive around when I paint nearby houses, restaurants, or stores.
This memory is very fresh because I drove around this early November.
It's amazing looking at all of the houses. Jogging out forgotten memories of where your friends lived , and where you used to play, or got your first kiss, or that time you got in trouble but it really doesn't matter anymore.
All the houses were built between the late 60s and late 70s, and for the era the nicest neighborhood in town. Now that neighborhood has had some major demographic changes, but if anything it looks a little better. People that have moved away always ask me, and I surprise them . Better.
The trees all grew taller and more leafy. Original houses maintained, landscapes updated. And the neighbor kids were doing the same things that we used to do only with cooler toys.
Sometimes it's fun to get a big ol shot of good sentimentalism. But there's a lot of other stores, baseball fields, and neighborhoods that have gotten dangerous + ratty, so I begrudgingly accept that reality.
But my neighborhood is still a great place to grow up in.
Since I only live 15 miles south of the neighborhood I grew up in, yes, and it's always nice to drive around when I paint nearby houses, restaurants, or stores.
This memory is very fresh because I drove around this early November.
It's amazing looking at all of the houses. Jogging out forgotten memories of where your friends lived , and where you used to play, or got your first kiss, or that time you got in trouble but it really doesn't matter anymore.All the houses were built between the late 60s and late 70s, and for the era the nicest neighborhood in town. Now that neighborhood has had some major demographic changes, but if anything it looks a little better
. People that have moved away always ask me, and I surprise them . Better.The trees all grew taller and more leafy. Original houses maintained, landscapes updated. And the neighbor kids were doing the same things that we used to do only with cooler toys.
Sometimes it's fun to get a big ol shot of good sentimentalism. But there's a lot of other stores, baseball fields, and neighborhoods that have gotten dangerous + ratty, so I begrudgingly accept that reality.
But my neighborhood is still a great place to grow up in.
OP
OP
It's been quite awhile since I've been up to Da Region, but the last time I was there I took a run around "town" and by the old neighborhood. Some of it is now unrecognizable....where once stood fields and a woods I used to play in now stands a huge subdivision. I got lost in it and ended up across the town boundary somehow. My town annexed a large area as well, so what was once a small town is now a rather large town. And the new High School is HUGE. You annex you get more kids!
But there is a flavor and feel in that area. Paint lives there so he knows what I say is true...you most likely won't find the same feel anywhere else. It's a unique blend, and the memories were both wonderful and sad. In my mind's eye, it will always exist as it was when I was 10...or even 18. That's home.
But there is a flavor and feel in that area. Paint lives there so he knows what I say is true...you most likely won't find the same feel anywhere else. It's a unique blend, and the memories were both wonderful and sad. In my mind's eye, it will always exist as it was when I was 10...or even 18. That's home.
WitchAndShaman
Truth Seeker
Yep. Went back and took photos of each apartment/home sequentially.
Wind in Trees
Active Member
I now live 2000 kilometres away from where I grew up, but yes, I was able to go back inside the house I lived in primarily, and I drove past it not long before I left Victoria.
It was a dysfunctional household and I found peace in the times I were alone.
After we left, it continued to be a troublesome house, known to the police. I have often wondered how subsequent owners of the house fared and even if I left behind a ghost of myself there.
The land around the house has houses on it and less trees. It was called The Sticks in the 1980's by jest as there were lots of trees and abundant forests. Forest still there but the townships have become a concrete jungle.
We had a solid brick letterbox. By solid I mean big and square. The kind that no hoon would consider taking out with their car as was sometimes done to those less sturdy type letterboxes.
The house looked largely the same last I saw. And the brick letterbox lived on. Man that thing was ugly, and it was always a race to get the mail before the snails would eat the paper
It was a dysfunctional household and I found peace in the times I were alone.
After we left, it continued to be a troublesome house, known to the police. I have often wondered how subsequent owners of the house fared and even if I left behind a ghost of myself there.
The land around the house has houses on it and less trees. It was called The Sticks in the 1980's by jest as there were lots of trees and abundant forests. Forest still there but the townships have become a concrete jungle.
We had a solid brick letterbox. By solid I mean big and square. The kind that no hoon would consider taking out with their car as was sometimes done to those less sturdy type letterboxes.
The house looked largely the same last I saw. And the brick letterbox lived on. Man that thing was ugly, and it was always a race to get the mail before the snails would eat the paper
I grew up in the out-skirts of a small town called New Baltimore, MI. It is struggling with growth that it can’t oblige. So traffic and business are squeezed into the space. It is along the lake and a popular place to visit. The small town feel is ruined. My old street looks a bit shabby and let to age. There’s many more houses now and all the wooded areas are gone. My old house has been repainted a different color and the out buildings torn down. I really don’t enjoy going there. It’s sad to see the country life eliminated. I guess it’s a matter of perspective. Those who are cutting the trees see potential in homes. I just see the loss of green and nature. Too much reflection is not good for me , so I don’t do a lot of looking back.
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garnetsilver
Truth Seeker
Yes, it is depressing when lots of trees get cut down. People don't seem to realize how much they do for the earth, and just sheer beauty!