So, the other day, while talking about being an Outsider (from a post I had just written - itibz.com ), Clarence pointed me to his website, and more specifically the definition of Home.

When asked 'Where are you from?' here's what he answers:

***This seemingly simple and innocuous question never fails to stop me in my tracks. I can never tell if people are asking about my current country of residence, the country I have lived in before that or the country stated in my passport. My response usually involves 3 to 4 countries, considering that I have been living outside my homecountry since my mid-teens. Let’s just say I have active home addresses in the Philippines, Singapore and the Netherlands.***

I love this definition, but I'd like to discuss it with you guys, as we seem to all be in places that are *not* what we grew up to call home, at first (aka being foreign students and expats!)

Well, even if I have travelled quite a lot now my answer is always the same: FRANCE!!!

I travelled, I didn't live in those countries so I have never had the occasion, so far, to identify myself to something else than the French culture. (WHich is still the best in my opinion haha).

So this is the answer of a patriotic French guy who loves his native culture!

I have a different experience, from being French, but having moved from one end of the country to the other at age 8, and then having left the country to study abroad (not an exchange, but the whole program)...

So I feel less bound by patriotism and home-based politics, and things like that...

My personal concept of 'Home' has changed and now represents a set of cities, related to the place I currently live in. For me home is Brighton, San Francisco, the French Riviera, and to some extent Paris too...

When asked, I usually say "I live in the UK, but I'm originally from Belgium". But when I'm in Belgium, it doesn't feel really like home. But the UK doesn't feel like home completely either. It's like I'm in a transitional phase haha
Funnily enough, the one place I have been to and that felt like real home - like I could see myself there forever and always feel comfortable - is Washington, DC and I have never actually lived there. Yet that is where home feels like it should be. Odd feeling!

@Margot: I feel exactly the same. More than just 'Home', it's *where I come from* that has simply NO tangible definition.
I'm from everywhere. I grew up with influences from not only the people I've studied with in school, but also the cities I've lived for over the last few years.

The closest thing to 'home' I've known, the strongest feeling, was in those 5 years in San Francisco, where I felt so comfortable, surrounded by the right people, and not feeling any pressure/oppression like I do in Paris (with the l *lovely* Parisians...)

Interesting stuff, for me Home is usually the city I currently live in. For example, when I lived in Seoul, I was referring to Korea as home when I travelled, even though I only spent a few months out there.
I think it's really based on personal feelings and whether you "feel" at home when you're... well "home".

Interestingly, I don't refer to Lebanon as home very often, especially because I have never stayed there more than 3 months, even though we have 2 apartments there...

I guess since I'll be staying in France for the next year, I'll be referring to it as "home" then :p But once I'll move, "home" won't be France anymore ^^

@Hagop: So in your terms, Home is relative to where you stay (with a few exceptions...) - I feel that way too, yeah : when I was in Brighton, talking to other people, I'd refer to home as both Brighton or the French Riviera, depending on the topic/subject

Another interesting one: fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net

I feel like I discuss this topic often! As an American with an English husband, who now lives in England, I think of home in two ways. America, and specifically Ohio, will always be home to me-no matter how long I am away. This has only become more clear to me after years of travel and finally a serious move with no end date (as so many of my other journeys have had specific return-to-the-USA dates!). But now that I have a home with my husband, a job, and a life in England, I can't deny that Brighton is also my home. And, to chime in like others have said, whenever I've lived in another country I've had a "home" there-as I feel most people relate to their place of residence when they're staying somewhere new or different.

People, Home is where you can plug in your phone and laptop/tablet.

I prefer to say that I am from Europe (instead of Austria). Country borders have switched so often over the last hundreds of years, that this answer to the question "Where is your home?" is far more suitable.

Thanks for your insight @Alex. I really enjoy you point of view about borders.

There so many ways one can define HOME, from light-definitions (cc @Sunil) to more philosophical concepts!

I'd love to keep this going, overtime!

cheesy at it might sound more often than not "home is where your heart is". I guess that explains pretty well my current homeless state of mind. But I'd love to have a place to identify as home. A place where I would always want to return regardless of where I might be. In the meantime I refer as home the place I was born. Just to avoid explanations like the one above and have people looking at me like I am a weirdo. :)

I like this, from Amy Taylor: "People don’t define “home” by the zip code they live in, they define it by the community they choose to become a part of. " (brainsonfire.com )

Home is a cognitive space, in my opinion, influenced by a huge range of personal factors. One may live in a place and not feel at "home".

Toronto is my home. But I live in the UK (at the moment).

I just spent the last two years between east coast and west coast, feeling constantly suspended between the two. The west coast never felt like home (I never referred to it as such), trips home to the east coast were always too short -- my heart shattered every time I had to return to California.

A friend sent this piece to me back in May, and I think Beller sums up perfectly how those last two years played out for me.

"When you enter a new space, even a hotel room, you fill it with your spirit. When you go back and forth, you have to do a lot of spiritual putting out."

This summer, I was fortunate enough to return to the east coast for good -- it's where I'm rooted, it's my home.

nytimes.com

@elena: as 'cheesy as it may sound, I do agree with this a lot, too! I mean there's not even any standardized answer... Home doesn't necessarily need to be a physical place, as I (personally) see it to be more important to have a state of mind where you're comfortable. A 'comfort zone' if you will...

@Neil I love this definition! I really think its essential to have a community, that's what makes you feel comfortable, like you belong there... I knew you were attracted to Toronto but didn't know you felt that strong about it. Do you mind developing?

@kelsey: despite traveling the world if you always have this place to come back to, you will always have the 'comfortable home' :)

@Thibault I could expand, if I was able to. Toronto just felt like home, where I was meant to be. There could be many reasons for this including various work/other factors, I accept that, but of all the places I have visited, none felt right. None made me cry on my last night because I didn't want to leave. None make the tears well up just talking about it..
But I can't explain it anymore than just "being"...
if that makes sense...

I know exactly what you mean: felt the same way leaving San Francisco (I wrote a couple of posts related to this, but I guess the main one will be the following, in case you're interested: lifeofthibault.tumblr.com )

With that said, one of the more interesting definitions of home — or evolution of the definition at any rate — happened with a dear friend of mine who moved to Raleigh from the same hometown that I grew up in.

When I am asked about home I say Raleigh, when asked where I am from I say my hometown.

My friend always said the hometown when asked "where's home" OR where he is from. It wasn't until the last six months that he started saying Raleigh. This coincided with when he began to make friends in the area and build his network.

Does that mean home is our friends, life and perhaps family?

@Nation: I agree on the whole 'Home is where the heart is' thing... (which to me includes family and very-close friends)

What if you are a traveling salesman? What about military? Curious to hear those perspectives.

What inspired you to begin this Branch?

@NationHahn, What inspired me to start this branch was a combination of several factors:

- for the last 3-4 years I've been travelling on average every 7-9 months between 'home' in France (aka the Family/Parents house) and the 'temporary' home that would host me: Brighton, then San Francisco, then Paris (and I'm actually about to go back to Brighton -for my final year at University)

- I've come to know a lot of different people, most of which I'm proud to call Friends, who have gone through the same kind of experience

- Some places I was in felt more comfortable than I ever imagined: for example despite having only stayed 5 months in SF, it FELT LIKE HOME, which was a combination of the city, its people, the friends I made there, etc...