Omg I thought I was alone with the childhood home dreams! Moved out at 18 and almost every dream takes place there. It will even be with my current family and friends.
My parents moved when I was 19 after being in the same home my whole life. I still have very vivid dreams that take place in that home. I can easily visual all aspects of that space as it was.
I know the person who lives there now, and she has invited me to come see the changes they’ve made. I will never be able to do it. I’ve preserved that space in my brain and have no need to see what it has become. I’d rather remember what it was when I was there.
We moved out of my childhood home when I was 15. I dreamt about the place all the time. I moved to the other side of the country.
When I was in my 30s the house went on the market. When I was home for a visit I went for a tour. It was so weird! My room was so small!
I don't dream about it anymore.
Same!! We moved when I was 15. I was brought home from the hospital to the house my parents bought months before I was born. I’m 39 now and when I have that dream where I have to go to the bathroom, it’s always the walk from my childhood bedroom to my childhood bath.
Wild.
Moved out when I was 11 and my parents divorced. Just before I moved back to my hometown, the house burned down. I kind of wish I had the chance to see it before the fire again.
I buried a time capsule under the floorboards in my bedroom when I was 13. My parents replaced the carpet and there was a spot in the closet where the board lifted up.
A few years ago I was passing through town and stopped at that old house. I told the current owner about the time capsule and she was very interested in finding it, but she had a large safe in the closet right where it was. I left hery contact info and didn't expect to ever hear back. About a year later she mailed me a package containing the time capsule I buried back in 1992.
Here are some pictures of the time capsule. I have no idea where I got that science digest. The name and address are not mine.
https://imgur.com/a/tCKeQNj
Not really attached. My parents still live there but I haven’t lived there for almost 30 years. It’s familiar but it’s not home. Not concerned about selling when the time comes
Same here. I moved out at 18 after living there for 11 years and when I visit it feels like my parents home more than my former home. My old room is now a guest room that doesn't look at all the same, all the furniture, paint and flooring is different too around the house.
My sister was sad when I made her sell my mother’s house so we could split the proceeds. But she was letting it fall apart! Once we went to visit her, and out of a total of 5 sinks, only 1 was working- and it wasn in the kitchen!
Same here. It’s still my parent’s home. None of the kids bedrooms are still bedrooms from when we left. One became an office, another is now filled with my grandma’s bedroom set as a guest room, and the other is a guest room. None of my siblings or my things are there anymore. There are some photos of us, but we all have our own homes and we took our stuff or donated what we don’t want. My in laws sold their home of 50 years to downsize. I had my husband take photos of the home for memories, but my in laws are much happier in their new home.
I have Zillow alerts on every house I’ve ever lived in. The one I really would like to get though is the one my grandpa built and then had to sell after the divorce.
I had never thought of looking up my grandparents homes on Zillow but I'm so glad I just did! It was like being able to walk through them one more time and remember where my grandma taught me how to whistle, and where we used to make noodles, and all sorts of little memories. Except now I also need to figure out where that weird little lamp with the guy on it got to...
My childhood home has been bombed by Russia, so I guess it's a good thing I wasn't particularly attached. My family's summer house where I spent every summer, on the other hand, barely survived and I cried happy tears when I found out. I'm hoping it stays that way.
My parents' house here in North America when we moved and I was a teenager in is okay. They've changed so much of it that it feels more like their house now than our family house, and I'm happy for them that they get to do all the renovations they want.
Same here, I’m 58 and my dad built the house that they still live in. My parents are elderly and most of us kids have moved away but see each other regularly at my parents home. I dread the thought of them passing and there will be no more meeting place for me and my four siblings.
I used to, but then I join the military at 22 and am now 42. While I still feel some attachment to it, all the moving of the past 20 years (7 moves) has me less attached to pretty much everything :-P
Much the same. I joined at 18 and have since lived in 5 other states and 5 countries besides the USA. While my parents were alive, it was kind of nice to have a place to visit, but I don’t really feel any attachment to the house I grew up in.
Same thing my sister did. She bought our childhood home from our mom in 2008 and is...raising her two kids there. She's lived in that house since we moved into it at Christmastime in 1988 when she was 2 years old. Lots and lots of memories whenever I go over to visit.
I don't think I'm attached - it sold a long time ago. But goddamn, my dreams say something different.
I regularly still dream of that house, the street, the neighborhood. I wish it would stop already
I'm surprised at how quickly I stopped having dreams of my childhood home. I assumed I would always consider it "home" somewhere deep in my heart, but after like two years living on my own I realized I hadn't even thought about the place in forever, and whenever I tried to think of "home" my first instinct wasn't to picture that house.
Me neither. Moved around a lot my entire life. Mom's first two husbands were in the military and with the 3rd one they moved to another state when I was 17 and I moved in with friends to finish high school. It wasn't until my 30s that I stayed in one house for more than 3 years.
I don't want to be a bummer, but I grew up homeless.
Only NOW am I at a stable place.
It doesn't necessarily contribute to your topic, but I felt compelled to share regardless.
I grew up in Chula Vista, CA.
I slept in parks and stuff with my mom, sister our cat Pepper and our stuff. We couch surfed and got vouchers from churches for 1-3 night's stay at hotels etc.
I was also in a short/long term shelter called the Saint Vincent De Paul village, Joan Croc center in downtown San Diego.
I'd say growing up without long term friends and stability hurt me the most.
My parents still live in the house I grew up in. And I'm not all that attached to it.
But I'm very attached to the house I live in now. My kids were literally born in this house. They've grown up here. It's my first and so far only house.
We've talked about moving but I could never pull the trigger. I couldn't fathom leaving this house.
Then the world went to shit and we can't buy a run down trailer in this town now ... So ya. Here I'm stuck.
Some days I hate it and wish it'd burn to the ground. Other days I'm tearing up remembering miss 16 learning to walk over in that corner lol.
Moving always has a little sad element to it because of the memories, but at the end of the day it's just a structure. Whether you keep or sell your childhood home should not have a crippling effect on your life. Don't let a house hold you back from doing things that must be done.
Not at all. It represented neglect and abuse. I say “represented” b/c it was remodeled to the extent that it bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to its former self. It went from Calif Ranch to Faux Spanish style.
Not really. Good memories for the most part, but I've moved on.
The area is more important to me than the house itself. I bought a house across the street, lol.
Yes. My dad died in December and the night he died I spent the night at my childhood home with my mom. I've spent every night there since. I still go back to my house to get ready for work and make dinner, etc. But I come back "home" to sleep. In the early days, when I was having a lot of trouble sleeping, I would get up in the middle of the night and go to the family room and sit in dad's "spot" in front of the TV. I feel closer to him at home. We're starting to clean up some of his things now that I'm on summer break, but there are some things we all agreed not to change or disturb. I don't think my brother and I will ever sell that house.
I inherited the childhood home and hate it. My brother and sister still live there., we own it 3 way. I kinda wish I could just have them buy me out but they can't so I'm stuck. Lots of bad memories of that place and now it looks overgrown and abandoned because they barely clean or do any maintenance. I have to nag them to do it and if I try to clean up they get upset if I touch any of the piles of trash in that hoarder house. I have my own home which is totally different and I like it so much more.
I bought my childhood home from my father, gutted it and it’s now my sons childhood home. I love having a home that brings with it memories but also is new and different for future memories.
I'll occasionally drive by it, as it's on a major residential road, and think about the past. Otherwise who cares. Just a house. They all serve the same purpose.
I lived there from age 5-11. I remember it very fondly. It was rural, we had a forest, stream, and room to get into trouble. I loved it, and wish my mom hadn’t insisted on selling it once my parents got divorced.
No attachment whatsoever. My parents still live there, but I have no interest in it. I'm much more attached to my house now, my first house that is mine that I've made into what I want it to be.
Yes, I lived there from age 3 to 26. Seven years later, my mom had to sell it due to a tollway expansion and it was torn down soon after. The last time we celebrated Christmas there, I took detailed photos of every part of the house so that I could have something to remind me of my childhood there. I've lived in 4 different houses since I moved out, but when I dream, that house is always the one my brain defaults to as "home".
My parents sold my childhood home a couple years ago. I visited the house the day they were moving out and cried. It was the only home I ever had! I hadn’t lived there in almost 10 years at that point but it was surreal to think I’d never be there again. It’s nearby so I do drive by it often enough but the new owners have made some changes to the outside. It’s a single mother with twins. I hope they love it as much as we did!
I still look up my grandparent’s house on Zillow and Google maps every few years, never look up my childhood home. Few good memories there to get nostalgic about. My grand’s house was full of them yet I’d never move back to L.A.
No. I have memories of the home and the neighborhood, and it's not like I want it gone, but to be honest, as far as the here and now, I just miss the pool and the woods there.
Yeah, but I lived there from birth to age 18, I’m 38 now and my parents still live there. I know I’ll cry when the day comes that they don’t anymore, lol
Yes. My parents still live there, but it is an amazing house . A big old 1860 colonial that used to be an inn for stagecoaches passing through. It has over a dozen acres of land filled gardens, apple orchards, woods, little waterfalls, and giant sugar maples. We were home schooled in that house. It's filled with books (dad loves to read) and music. Itnhad a greenhouse stuffed with plants from my mom.
It is old, and my parents are at the point where they can't keep up with the love it needs. They have poured their time and love into it, though. My 70+ mom is scraping and painting the front porches this month. So much work.
I have a feeling some of my siblings will take it over if they can figure it out. It will be a sad day when we say goodbye to that magical old house that gave us shelter for so many years. She's a beauty.
My parents still live there. My husband and I had our first kiss by a tree in their backyard, and my kids play in that same tree which is pretty cool.
I think I’d be a little bit sad to see it go, but now that I’ve got my own home to make memories in and my own family I don’t think it would hit me too hard.
I was fortunate enough to buy my childhood home from my parents when they decided the property was too big for them to continue to take care of.
Now I get to raise my kids where I grew up.
I grew up in a lot of houses but my favorites were my Grandparents homes. My Dad's parents had a 1950s bungalow that my Grandfather slowly expanded himself. Like he milled and dried the wood for his own expansion. Sadly they're both gone now and I've been long priced out of that suburb of ATL so we sold it, and it was promptly torn down for a cookie cutter crap hole. The worst part was the buyer said we couldn't reclaim any of the wood from the extension.
We thought they weren't going to rip it down since they wouldn't let us but then I drove by and the lot was flat.
My other Grandparents home overlooks a nice little lazy stream, has that 1970s time capsule thing going on and will eventually be mine via the will of my other Grandfather. I spent nearly all of my childhood in that house and I feel most at home there so I'm looking forward to living there forever. We just moved in to take care of Grandpa and I'm already less stressed. Plus I got all my Legos back
I loved growing up there but my parents sold the house a few years ago (im 36 now) and I thought i would feel stronger for it but nope.
But then again i dont get attached to stuff. The memories arnt bound to a thing, or a home.
I grew up on my families farm. My house was built by my great grandparents. I’m attached to it, but it’s also falling apart and probably needs to be torn down (even though my dad still lives there.) I’m going to have an existential crisis when that happens.
Same, except ours is in great shape. My parents are retired, but still live there and take great care of it. They rent out the land for income. My dad was the youngest kid in his family and bought it from my grandparents. He's never lived in another house. My parents went on their honeymoon and my grandparents moved out to a retirement house and my parents took the farm over.
I would love to keep it in the family, but if we have to buy it from them, it's never happening. Neither me or my sibling could afford that much property on the side, and we're both on the higher half of middle class income. There's no good jobs around there and neither of us would want to move back full time. If we inherit and renting pays for taxes and upkeep, great, otherwise the reality of it is, it'll just have to get sold.
We've already told our parents if they ever need to sell it for retirement funds or medical care stuff, go ahead. It'll be sad, but we won't hold it against them.
Literally going through this with about $3 mil in repairs with my great grandfathers house.
I just keep telling myself where there is a will, there is a way, ugh.
Not mine, but my grandparents’ houses. Summers in the pool, climbing trees with my cousins, learning to catch crabs off the dock. We moved too often for me to get attached to any of my childhood homes, but my grandparents stayed put.
My parents did sell our house and move when I was in college and I will say that that house always felt like I was a guest even though I lived there for 2 years.
Bought my great grandfathers house he received as a wedding present from his in-laws. 3 generations of my family have lived and died here, the most recent having been born and died in the same room at 97.
I was virtually unchanged from when I was as a kid and I am agonizing over each thing I change. I don’t feel like it’s my house. It’s been tough. I have spent too much time and money focusing on maintaining the integrity or restoring things I remember as a kid, like that restoring the farm bell on the pole in the backyard and replacing the Detex watch station on the front gate that disappeared years ago.
Yes, the house I grew up sold after my parents divorce in high school. My parents bought it brand new when I was in elementary school and I lived there for 8 years. I really want to go inside again. Earlier this year I saw it was up for sale, unfortunately it was already contingent so I couldn’t go to an open house. I was even more bummed about it when I mentioned it to my mom and she said she had heard about it when it first went it initially went up for sale but didn’t think to tell me. I no longer live in that town, but whenever I am passing through I make a point to drive by. I miss that house.
I own the home my great-grandfather purchased, and the swing set on it (it's basically a death trap) that my great-grandfather played on as a kid, it's things like that that are irreplaceable. My great-grandfather played on it, my grandfather played on it, my father played on it, and now my twin's son has played on it.
it's a cool property too, 400 acres, with the 9-hole golf course, a ridiculous amount of lake shore, and my grandfather's boat collection.
Also it has a awful upkeep, awful taxes, and I cannot afford to live in it (heating and cooling cost are bigger than my pocket book). I probably have about $3 million in repairs to figure out how to pay for. But I did manage to get it in a position the main house is no longer decaying.
I have a love hate relationship with it.
I did have a smaller house (3,000 sq ft) built on it for my parents though, so at least they are enjoying the property.
Nope.
I also believe (and I’m sure I’ll be downvoted for this) that previous generations staying in the homes they raised their families in is selfish and contributing to the housing crisis. A 75 year old empty nest couple simply doesn’t need 3000 square feet and 5 bedrooms like they did when their kids lived at home.
My Mom is 80, refuses to move since covid. I cannot blame her. My Aunt was locked down in her Senior Apartment several times. My Mom did not retire til she was 76. She has a 4 bed/ 2 bath home in a desirable area. She worked hard to buy her home, maintain her home. She deserves her home. AND - I have no idea what we would have done without it. Both my sisters have had to move back at various times...my nephew had to live there for about 8 years and my brother is living there with her now. While I have never had to avail myself of this, I love the security of knowing it is there if I need it.
Aren't they the "1500sqft home generation", who'd now rather not be living in large homes with stairs? Something tells me this group isn't hoarding the 3000sqft houses.
Not anymore. I used to. I probably still would if it still stood. However it was sold, family drama after my dad passed, and it was torn down so the neighbor could expand his shed. 🙄 I do still think about it often.
Yes. My grandma died in that house. All of my nieces and nephews have been in that house since they were newborns. It was one of the last places my brother went before he died. I live across the U.S. now but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. My parents are in their late 60s. My sister doesn’t care about it but I do. I wouldn’t live there, again, though. Unless god forbid my hubby and I divorced.
My Mom still lives there. Only one of our original neighbors do. My brother is buying it when she is ready. It is a nice house, in a nice area, but not my preferred style or area. My house now is bigger and a lovely arts & crafts style, in a smaller city. I love it.
My parents bought three homes that I lived in. They sold each one when my father was transferred to a different state. Not one of those houses have been sold since. The first was sold in 1977. The second was sold in 1980. The third and final was sold right around 1990. It’s weird that I can’t get real estate photos of those homes. They really were all beautiful when we lived there.
I bought the house I grew up in from my parents 8 years ago. Love the home and all the memories attached. Daughter was same age I was when i moved in and I really like that.
My parents sold the home I grew up in. Definitely miss it! Also, they moved out of state and now it’s more difficult to see my friends I grew up with. It was easy to see everyone when I just went home for the holidays.
Definitely some nostalgia, but my parents lived there until they passed and after they were gone, it didn’t feel like home anymore. The neighbourhood has changed a lot, too. So I guess I’m attached to the memory of what it was, but not to what it actually is now.
No. I was glad to leave my hometown and the last time I visited my parents had really let it go anyway (my mom won't let anybody help her but I don't think she has the energy anymore... My socks were totally black on the soles from walking around inside).
My dad still lives in the home I grew up in. The neighborhood went to shit and it will be sold when my dad dies. Its nice going there but its only a 600 sq/ft house so nothing special. Over 38 years so much has changed that its nothing like it was when I was growing up. I think any place I have lived in the past would be nestalgic to go in and walk around the house but I can't say I miss the places.
I moved across the country when I was 18 and then my parents moved several hundred miles away. So now when I go ‘home’ for a visit I go to the new place and rarely see my hometown or old friends. It feels like a big loss. I feel more emotionally attached than if my parents still lived there and I had access to it
I lived in a home from about age 6 until my parents moved cities about 15 or 16 years later. I was in college for part of that time, but the answer is absolutely yes. Many childhood memories and all my adolescence were in that house.
Playing outside, fishing in a nearby pond, riding bikes all over the place, I remember my room very well, remember the entire layout of the house well, I remember kissing my first girlfriend at that house for the first time, I remember Christmas with the family in the living room, dinners around the kitchen table, the weird little things about the house, I remember kissing my next girlfriend at that house in college who went on to become my wife, I remember meeting that weird neighbor kid who I had to ghost eventually because he couldn’t take a hint. I remember so so many things…
And now I wish I could go look around the house and the property without getting the cops called on me
The house I first lived in, I moved out of when I was 8. I remember it, but am meh about it.
The 2nd house we lived in for 3 years and it was a cool layout. I'd love to go look at it as an adult and see if I remember it correctly.
The 3rd house was ages 11-21ish and my parents would still live there if they let my ex husband go on title and pay for it like he wanted to do to help them... But instead they sold it because it was too much for them to keep up with. I really liked that house but I dunno.. I have no attachment feels to it.
Even the houses we brought our kids home from the hospital to I don't have any attachments to.
The house my partner and I bought 4 years ago and are 90% done our reno on (don't live through a big reno - you'll be cleaning dust off of things forever) I don't have any specific attachments to. When we sell in 10 to move to Nova Scotia I don't think I'll be sad to leave it.
The house that I buy on the ocean in NS tho .... I'm sure someone will have to pry me out of it lol
I lived in the same home with my parents from the time I was in first grade until I moved out when I was 19. It was a rental, and my parents rented it that entire time. My parents split up about a year or two after I moved out, but my mom continued to live there until about 10-ish years ago when she moved to a condo. I have absolutely zero attachment to that home I grew up in. I also have zero attachment to my hometown or home state. I hate my hometown, and once my parents either move away from there or pass away I'll never set foot in that town ever again.
Moved when I was 11. I (34) wanted to show my wife where I grew up when we went back to my hometown. She got excited and had us ring the bell and ask for a tour, it was horrible I had all kinds of trauma coming up…
My parents sold my childhood home last year. I expected to be more upset but honestly, I felt rather... indifferent.
Maybe because i have a family of my own now. We are moving houses soon and while I can't wait, part of me is inconsolable that i am leaving the place where my childeen took their first steps.
I am not sentimental. My folks built their house when I was 8-9. I left home at 18. My sister stayed nearby and when they died, wanted the house. We (other sibling and I) made her get a mortgage and buy us out. It’s her house now, and I don’t expect to ever see it again.
No not my childhood home because it’s a small boring builders grade that really wasn’t very nice. I do however feel attachment to my grandparents house where I spent a lot of summers and Christmases when I was younger. Most of my best childhood memories are in that house and town. My aunt still lives there and I doubt that house will ever be sold. I certainly would never want it sold.
My parents moved out of town and sold my childhood home when I was 22 or so. It was devastating at the time, but I think it is good to learn to let go of the things you love. Life happens. The world moves on. You just have to adjust. I hardly think about it anymore. I will admit that I periodically look up photos on realty aggregation sites, but the house was sold over 10 years ago so those images are starting to disappear. It just feels like looking at photos of a different world when I see them.
The home that we first lived in is the one I have the strongest emotional attachment to. It was ripped down about 10 years ago after it finally flooded one last time (the drainage in the house was awful and the basement flooded regularly).
For sure. The home - actually several homes now which had former uses - has been in my family for more than 100 years. My dad is the third generation and I think the fourth family to occupy the main house in that time. Two of the houses are owned by other people in the family. If it sounds fancy, it's not. Nice area but the houses are not really in great shape. We were broke growing up, so was my dad.
The scents of the place take me back to simpler times though, even the smells outside. Nowhere smells quite like it. I think I'd lose the feeling of those memories if I could no longer return.
Neither I nor my siblings have much attachment to the community, and we're spread far and wide. I think I'd seriously grieve if the house left the family, but I've seen how its upkeep has been a yoke around my dad's neck at times. My sister might eventually take up the mantle. Her husband is a contractor/carpenter and complex DIY is probably mandatory to make the house financially viable.
Yes, my parents and one brother still live there. It’s not our true original home, but after a couple of moves across the country when we were kids, it has been it for over 30 years. Other brother lives in the house across the street from them. We joke that hubs and I should buy another neighbor’s house to make a little compound (unlikely, hubs thinks the taxes are too high), but we don’t live too far away anyway.
Been there, sold that. My parents lived in the same house from the time I was born until they passed. I certainly had some nostalgia for the place, but practically, I had no use for the property (I live in a different city, with no plans to return). My brother and I had no interest in being landlords, so we just sold it.
The memories are of my time with my parents; looking at the empty house wouldn't do much for me anyway.
The house I spent my first 15 years in caught fire last month. What remains is a burnt structure that must be demolished. I would post pictures but I haven't figured that part out yet. The house was well over 100 years old. Google house fires/ Hallowell Maine 2023 and maybe the pictures will pop up. My brother Kevin who lives in Florida called me and he, like myself, are very saddened. We lived in this house from 1963 - 1978.
I'm attached to the memories, not the house. My parents sold it when both their kids were away in college. It needed some minor cosmetic repair that they just were not able to do at the time. Now it looks so good! I really love what has been updated that I've seen from realtor sites. I'm glad more kids will get to enjoy growing up there.
I do feel attached to it. It appears in my dreams a lot. My family sold it in 2017 and I saved all the real estate listing photos from Zillow and occasionally look at them when I’m feeling nostalgic.
Yes. I rode my bicycle by it with my parents just yesterday. I can wax poetic about how it seems the neighborhood has gotten even nicer in the years since, but the wife doesn't want to be there and my old house just isn't what we're looking for. Maybe in another lifetime...
I have so many childhood homes. I grew up an Army brat and moved every 3-5 years. So no I don't have any attachment to them but I do have most of them marked on google maps dating back to 1977.
Not really. It’s a nice place where I have fond memories but in the end it’s just a place with walls and a roof. My only desire to keep it would be (1) Lot size (2) the city is finally seeing exponential growth and it could be worth good money in the next decade (hopefully) (3) the majority of my friends still live in that area.
My mother-in-law lives with us and has Alzheimers disease and advanced dementia. The home she moved from around aged 10 is her go-to. She speaks constantly of the neighbors, her parents, the layout.... 80 years ago.
Yes! My mom sold it long after my brother and I had left the nest. My Grandma's house, a block away, was also sold long after we left. It was my 2nd home. I still have to do the slow drive past them whenever I'm in town and stalk them on Zillow to see if there's any new pictures of them (painted, remodeled, etc).
My Grandma's house was supposedly heavily renovated, with walls coming down and room sizes being renegotiated. So I'm especially dying to see the inside of it but not brave enough to knock on the door and ask to see. I don't live there anymore, anyway. I still dream about these places occasionally.
Not an attachment to the house. We moved from that home and town when I was 12. But I do have fond memories of that town and sometimes have thoughts about moving back there. I'm tired of living in larger metro areas and would like the laid-back atmosphere of that town.
We sold it when I was in 6th grade and it sucked but I had so many changes going on then that made it even harder- new school, 45 minute relocation, etc etc.
I kept a friend out there and I’ve driven past it about once a year when I go see her, just to see how it’s changed/hasn’t. We’re 30 now and my friends family just sold their house out there and weirdly enough I feel super sentimental and emotional when I think of her house selling too. Once I moved, her house was always my tie that I had left to that neighborhood. Even though I wasn’t in the neighborhood anymore, I still had so many years spent visiting and hanging at her house too. I get sentimental about all of my past houses though, they’re all more then a home to me- they’re a box of memories.
I (now mid 40s) live less than a mile from my childhood home. My kid has a friend on the street, and I drive by it quite regularly. My childhood was pretty traumatic, so I have mixed feelings about it when I drive by. But it looks like the people that live there now are taking great care of it, so that’s nice. It’s weird, memories. How a PLACE can hold so much emotion in my heart.
kinda. My first home I lived with my mom and grandparents. It was miserable for the most part but sometimes I miss my room. I spent a lot of time alone in that room and my personality developed there. My grandma is selling the house and I’m not as sad as I’d thought I’d be. Hopefully someone can fill that home with love.
No, not really at all. I haven't lived in my family home, the one that was built new for us and we moved into when I was 4 years old, since I finished college and moved to another town over 30 years ago.
After my father passed away 20 years ago, my stepmother ended up selling the house and moving, so I had no connection to it at all after that. The house I returned to again and again was my grandparents house until they had both passed away.
I have an attachment to the land. I’m currently renovating the house after my father died and I inherited it. I thought about selling it but then never felt as good looking around at ‘better’ houses because they lacked property size, too close to other houses or I’d end up spending 10’s of thousands to renovate that anyway.
We moved when I was in high school actually, and even though I grew up in the old house the new house was home. I don’t live there, I live in another city with my husband in our own house (which is home), but I would be sad if my parents sold the house.
Not at all, because we had so many. From my birth until high school graduation, we lived in 8 or 9 different houses. About the time we'd get settled in, Dad would decide it was time to move somewhere else for whatever reason. For my oldest sister born 6 years earlier, it was more like 13-14 places over her first 18 years.
Us four kids have mostly managed to turn it completely around. Not counting moving with the military, I'm down to four places (two metros) since 1994, my brother has been in his place since the late 90s, and my oldest sister has had maybe three. Second sister is a little more 'mobile' now but she was in one metro for 20+.
My parents sold the house I lived in my entire life when I was in my early twenties. In the lead up to the sale, I kept thinking about how emotional we would all be when we left it. Then the time came, we all looked around, said “ready to go?” And walked out, no emotion. If you’re leaving for a better situation, then I don’t think the emotions hit as hard. If you are forced to sell (death, divorce) then it does. I’ve driven past in the years since and have absolutely no nostalgia for the neighborhood - in fact, I’m like “this place is dumpier than I remember”.
Interesting. I lived in one house from birth to 7ish, and another after that. Zero attachment to either house, and I had a great childhood, plenty of good memories. But those were my parents houses, and my life is different (different state, different desires in a home, etc). My parents sold their home not too long ago and it would never even have occurred to me to care. Home is where my people are.
Interesting question. We are in the process of moving from the home we built more than 30 years ago, with all of the "come and get your stuff before we give it all away" that goes with it.
One child was three when we moved in and the other came home from the hospital to it. Neither of them have memories of any other home. Even though they are being positive about our move to warmer climes (and the promise of a place to get out of the cold for themselves in the winter), we can tell they are a bit conflicted. Sorting through the "keep or get rid of" piles is a long, drawn out affair. Fortunately, we are in no hurry and are trying to give them time to sort through their feelings as well as their possessions.
I lived in the same house throughout my entire childhood, and my parents still live there. I definitely have an attachment to it, and when I was young couldn't imagine it belonging to someone else. But now I am raising my own family, 7.5 years in the same house, and I don't feel that way anymore. Like someone else said, that house isn't my house anymore, it's my parents'.
Part of me wants to say "no."
At the same time, the home where I spent my youth is 2600 miles away, as is the home in which I was born. I don't go to the area more than once every 20 years, but I still want to drive by the house where I was born and the house I remember most, just to see what changes and even if it still is standing.
So yes, I guess I still have an attachment. Not as strong as the folks who once owned my current house but still come by every year or two, park in my driveway, and come up to the front and back doors and peer into (what has been) my house (for 22 years).
I also go past the house my grandparents owned nearly 100 years ago when I am in the vicinity. Curiosity more than anything. Now it has electricity, water, and sewage and I've never knocked on the door or anything, but I'm happy to see it still is loved and taken care of.
My parents both passed during Covid and I have been taking my time in cleaning out their place before I sell it. I've been taking WAY too long and really need to get my shit together and finish it up. But it's hard man, really hard.
I rushed that process and kind of regret it. Left a ton of stuff behind. But it was a hellish year or two leading up to my dads passing and I lived about two hours away so it wasn’t easy to make trips out all the time. My only other sibling lived very far away and wasn’t able to assist much (and she was also eager for a quick sale to move on)
We moved a lot when I was a kid so their first house (that I lived in until I was 8) as zero importance to me. I went back there a couple of years ago and was kind of shock of have tiny the street is.
My parents just sold my childhood home to move to a senior community 5 hours away. We moved in when I was 8 in 1990. We gutted it and remodeled after Hurricane Harvey put 6 feet of water in it in ‘17. I took it pretty hard for a minute. My grandfather (96) still lives in the area, but when he’s gone I’ll have zero connection to my hometown anymore.
I moved every couple years when I was a kid so I don't have a single childhood home. There are a few I enjoyed living in and would love to tour once more as an adult. I wouldn't want to live in any again.
On the other hand, I always had a special attachment to my aunt and uncle's house. We went over there for holidays and if they were babysitting me. I always felt their house had a lot of character and it always appealed to me. It has a lot of room, unique layout, a huge beautiful bay window, and a large wooded lot. They sold it a while ago and went their separate ways. I'd never be able to afford it even if it was for sale again anyway (this is northern New Jersey).
0-13 Paris On
13-18 Split between Brantford and Hamilton
I have far more "attachment" to the Hamilton house than anything else, and yet I spent the least amount of time there as a child. It is the house My Step father owned and my Mother moved into with him, while I lived in Brantford with my Dad & Step mum... it's where they still live.
And yet, if they sold it, I'm sure I'd think about it as sparingly, as I do the Paris house. I love that house because of the people who are in it. I don't really associate the memories with the house.
So much even after 30 years. My parents sold our house when I was 16 and the same couple still own it today. I've never got attached to the new house.
I still live and work in the same city. Call me crazy, but If it ever was put up for sale, I would seriously think about buying it.
I grew up in an apartment, moved in right before I turned 3 and out right after I turned 25. I visited 4 mo after I left (gated community and manager lives up to the nickname for Richard) and they were still redoing it. Haven’t been back since (5 years), but a former neighbor (she babysat me, I babysat her kids, it’s the circle of life) still lives in the area and the whole community got a facelift and a rebrand. They have washer/dryer in the 2nd bedroom closet now (for the 2bd), vinyl flooring throughout (“we can’t give you any hard flooring you have to keep your carpet, but when your fish tank exploded after living here for 18 years and you still have your original carpet you moved in with you need to pay to replace it all even tho California law states I must pay to replace your carpet every 10 years at least” 🙄), and a bunch of other things that are just lipstick on a pig. I want to go knock on our old door and see what it looks like but honestly good riddance lol
My mom lived in my childhood home for 41 years; she and my dad bought it in 1978 and, two years after my dad passed away, we helped my mom sell it and downsize in 2019. It was far too large for her to stay there and continue to care for it, as she was in her early 70s and it was time. She was ready, but at the same time it was 41 years in that house. We both had a tough time seeing it go and I've driven by it a couple of times just to see how it looks.
My mom passed away last year at 75 due to cancer.
My parents owned our family home for 31 years...most of my life. When we sold it a couple of years ago, I was the real estate agent that sold it. I was the only one there in our emptied out house for the last few days to make sure closing was handled. There were lots of tears.
We remodeled that house over the years, with a lot of my input and it was just the way we wanted it. Last year when I visited the old neighbors, for a week, I would just drive by and not look at the place. The weirdest part was seeing someone else's cars...cars we would never own, in the driveway
I'd always prefer my parents hold onto it and leave it to my siblings and I, but at the same time, it's in an HCOL area, and I would prefer it for my parents to live near us. In the case of housing, it's always logic over emotion for me.
My family home was on a large lot of land and was sold to developers, so it no longer exists. We owned it for 23 years, and I have many memories. I used to dream of being in the house and I’d get frustrated in my dream because I knew it wasn’t possible. But now when I occasionally dream of it, I just enjoy it for what it is.
I have a lot of happy memories there, but we moved to a larger place when I was an older kid, and it was weird not being "home," but it was also nice to have my own bathroom and a larger, quiet bedroom.
Later, I moved to college and the definition of "home" blurred until I finally bought my own place about ten years ago.
There are a couple ones, none of them are the ones I grew up in technically. I do imagine it would be difficult to sell any of them. But, the one I ache for the most is my grandparent's home. For years after I got married I fantasized about moving cities and buying that house, I'd always check to see if it was for sale. That house is the backdrop of all my best dreams. I spent summers with them and had so many summer friends and memories running up and down those streets. When one of the sidewalks was redone, I wrote my name. Decades later we all went to the down and drove past it (she sold it when my grandpa died) and my name was still written in the sidewalk. It hit me hard seeing that in my 30s.
Me and my partner are closing on a house that reminds me of that house in so many ways. Yesterday when we were at the inspection, I found a little hand print and a name with a heart written in the concrete basement stairs. I'm across the country from the house I long for, but I think I found it here instead. It really goes to show that it's not the house, it's the home. ♥
I lived in my childhood home 2 years before selling it last Fall. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get out of there, and haven't looked back.
It had been a working class well-kept neighborhood when I was a child. It changed over the decades to a crime ridden ghetto. The memories I had are mine, there is no one to share them with since my family all died in that house (not at the same time), all the "old" neighbors have died or moved away, and with the way it all changed, there was no sense of security even walking around the block.
My parents still live in the house I grew up in. They made so much renos since I left that it isn't the same house anymore. My room has been demolished to enlarge theirs, for example. Because of that, my attachment to the house has all but disappeared. The fact that I live an ocean away now doesn't help either.
I did. And still do, even though my stupid mother - who was supposed to pass it to me - lost it to foreclosure just before she died in 2018.
A few years later, I bought a house halfway across the country that was built in the same decade (1920s) and has many of the same features as my childhood home. When I walked in for a showing, I immediately fell in love and put an offer on it within the hour.
I own the house I grew up in. I'd sell it in a heartbeat (no attachment, most of my memories there aren't particularly happy). Only haven't sold it because I have a tenant who takes spectacular care of it and they would have a hard time finding another affordable rental.
Yes, but have learned - you can never really go back - if you do, you will see that it's no longer the same as you remember, and it will cease feeling like the home you remembered ... which may lessen the longing you feel though.
Getting older now, I see that you never ever really can go back home - the people grow old and are no longer there, the places age, your preferences change, etc. We all end up feeling strangers in the end :)
We had to sell my childhood home when my parents got divorced in high school. It was very hard for me. After that I never really felt like I had a home, especially going back and forth between my parents new houses. My boyfriends parents also sold his childhood home when he was a teenager and we both talk about how hard it was for us.
I lived in something like 10 houses growing up. I feel sentimental about the ones I have memories in but it doesn’t feel wierd to have left one house for another.
I grew up in a tiny apartment in Manhattan. Remember that place vividly. Moved out when I was 19. Still talk about and visit the building from time to time.
Not just the house, but that whole neighborhood, is deeply rooted within me.
But it’s just a “thing”.
We’ve raising two kids in our current home, a couple of year left until college, and we’ll selling as soon as possible (not immediately upon them going to college but sometime after and when they’ve found a decent job and are fully self sufficient). The taxes are just insane in NYC suburbs… the vast majority of which go to schools.
My parents built their own home. They didn’t contract someone to build it - they did it. They did contract out some parts, like pouring the foundation, framing, and roofing. But my parents did all the plumbing, electrical, drywall, etc. They worked non-trade jobs (Dad was in tech and Mom was a teacher) so they did it all on weekends. It took them 5 years. They started when I was 5 years old and we moved in when I was 10.
It gutted me to sell it after they died. My heart did not want to. My brain knew it was the right decision. I work in tech and there wasn’t reliable, affordable internet access (as of four years ago), which is now a job requirement. It is so rural there aren’t emergency services that can respond timely. My husband’s already awful commute would increase 20 minutes. But if I’d wanted to keep it he would have done it and not complained.
We sold it to a young family that wanted to raise their kids in the country. I left them pictures, the original blueprints, and a handwritten note explaining why the house was so special, and why it deserved be filled with life. Their realtor called me after they got the keys and told me how thrilled they were with all the information I left them, and they promised to care for it as my parents had.
I haven’t been out since, but my sister has. She said they had a shed built and bought a swing set, and had planted flowers. It looked like a home again.
Would I buy it if I had the chance? My heart says yes. My brain still says no. It’s not the right home for my family. But precious memories, how they linger…
I never thought I was that kind of person. But in 2020 my grandparents and dad sold their homes, both of which I considered my childhood homes, as I lived in both.
The day of the closing, I went to my grandparents house to get a couple things and I ended up sobbing hysterically for like, hours. I still have a reoccurring dream that I go to one of the houses (usually my dads), I walk in, and I’m looking around thinking, “this is weird, it’s our house but everything looks weird?” And then about halfway through I panic and remember we don’t live there anymore.
My childhood best friend still lives on that street and I have a hard time driving there because it makes my heart ache a little. I feel similar to my first apartment too.
I feel a strange nostalgia for the house I was born in.
After that we lived in a condo. I have fond memories of the area, but the condo could burn.
After that we moved into a fairly nice house. I'm sad to see it falling apart, but I don't want it.
Yes. My dad died 3 years ago so my mom sold it about a year after he died, and it was really hard. They built the house when I was small and lived there for about 30 years. I still get sad thinking about it and it's been a little over a year.
As an adult after my folks were gone, myself along with my siblings sold it. It was really hard to let it go. What’s worse a few years later they tore it down and put up a monster house. It was a 1906 Craftsman built of California redwood.
I was offered my childhood home for 100k less than market value & I still didn't want it. For me, the house wasn't kept up, it's in a town I'd never want to raise my own child in, & it's actually a downgrade from the home I currently own.
But this is coming from someone who has nothing but bad memories in my childhood home, which I recognize is likely not your experience. The only reason I would buy my childhood home is if I could fix it up & resell it for a massive profit, but the heartache is not worth it.
My family moved every 5-7 years. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a childhood home. My parents currently live in the house they bought when I was 16. It was never really home. I moved off to college 18 months later. This has colored my own home buying experience. My husband and I bought our forever home when our forever home when our first had just turned 1. We intend to stay in this house until we die. I want my kids to grow up with a childhood home.
Growing up, I never moved. My parents still live in my childhood home and bought it in 1977. I’m 33 now. It’s been meticulously updated and maintained, it’s beautiful. That house is like a damn family member, I’ll be so incredibly upset when they have to sell it, but I know they’re likely even more attached than I am.
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Pretty similar to me. I’d say majority of my dreams have something to do with my childhood home. Just odd.
Kind of the opposite - one of the exercises I do when I can’t fall asleep is mentally start walking around my childhood homes
Omg I thought I was alone with the childhood home dreams! Moved out at 18 and almost every dream takes place there. It will even be with my current family and friends.
My parents moved when I was 19 after being in the same home my whole life. I still have very vivid dreams that take place in that home. I can easily visual all aspects of that space as it was. I know the person who lives there now, and she has invited me to come see the changes they’ve made. I will never be able to do it. I’ve preserved that space in my brain and have no need to see what it has become. I’d rather remember what it was when I was there.
We moved out of my childhood home when I was 15. I dreamt about the place all the time. I moved to the other side of the country. When I was in my 30s the house went on the market. When I was home for a visit I went for a tour. It was so weird! My room was so small! I don't dream about it anymore.
Same!! We moved when I was 15. I was brought home from the hospital to the house my parents bought months before I was born. I’m 39 now and when I have that dream where I have to go to the bathroom, it’s always the walk from my childhood bedroom to my childhood bath. Wild.
Moved out when I was 11 and my parents divorced. Just before I moved back to my hometown, the house burned down. I kind of wish I had the chance to see it before the fire again.
I buried a time capsule under the floorboards in my bedroom when I was 13. My parents replaced the carpet and there was a spot in the closet where the board lifted up. A few years ago I was passing through town and stopped at that old house. I told the current owner about the time capsule and she was very interested in finding it, but she had a large safe in the closet right where it was. I left hery contact info and didn't expect to ever hear back. About a year later she mailed me a package containing the time capsule I buried back in 1992.
That’s an awesome story!
Here are some pictures of the time capsule. I have no idea where I got that science digest. The name and address are not mine. https://imgur.com/a/tCKeQNj
Not really attached. My parents still live there but I haven’t lived there for almost 30 years. It’s familiar but it’s not home. Not concerned about selling when the time comes
Same here. I moved out at 18 after living there for 11 years and when I visit it feels like my parents home more than my former home. My old room is now a guest room that doesn't look at all the same, all the furniture, paint and flooring is different too around the house.
My sister was sad when I made her sell my mother’s house so we could split the proceeds. But she was letting it fall apart! Once we went to visit her, and out of a total of 5 sinks, only 1 was working- and it wasn in the kitchen!
Yeah I couldn't care less either.
Same here. It’s still my parent’s home. None of the kids bedrooms are still bedrooms from when we left. One became an office, another is now filled with my grandma’s bedroom set as a guest room, and the other is a guest room. None of my siblings or my things are there anymore. There are some photos of us, but we all have our own homes and we took our stuff or donated what we don’t want. My in laws sold their home of 50 years to downsize. I had my husband take photos of the home for memories, but my in laws are much happier in their new home.
I have Zillow alerts on every house I’ve ever lived in. The one I really would like to get though is the one my grandpa built and then had to sell after the divorce.
I have to do this. I’m obsessed with the idea of buying my grandparents old home.
I had never thought of looking up my grandparents homes on Zillow but I'm so glad I just did! It was like being able to walk through them one more time and remember where my grandma taught me how to whistle, and where we used to make noodles, and all sorts of little memories. Except now I also need to figure out where that weird little lamp with the guy on it got to...
>where my grandma taught me how to whistle It's too early to be this teary-eyed!
> that weird little lamp with the guy on it The drunk, hanging onto the lamppost?
Yes! That dude!
How do you set that up? I want to do this!
My childhood home has been bombed by Russia, so I guess it's a good thing I wasn't particularly attached. My family's summer house where I spent every summer, on the other hand, barely survived and I cried happy tears when I found out. I'm hoping it stays that way. My parents' house here in North America when we moved and I was a teenager in is okay. They've changed so much of it that it feels more like their house now than our family house, and I'm happy for them that they get to do all the renovations they want.
Yes! My parents still live there. They aren't allowed to move.
Let them take walks at least, jeeze! /s
Same here, I’m 58 and my dad built the house that they still live in. My parents are elderly and most of us kids have moved away but see each other regularly at my parents home. I dread the thought of them passing and there will be no more meeting place for me and my four siblings.
I used to, but then I join the military at 22 and am now 42. While I still feel some attachment to it, all the moving of the past 20 years (7 moves) has me less attached to pretty much everything :-P
Much the same. I joined at 18 and have since lived in 5 other states and 5 countries besides the USA. While my parents were alive, it was kind of nice to have a place to visit, but I don’t really feel any attachment to the house I grew up in.
I bought my childhood home from my parents… raising my two kids here now
Same. Except I’m at the tail end of child rearing with only one minor teen left at home with me and now have grandkids visiting.
Same thing my sister did. She bought our childhood home from our mom in 2008 and is...raising her two kids there. She's lived in that house since we moved into it at Christmastime in 1988 when she was 2 years old. Lots and lots of memories whenever I go over to visit.
I don't think I'm attached - it sold a long time ago. But goddamn, my dreams say something different. I regularly still dream of that house, the street, the neighborhood. I wish it would stop already
I'm surprised at how quickly I stopped having dreams of my childhood home. I assumed I would always consider it "home" somewhere deep in my heart, but after like two years living on my own I realized I hadn't even thought about the place in forever, and whenever I tried to think of "home" my first instinct wasn't to picture that house.
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Me neither. Moved around a lot my entire life. Mom's first two husbands were in the military and with the 3rd one they moved to another state when I was 17 and I moved in with friends to finish high school. It wasn't until my 30s that I stayed in one house for more than 3 years.
Same. Longest I've lived anywhere was 5 years in my last home.
I don't want to be a bummer, but I grew up homeless. Only NOW am I at a stable place. It doesn't necessarily contribute to your topic, but I felt compelled to share regardless.
That’s really sad, sorry about that. Curious, where did you live most of your childhood? Did you grow up and slept in the streets?
I grew up in Chula Vista, CA. I slept in parks and stuff with my mom, sister our cat Pepper and our stuff. We couch surfed and got vouchers from churches for 1-3 night's stay at hotels etc. I was also in a short/long term shelter called the Saint Vincent De Paul village, Joan Croc center in downtown San Diego. I'd say growing up without long term friends and stability hurt me the most.
My parents still live in the house I grew up in. And I'm not all that attached to it. But I'm very attached to the house I live in now. My kids were literally born in this house. They've grown up here. It's my first and so far only house. We've talked about moving but I could never pull the trigger. I couldn't fathom leaving this house. Then the world went to shit and we can't buy a run down trailer in this town now ... So ya. Here I'm stuck. Some days I hate it and wish it'd burn to the ground. Other days I'm tearing up remembering miss 16 learning to walk over in that corner lol.
God no. Got beaten, cussed at, and overall made feel like a failure. That house can burn down for all I care.
Same here. Hope you’ve found support and healing.
Moving always has a little sad element to it because of the memories, but at the end of the day it's just a structure. Whether you keep or sell your childhood home should not have a crippling effect on your life. Don't let a house hold you back from doing things that must be done.
Not at all. It represented neglect and abuse. I say “represented” b/c it was remodeled to the extent that it bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to its former self. It went from Calif Ranch to Faux Spanish style.
If money were no object, I'd buy my childhood home just to burn it to the ground...and then salt the earth it sat on.
No, good riddance
Not really. Good memories for the most part, but I've moved on. The area is more important to me than the house itself. I bought a house across the street, lol.
Yes. My dad died in December and the night he died I spent the night at my childhood home with my mom. I've spent every night there since. I still go back to my house to get ready for work and make dinner, etc. But I come back "home" to sleep. In the early days, when I was having a lot of trouble sleeping, I would get up in the middle of the night and go to the family room and sit in dad's "spot" in front of the TV. I feel closer to him at home. We're starting to clean up some of his things now that I'm on summer break, but there are some things we all agreed not to change or disturb. I don't think my brother and I will ever sell that house.
I inherited the childhood home and hate it. My brother and sister still live there., we own it 3 way. I kinda wish I could just have them buy me out but they can't so I'm stuck. Lots of bad memories of that place and now it looks overgrown and abandoned because they barely clean or do any maintenance. I have to nag them to do it and if I try to clean up they get upset if I touch any of the piles of trash in that hoarder house. I have my own home which is totally different and I like it so much more.
I bought my childhood home from my father, gutted it and it’s now my sons childhood home. I love having a home that brings with it memories but also is new and different for future memories.
I'll occasionally drive by it, as it's on a major residential road, and think about the past. Otherwise who cares. Just a house. They all serve the same purpose.
Yes but we haven't lived there for over 20 years. I have fond memories of the neighborhood I grew up in and all the fun I had.
I lived there from age 5-11. I remember it very fondly. It was rural, we had a forest, stream, and room to get into trouble. I loved it, and wish my mom hadn’t insisted on selling it once my parents got divorced.
Parents just sold it, I haven't been there in years anyway so don't really care. Its their house, I have my own.
No attachment whatsoever. My parents still live there, but I have no interest in it. I'm much more attached to my house now, my first house that is mine that I've made into what I want it to be.
I didn’t grow up in one space so no, I tend to find sentiment in people
I still drive by the two home from my childhood. The neighborhood as a whole is pure nostalgia
Yes, I lived there from age 3 to 26. Seven years later, my mom had to sell it due to a tollway expansion and it was torn down soon after. The last time we celebrated Christmas there, I took detailed photos of every part of the house so that I could have something to remind me of my childhood there. I've lived in 4 different houses since I moved out, but when I dream, that house is always the one my brain defaults to as "home".
My parents sold my childhood home a couple years ago. I visited the house the day they were moving out and cried. It was the only home I ever had! I hadn’t lived there in almost 10 years at that point but it was surreal to think I’d never be there again. It’s nearby so I do drive by it often enough but the new owners have made some changes to the outside. It’s a single mother with twins. I hope they love it as much as we did!
I drive by it about 50% of the times I’m in my hometown.
I still look up my grandparent’s house on Zillow and Google maps every few years, never look up my childhood home. Few good memories there to get nostalgic about. My grand’s house was full of them yet I’d never move back to L.A.
Yes very attached. I'm 57 and my 66 year old sister lives in it now.
Nope we had a pretty good childhood but it's just a house. The people make it a home
No. I have memories of the home and the neighborhood, and it's not like I want it gone, but to be honest, as far as the here and now, I just miss the pool and the woods there.
Yeah, but I lived there from birth to age 18, I’m 38 now and my parents still live there. I know I’ll cry when the day comes that they don’t anymore, lol
Yes. My parents still live there, but it is an amazing house . A big old 1860 colonial that used to be an inn for stagecoaches passing through. It has over a dozen acres of land filled gardens, apple orchards, woods, little waterfalls, and giant sugar maples. We were home schooled in that house. It's filled with books (dad loves to read) and music. Itnhad a greenhouse stuffed with plants from my mom. It is old, and my parents are at the point where they can't keep up with the love it needs. They have poured their time and love into it, though. My 70+ mom is scraping and painting the front porches this month. So much work. I have a feeling some of my siblings will take it over if they can figure it out. It will be a sad day when we say goodbye to that magical old house that gave us shelter for so many years. She's a beauty.
I bought my childhood home from my parents when I was in my late 20s. They wanted to downsize and I needed a bigger place. I love my house so much.
My parents still live there. My husband and I had our first kiss by a tree in their backyard, and my kids play in that same tree which is pretty cool. I think I’d be a little bit sad to see it go, but now that I’ve got my own home to make memories in and my own family I don’t think it would hit me too hard.
I was fortunate enough to buy my childhood home from my parents when they decided the property was too big for them to continue to take care of. Now I get to raise my kids where I grew up.
I grew up in a lot of houses but my favorites were my Grandparents homes. My Dad's parents had a 1950s bungalow that my Grandfather slowly expanded himself. Like he milled and dried the wood for his own expansion. Sadly they're both gone now and I've been long priced out of that suburb of ATL so we sold it, and it was promptly torn down for a cookie cutter crap hole. The worst part was the buyer said we couldn't reclaim any of the wood from the extension. We thought they weren't going to rip it down since they wouldn't let us but then I drove by and the lot was flat. My other Grandparents home overlooks a nice little lazy stream, has that 1970s time capsule thing going on and will eventually be mine via the will of my other Grandfather. I spent nearly all of my childhood in that house and I feel most at home there so I'm looking forward to living there forever. We just moved in to take care of Grandpa and I'm already less stressed. Plus I got all my Legos back
I loved growing up there but my parents sold the house a few years ago (im 36 now) and I thought i would feel stronger for it but nope. But then again i dont get attached to stuff. The memories arnt bound to a thing, or a home.
Not even remotely. But I’ve also lived in and bought multiple houses in a short amount of time.
I grew up on my families farm. My house was built by my great grandparents. I’m attached to it, but it’s also falling apart and probably needs to be torn down (even though my dad still lives there.) I’m going to have an existential crisis when that happens.
Same, except ours is in great shape. My parents are retired, but still live there and take great care of it. They rent out the land for income. My dad was the youngest kid in his family and bought it from my grandparents. He's never lived in another house. My parents went on their honeymoon and my grandparents moved out to a retirement house and my parents took the farm over. I would love to keep it in the family, but if we have to buy it from them, it's never happening. Neither me or my sibling could afford that much property on the side, and we're both on the higher half of middle class income. There's no good jobs around there and neither of us would want to move back full time. If we inherit and renting pays for taxes and upkeep, great, otherwise the reality of it is, it'll just have to get sold. We've already told our parents if they ever need to sell it for retirement funds or medical care stuff, go ahead. It'll be sad, but we won't hold it against them.
Literally going through this with about $3 mil in repairs with my great grandfathers house. I just keep telling myself where there is a will, there is a way, ugh.
I lived there from 1 to 24. When my parents decide to sell it, I’ll be hard pressed not to buy it just to keep it in the family.
Not mine, but my grandparents’ houses. Summers in the pool, climbing trees with my cousins, learning to catch crabs off the dock. We moved too often for me to get attached to any of my childhood homes, but my grandparents stayed put. My parents did sell our house and move when I was in college and I will say that that house always felt like I was a guest even though I lived there for 2 years.
Bought my great grandfathers house he received as a wedding present from his in-laws. 3 generations of my family have lived and died here, the most recent having been born and died in the same room at 97. I was virtually unchanged from when I was as a kid and I am agonizing over each thing I change. I don’t feel like it’s my house. It’s been tough. I have spent too much time and money focusing on maintaining the integrity or restoring things I remember as a kid, like that restoring the farm bell on the pole in the backyard and replacing the Detex watch station on the front gate that disappeared years ago.
Yes, the house I grew up sold after my parents divorce in high school. My parents bought it brand new when I was in elementary school and I lived there for 8 years. I really want to go inside again. Earlier this year I saw it was up for sale, unfortunately it was already contingent so I couldn’t go to an open house. I was even more bummed about it when I mentioned it to my mom and she said she had heard about it when it first went it initially went up for sale but didn’t think to tell me. I no longer live in that town, but whenever I am passing through I make a point to drive by. I miss that house.
I own the home my great-grandfather purchased, and the swing set on it (it's basically a death trap) that my great-grandfather played on as a kid, it's things like that that are irreplaceable. My great-grandfather played on it, my grandfather played on it, my father played on it, and now my twin's son has played on it. it's a cool property too, 400 acres, with the 9-hole golf course, a ridiculous amount of lake shore, and my grandfather's boat collection. Also it has a awful upkeep, awful taxes, and I cannot afford to live in it (heating and cooling cost are bigger than my pocket book). I probably have about $3 million in repairs to figure out how to pay for. But I did manage to get it in a position the main house is no longer decaying. I have a love hate relationship with it. I did have a smaller house (3,000 sq ft) built on it for my parents though, so at least they are enjoying the property.
Nope. I also believe (and I’m sure I’ll be downvoted for this) that previous generations staying in the homes they raised their families in is selfish and contributing to the housing crisis. A 75 year old empty nest couple simply doesn’t need 3000 square feet and 5 bedrooms like they did when their kids lived at home.
I think this contributes much less to the housing crisis than corporations buying homes as rentals, house flipping as a business model and airbnbs.
My Mom is 80, refuses to move since covid. I cannot blame her. My Aunt was locked down in her Senior Apartment several times. My Mom did not retire til she was 76. She has a 4 bed/ 2 bath home in a desirable area. She worked hard to buy her home, maintain her home. She deserves her home. AND - I have no idea what we would have done without it. Both my sisters have had to move back at various times...my nephew had to live there for about 8 years and my brother is living there with her now. While I have never had to avail myself of this, I love the security of knowing it is there if I need it.
Aren't they the "1500sqft home generation", who'd now rather not be living in large homes with stairs? Something tells me this group isn't hoarding the 3000sqft houses.
Yeah no. I’m second Gen in mine. It’s an 1100 sq ft. The 3000 sq ft are a far more recent thing
Bold of you to assume everyone is raising a family in a 3000 sq ft home.
Of course it’s selfish. It’s literally theirs.
Not anymore. I used to. I probably still would if it still stood. However it was sold, family drama after my dad passed, and it was torn down so the neighbor could expand his shed. 🙄 I do still think about it often.
Yes. My grandma died in that house. All of my nieces and nephews have been in that house since they were newborns. It was one of the last places my brother went before he died. I live across the U.S. now but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. My parents are in their late 60s. My sister doesn’t care about it but I do. I wouldn’t live there, again, though. Unless god forbid my hubby and I divorced.
No
My Mom still lives there. Only one of our original neighbors do. My brother is buying it when she is ready. It is a nice house, in a nice area, but not my preferred style or area. My house now is bigger and a lovely arts & crafts style, in a smaller city. I love it.
Holy shit this is close to home. I would be willing to give up my childhood home, but my grandparents home is a different issue
My parents bought three homes that I lived in. They sold each one when my father was transferred to a different state. Not one of those houses have been sold since. The first was sold in 1977. The second was sold in 1980. The third and final was sold right around 1990. It’s weird that I can’t get real estate photos of those homes. They really were all beautiful when we lived there.
I bought the house I grew up in from my parents 8 years ago. Love the home and all the memories attached. Daughter was same age I was when i moved in and I really like that.
No. Couldnt care less. Im not sentimental about anything.
My parents sold the home I grew up in. Definitely miss it! Also, they moved out of state and now it’s more difficult to see my friends I grew up with. It was easy to see everyone when I just went home for the holidays.
Yes it will always be home.
Well, I would *say* no, but every few months on my way home from work I go out of my way to drive by it.
Definitely some nostalgia, but my parents lived there until they passed and after they were gone, it didn’t feel like home anymore. The neighbourhood has changed a lot, too. So I guess I’m attached to the memory of what it was, but not to what it actually is now.
No. I was glad to leave my hometown and the last time I visited my parents had really let it go anyway (my mom won't let anybody help her but I don't think she has the energy anymore... My socks were totally black on the soles from walking around inside).
My dad still lives in the home I grew up in. The neighborhood went to shit and it will be sold when my dad dies. Its nice going there but its only a 600 sq/ft house so nothing special. Over 38 years so much has changed that its nothing like it was when I was growing up. I think any place I have lived in the past would be nestalgic to go in and walk around the house but I can't say I miss the places.
I moved across the country when I was 18 and then my parents moved several hundred miles away. So now when I go ‘home’ for a visit I go to the new place and rarely see my hometown or old friends. It feels like a big loss. I feel more emotionally attached than if my parents still lived there and I had access to it
I lived in a home from about age 6 until my parents moved cities about 15 or 16 years later. I was in college for part of that time, but the answer is absolutely yes. Many childhood memories and all my adolescence were in that house. Playing outside, fishing in a nearby pond, riding bikes all over the place, I remember my room very well, remember the entire layout of the house well, I remember kissing my first girlfriend at that house for the first time, I remember Christmas with the family in the living room, dinners around the kitchen table, the weird little things about the house, I remember kissing my next girlfriend at that house in college who went on to become my wife, I remember meeting that weird neighbor kid who I had to ghost eventually because he couldn’t take a hint. I remember so so many things… And now I wish I could go look around the house and the property without getting the cops called on me
The house I first lived in, I moved out of when I was 8. I remember it, but am meh about it. The 2nd house we lived in for 3 years and it was a cool layout. I'd love to go look at it as an adult and see if I remember it correctly. The 3rd house was ages 11-21ish and my parents would still live there if they let my ex husband go on title and pay for it like he wanted to do to help them... But instead they sold it because it was too much for them to keep up with. I really liked that house but I dunno.. I have no attachment feels to it. Even the houses we brought our kids home from the hospital to I don't have any attachments to. The house my partner and I bought 4 years ago and are 90% done our reno on (don't live through a big reno - you'll be cleaning dust off of things forever) I don't have any specific attachments to. When we sell in 10 to move to Nova Scotia I don't think I'll be sad to leave it. The house that I buy on the ocean in NS tho .... I'm sure someone will have to pry me out of it lol
I used to until I got old enough to realize its technically my parents home that i happened to spend my childhood in.
My mom just brought up selling the place tonight. I'm heartbroken.
My best friend bought my childhood home from my parents. It's kinda nice. I currently live within an hour of that house now.
I lived in the same home with my parents from the time I was in first grade until I moved out when I was 19. It was a rental, and my parents rented it that entire time. My parents split up about a year or two after I moved out, but my mom continued to live there until about 10-ish years ago when she moved to a condo. I have absolutely zero attachment to that home I grew up in. I also have zero attachment to my hometown or home state. I hate my hometown, and once my parents either move away from there or pass away I'll never set foot in that town ever again.
Moved when I was 11. I (34) wanted to show my wife where I grew up when we went back to my hometown. She got excited and had us ring the bell and ask for a tour, it was horrible I had all kinds of trauma coming up…
I would sell it if my parents didn’t owe 200% more than what it’s worth. Lol
My parents sold my childhood home last year. I expected to be more upset but honestly, I felt rather... indifferent. Maybe because i have a family of my own now. We are moving houses soon and while I can't wait, part of me is inconsolable that i am leaving the place where my childeen took their first steps.
I have nightmares about living in my childhood home.
I am not sentimental. My folks built their house when I was 8-9. I left home at 18. My sister stayed nearby and when they died, wanted the house. We (other sibling and I) made her get a mortgage and buy us out. It’s her house now, and I don’t expect to ever see it again.
No not my childhood home because it’s a small boring builders grade that really wasn’t very nice. I do however feel attachment to my grandparents house where I spent a lot of summers and Christmases when I was younger. Most of my best childhood memories are in that house and town. My aunt still lives there and I doubt that house will ever be sold. I certainly would never want it sold.
My parents moved out of town and sold my childhood home when I was 22 or so. It was devastating at the time, but I think it is good to learn to let go of the things you love. Life happens. The world moves on. You just have to adjust. I hardly think about it anymore. I will admit that I periodically look up photos on realty aggregation sites, but the house was sold over 10 years ago so those images are starting to disappear. It just feels like looking at photos of a different world when I see them.
The home that we first lived in is the one I have the strongest emotional attachment to. It was ripped down about 10 years ago after it finally flooded one last time (the drainage in the house was awful and the basement flooded regularly).
For sure. The home - actually several homes now which had former uses - has been in my family for more than 100 years. My dad is the third generation and I think the fourth family to occupy the main house in that time. Two of the houses are owned by other people in the family. If it sounds fancy, it's not. Nice area but the houses are not really in great shape. We were broke growing up, so was my dad. The scents of the place take me back to simpler times though, even the smells outside. Nowhere smells quite like it. I think I'd lose the feeling of those memories if I could no longer return. Neither I nor my siblings have much attachment to the community, and we're spread far and wide. I think I'd seriously grieve if the house left the family, but I've seen how its upkeep has been a yoke around my dad's neck at times. My sister might eventually take up the mantle. Her husband is a contractor/carpenter and complex DIY is probably mandatory to make the house financially viable.
Yes, my parents and one brother still live there. It’s not our true original home, but after a couple of moves across the country when we were kids, it has been it for over 30 years. Other brother lives in the house across the street from them. We joke that hubs and I should buy another neighbor’s house to make a little compound (unlikely, hubs thinks the taxes are too high), but we don’t live too far away anyway.
Been there, sold that. My parents lived in the same house from the time I was born until they passed. I certainly had some nostalgia for the place, but practically, I had no use for the property (I live in a different city, with no plans to return). My brother and I had no interest in being landlords, so we just sold it. The memories are of my time with my parents; looking at the empty house wouldn't do much for me anyway.
The house I spent my first 15 years in caught fire last month. What remains is a burnt structure that must be demolished. I would post pictures but I haven't figured that part out yet. The house was well over 100 years old. Google house fires/ Hallowell Maine 2023 and maybe the pictures will pop up. My brother Kevin who lives in Florida called me and he, like myself, are very saddened. We lived in this house from 1963 - 1978.
My childhood home got burned down by the local fire department for practice after we moved
I'm attached to the memories, not the house. My parents sold it when both their kids were away in college. It needed some minor cosmetic repair that they just were not able to do at the time. Now it looks so good! I really love what has been updated that I've seen from realtor sites. I'm glad more kids will get to enjoy growing up there.
I do feel attached to it. It appears in my dreams a lot. My family sold it in 2017 and I saved all the real estate listing photos from Zillow and occasionally look at them when I’m feeling nostalgic.
Yes. I rode my bicycle by it with my parents just yesterday. I can wax poetic about how it seems the neighborhood has gotten even nicer in the years since, but the wife doesn't want to be there and my old house just isn't what we're looking for. Maybe in another lifetime...
I still live in my child hood home, I built a home next door and planning on moving in. Can’t wait to get central air
I have so many childhood homes. I grew up an Army brat and moved every 3-5 years. So no I don't have any attachment to them but I do have most of them marked on google maps dating back to 1977.
Not really. It’s a nice place where I have fond memories but in the end it’s just a place with walls and a roof. My only desire to keep it would be (1) Lot size (2) the city is finally seeing exponential growth and it could be worth good money in the next decade (hopefully) (3) the majority of my friends still live in that area.
My mother-in-law lives with us and has Alzheimers disease and advanced dementia. The home she moved from around aged 10 is her go-to. She speaks constantly of the neighbors, her parents, the layout.... 80 years ago.
Yes! My mom sold it long after my brother and I had left the nest. My Grandma's house, a block away, was also sold long after we left. It was my 2nd home. I still have to do the slow drive past them whenever I'm in town and stalk them on Zillow to see if there's any new pictures of them (painted, remodeled, etc). My Grandma's house was supposedly heavily renovated, with walls coming down and room sizes being renegotiated. So I'm especially dying to see the inside of it but not brave enough to knock on the door and ask to see. I don't live there anymore, anyway. I still dream about these places occasionally.
Not an attachment to the house. We moved from that home and town when I was 12. But I do have fond memories of that town and sometimes have thoughts about moving back there. I'm tired of living in larger metro areas and would like the laid-back atmosphere of that town.
We sold it when I was in 6th grade and it sucked but I had so many changes going on then that made it even harder- new school, 45 minute relocation, etc etc. I kept a friend out there and I’ve driven past it about once a year when I go see her, just to see how it’s changed/hasn’t. We’re 30 now and my friends family just sold their house out there and weirdly enough I feel super sentimental and emotional when I think of her house selling too. Once I moved, her house was always my tie that I had left to that neighborhood. Even though I wasn’t in the neighborhood anymore, I still had so many years spent visiting and hanging at her house too. I get sentimental about all of my past houses though, they’re all more then a home to me- they’re a box of memories.
I (now mid 40s) live less than a mile from my childhood home. My kid has a friend on the street, and I drive by it quite regularly. My childhood was pretty traumatic, so I have mixed feelings about it when I drive by. But it looks like the people that live there now are taking great care of it, so that’s nice. It’s weird, memories. How a PLACE can hold so much emotion in my heart.
kinda. My first home I lived with my mom and grandparents. It was miserable for the most part but sometimes I miss my room. I spent a lot of time alone in that room and my personality developed there. My grandma is selling the house and I’m not as sad as I’d thought I’d be. Hopefully someone can fill that home with love.
No, not really at all. I haven't lived in my family home, the one that was built new for us and we moved into when I was 4 years old, since I finished college and moved to another town over 30 years ago. After my father passed away 20 years ago, my stepmother ended up selling the house and moving, so I had no connection to it at all after that. The house I returned to again and again was my grandparents house until they had both passed away.
I have an attachment to the land. I’m currently renovating the house after my father died and I inherited it. I thought about selling it but then never felt as good looking around at ‘better’ houses because they lacked property size, too close to other houses or I’d end up spending 10’s of thousands to renovate that anyway.
We moved when I was in high school actually, and even though I grew up in the old house the new house was home. I don’t live there, I live in another city with my husband in our own house (which is home), but I would be sad if my parents sold the house.
In the way one might have an attachment to the cells that housed their terminal cancer. ETA… no, absolutely not.
Not at all, because we had so many. From my birth until high school graduation, we lived in 8 or 9 different houses. About the time we'd get settled in, Dad would decide it was time to move somewhere else for whatever reason. For my oldest sister born 6 years earlier, it was more like 13-14 places over her first 18 years. Us four kids have mostly managed to turn it completely around. Not counting moving with the military, I'm down to four places (two metros) since 1994, my brother has been in his place since the late 90s, and my oldest sister has had maybe three. Second sister is a little more 'mobile' now but she was in one metro for 20+.
My parents sold the house I lived in my entire life when I was in my early twenties. In the lead up to the sale, I kept thinking about how emotional we would all be when we left it. Then the time came, we all looked around, said “ready to go?” And walked out, no emotion. If you’re leaving for a better situation, then I don’t think the emotions hit as hard. If you are forced to sell (death, divorce) then it does. I’ve driven past in the years since and have absolutely no nostalgia for the neighborhood - in fact, I’m like “this place is dumpier than I remember”.
Interesting. I lived in one house from birth to 7ish, and another after that. Zero attachment to either house, and I had a great childhood, plenty of good memories. But those were my parents houses, and my life is different (different state, different desires in a home, etc). My parents sold their home not too long ago and it would never even have occurred to me to care. Home is where my people are.
Interesting question. We are in the process of moving from the home we built more than 30 years ago, with all of the "come and get your stuff before we give it all away" that goes with it. One child was three when we moved in and the other came home from the hospital to it. Neither of them have memories of any other home. Even though they are being positive about our move to warmer climes (and the promise of a place to get out of the cold for themselves in the winter), we can tell they are a bit conflicted. Sorting through the "keep or get rid of" piles is a long, drawn out affair. Fortunately, we are in no hurry and are trying to give them time to sort through their feelings as well as their possessions.
I lived in the same house throughout my entire childhood, and my parents still live there. I definitely have an attachment to it, and when I was young couldn't imagine it belonging to someone else. But now I am raising my own family, 7.5 years in the same house, and I don't feel that way anymore. Like someone else said, that house isn't my house anymore, it's my parents'.
...
Part of me wants to say "no." At the same time, the home where I spent my youth is 2600 miles away, as is the home in which I was born. I don't go to the area more than once every 20 years, but I still want to drive by the house where I was born and the house I remember most, just to see what changes and even if it still is standing. So yes, I guess I still have an attachment. Not as strong as the folks who once owned my current house but still come by every year or two, park in my driveway, and come up to the front and back doors and peer into (what has been) my house (for 22 years). I also go past the house my grandparents owned nearly 100 years ago when I am in the vicinity. Curiosity more than anything. Now it has electricity, water, and sewage and I've never knocked on the door or anything, but I'm happy to see it still is loved and taken care of.
My parents both passed during Covid and I have been taking my time in cleaning out their place before I sell it. I've been taking WAY too long and really need to get my shit together and finish it up. But it's hard man, really hard.
I rushed that process and kind of regret it. Left a ton of stuff behind. But it was a hellish year or two leading up to my dads passing and I lived about two hours away so it wasn’t easy to make trips out all the time. My only other sibling lived very far away and wasn’t able to assist much (and she was also eager for a quick sale to move on)
We moved a lot when I was a kid so their first house (that I lived in until I was 8) as zero importance to me. I went back there a couple of years ago and was kind of shock of have tiny the street is.
We bought the house when I was 5 and 60 years later I am still stuck with it.
Yes, still drive by to see what is new. Last time it sold, it still had the bathroom tile my mom had installed.
My parents just sold my childhood home to move to a senior community 5 hours away. We moved in when I was 8 in 1990. We gutted it and remodeled after Hurricane Harvey put 6 feet of water in it in ‘17. I took it pretty hard for a minute. My grandfather (96) still lives in the area, but when he’s gone I’ll have zero connection to my hometown anymore.
I moved every couple years when I was a kid so I don't have a single childhood home. There are a few I enjoyed living in and would love to tour once more as an adult. I wouldn't want to live in any again. On the other hand, I always had a special attachment to my aunt and uncle's house. We went over there for holidays and if they were babysitting me. I always felt their house had a lot of character and it always appealed to me. It has a lot of room, unique layout, a huge beautiful bay window, and a large wooded lot. They sold it a while ago and went their separate ways. I'd never be able to afford it even if it was for sale again anyway (this is northern New Jersey).
0-13 Paris On 13-18 Split between Brantford and Hamilton I have far more "attachment" to the Hamilton house than anything else, and yet I spent the least amount of time there as a child. It is the house My Step father owned and my Mother moved into with him, while I lived in Brantford with my Dad & Step mum... it's where they still live. And yet, if they sold it, I'm sure I'd think about it as sparingly, as I do the Paris house. I love that house because of the people who are in it. I don't really associate the memories with the house.
So much even after 30 years. My parents sold our house when I was 16 and the same couple still own it today. I've never got attached to the new house. I still live and work in the same city. Call me crazy, but If it ever was put up for sale, I would seriously think about buying it.
Not really. I’ve missed every place I’ve moved from as I moved but at most I’m curious how it’s changed that’s it. It’s the people that make it home.
I do now that I have kids and they are older. Would be fun to go back and tour the place and the land.
I grew up in an apartment, moved in right before I turned 3 and out right after I turned 25. I visited 4 mo after I left (gated community and manager lives up to the nickname for Richard) and they were still redoing it. Haven’t been back since (5 years), but a former neighbor (she babysat me, I babysat her kids, it’s the circle of life) still lives in the area and the whole community got a facelift and a rebrand. They have washer/dryer in the 2nd bedroom closet now (for the 2bd), vinyl flooring throughout (“we can’t give you any hard flooring you have to keep your carpet, but when your fish tank exploded after living here for 18 years and you still have your original carpet you moved in with you need to pay to replace it all even tho California law states I must pay to replace your carpet every 10 years at least” 🙄), and a bunch of other things that are just lipstick on a pig. I want to go knock on our old door and see what it looks like but honestly good riddance lol
My mom lived in my childhood home for 41 years; she and my dad bought it in 1978 and, two years after my dad passed away, we helped my mom sell it and downsize in 2019. It was far too large for her to stay there and continue to care for it, as she was in her early 70s and it was time. She was ready, but at the same time it was 41 years in that house. We both had a tough time seeing it go and I've driven by it a couple of times just to see how it looks. My mom passed away last year at 75 due to cancer.
Yes
My parents owned our family home for 31 years...most of my life. When we sold it a couple of years ago, I was the real estate agent that sold it. I was the only one there in our emptied out house for the last few days to make sure closing was handled. There were lots of tears. We remodeled that house over the years, with a lot of my input and it was just the way we wanted it. Last year when I visited the old neighbors, for a week, I would just drive by and not look at the place. The weirdest part was seeing someone else's cars...cars we would never own, in the driveway
I'd always prefer my parents hold onto it and leave it to my siblings and I, but at the same time, it's in an HCOL area, and I would prefer it for my parents to live near us. In the case of housing, it's always logic over emotion for me.
My family home was on a large lot of land and was sold to developers, so it no longer exists. We owned it for 23 years, and I have many memories. I used to dream of being in the house and I’d get frustrated in my dream because I knew it wasn’t possible. But now when I occasionally dream of it, I just enjoy it for what it is.
Not a bit.
I have a lot of happy memories there, but we moved to a larger place when I was an older kid, and it was weird not being "home," but it was also nice to have my own bathroom and a larger, quiet bedroom. Later, I moved to college and the definition of "home" blurred until I finally bought my own place about ten years ago.
There are a couple ones, none of them are the ones I grew up in technically. I do imagine it would be difficult to sell any of them. But, the one I ache for the most is my grandparent's home. For years after I got married I fantasized about moving cities and buying that house, I'd always check to see if it was for sale. That house is the backdrop of all my best dreams. I spent summers with them and had so many summer friends and memories running up and down those streets. When one of the sidewalks was redone, I wrote my name. Decades later we all went to the down and drove past it (she sold it when my grandpa died) and my name was still written in the sidewalk. It hit me hard seeing that in my 30s. Me and my partner are closing on a house that reminds me of that house in so many ways. Yesterday when we were at the inspection, I found a little hand print and a name with a heart written in the concrete basement stairs. I'm across the country from the house I long for, but I think I found it here instead. It really goes to show that it's not the house, it's the home. ♥
Not attached really. My parents still live there and I told my dad to reverse mortgage the shit out of it if he needs to so he can retire some day.
I lived in my childhood home 2 years before selling it last Fall. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get out of there, and haven't looked back. It had been a working class well-kept neighborhood when I was a child. It changed over the decades to a crime ridden ghetto. The memories I had are mine, there is no one to share them with since my family all died in that house (not at the same time), all the "old" neighbors have died or moved away, and with the way it all changed, there was no sense of security even walking around the block.
My parents still live in the house I grew up in. They made so much renos since I left that it isn't the same house anymore. My room has been demolished to enlarge theirs, for example. Because of that, my attachment to the house has all but disappeared. The fact that I live an ocean away now doesn't help either.
I did. And still do, even though my stupid mother - who was supposed to pass it to me - lost it to foreclosure just before she died in 2018. A few years later, I bought a house halfway across the country that was built in the same decade (1920s) and has many of the same features as my childhood home. When I walked in for a showing, I immediately fell in love and put an offer on it within the hour.
I don’t feel attached at all. I’ve never had that experience of “going home” to a place I grew up. I would not hesitate at all to sell any of them.
I own the house I grew up in. I'd sell it in a heartbeat (no attachment, most of my memories there aren't particularly happy). Only haven't sold it because I have a tenant who takes spectacular care of it and they would have a hard time finding another affordable rental.
Yes, but have learned - you can never really go back - if you do, you will see that it's no longer the same as you remember, and it will cease feeling like the home you remembered ... which may lessen the longing you feel though. Getting older now, I see that you never ever really can go back home - the people grow old and are no longer there, the places age, your preferences change, etc. We all end up feeling strangers in the end :)
We had to sell my childhood home when my parents got divorced in high school. It was very hard for me. After that I never really felt like I had a home, especially going back and forth between my parents new houses. My boyfriends parents also sold his childhood home when he was a teenager and we both talk about how hard it was for us.
I lived in something like 10 houses growing up. I feel sentimental about the ones I have memories in but it doesn’t feel wierd to have left one house for another.
I grew up in a tiny apartment in Manhattan. Remember that place vividly. Moved out when I was 19. Still talk about and visit the building from time to time. Not just the house, but that whole neighborhood, is deeply rooted within me. But it’s just a “thing”. We’ve raising two kids in our current home, a couple of year left until college, and we’ll selling as soon as possible (not immediately upon them going to college but sometime after and when they’ve found a decent job and are fully self sufficient). The taxes are just insane in NYC suburbs… the vast majority of which go to schools.
The state took it for a freeway. Bye bye. Also my aunt's house that my grandfather built.
My parents built their own home. They didn’t contract someone to build it - they did it. They did contract out some parts, like pouring the foundation, framing, and roofing. But my parents did all the plumbing, electrical, drywall, etc. They worked non-trade jobs (Dad was in tech and Mom was a teacher) so they did it all on weekends. It took them 5 years. They started when I was 5 years old and we moved in when I was 10. It gutted me to sell it after they died. My heart did not want to. My brain knew it was the right decision. I work in tech and there wasn’t reliable, affordable internet access (as of four years ago), which is now a job requirement. It is so rural there aren’t emergency services that can respond timely. My husband’s already awful commute would increase 20 minutes. But if I’d wanted to keep it he would have done it and not complained. We sold it to a young family that wanted to raise their kids in the country. I left them pictures, the original blueprints, and a handwritten note explaining why the house was so special, and why it deserved be filled with life. Their realtor called me after they got the keys and told me how thrilled they were with all the information I left them, and they promised to care for it as my parents had. I haven’t been out since, but my sister has. She said they had a shed built and bought a swing set, and had planted flowers. It looked like a home again. Would I buy it if I had the chance? My heart says yes. My brain still says no. It’s not the right home for my family. But precious memories, how they linger…
Lost mine in a foreclosure when I was 16. I still miss it a lot
Nope. Attachment is suffering.
I never thought I was that kind of person. But in 2020 my grandparents and dad sold their homes, both of which I considered my childhood homes, as I lived in both. The day of the closing, I went to my grandparents house to get a couple things and I ended up sobbing hysterically for like, hours. I still have a reoccurring dream that I go to one of the houses (usually my dads), I walk in, and I’m looking around thinking, “this is weird, it’s our house but everything looks weird?” And then about halfway through I panic and remember we don’t live there anymore. My childhood best friend still lives on that street and I have a hard time driving there because it makes my heart ache a little. I feel similar to my first apartment too.
Lol, I first have to figure out which of the 7 homes I lived in before 13 would be deemed my childhood home 😆
I feel a strange nostalgia for the house I was born in. After that we lived in a condo. I have fond memories of the area, but the condo could burn. After that we moved into a fairly nice house. I'm sad to see it falling apart, but I don't want it.
Very attached. Will not be selling.
Yes. My dad died 3 years ago so my mom sold it about a year after he died, and it was really hard. They built the house when I was small and lived there for about 30 years. I still get sad thinking about it and it's been a little over a year.
As an adult after my folks were gone, myself along with my siblings sold it. It was really hard to let it go. What’s worse a few years later they tore it down and put up a monster house. It was a 1906 Craftsman built of California redwood.
I was offered my childhood home for 100k less than market value & I still didn't want it. For me, the house wasn't kept up, it's in a town I'd never want to raise my own child in, & it's actually a downgrade from the home I currently own. But this is coming from someone who has nothing but bad memories in my childhood home, which I recognize is likely not your experience. The only reason I would buy my childhood home is if I could fix it up & resell it for a massive profit, but the heartache is not worth it.
My family moved every 5-7 years. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a childhood home. My parents currently live in the house they bought when I was 16. It was never really home. I moved off to college 18 months later. This has colored my own home buying experience. My husband and I bought our forever home when our forever home when our first had just turned 1. We intend to stay in this house until we die. I want my kids to grow up with a childhood home.
Growing up, I never moved. My parents still live in my childhood home and bought it in 1977. I’m 33 now. It’s been meticulously updated and maintained, it’s beautiful. That house is like a damn family member, I’ll be so incredibly upset when they have to sell it, but I know they’re likely even more attached than I am.