What You Notice When You Come Back
Picture a man named Hugo, fifty-three, who has lived in the same town all his life. He takes three months away, in a mid-sized city abroad where he knows nobody, and he carries a notebook.
On the first day he writes what he notices. People walk slowly. Shops close for lunch. Strangers say good morning. He writes it down because it is different, and he does not yet know what to make of it.
The surprise comes on the way back. At the airport at home, he notices how quickly people walk. On the drive from the airport, he notices how many cars have one person in them. When a neighbor asks how he is, the answer is busy, and he realizes that is what everyone says.
He had never noticed any of this. For fifty-three years, it was simply how things were.
Hugo also notices what he missed. His neighbor Ana brings over a casserole the second night back. The library has the same chair by the window. His brother calls and the call lasts an hour. He writes two lists in the notebook, one headed what I noticed and one headed what I missed. The lists are about the same length.
Hugo does not decide to leave, and he does not decide to stay. He decides what he wants to keep, and for the first time he can see it.
It can be hard to see a place clearly while living in it, and easier after some distance.
A few months can be enough, and the trip does not have to end in a move. What matters is being curious on the way back.
You could pick a stretch of time, a month or three, and go somewhere ordinary. You could carry a notebook, write what you notice on the first day, and write again in the first week back home. Two lists might be enough: what I noticed, and what I missed.
The calculator on this site might help with the practical side. It shows what a month or a year of living costs in each country we cover, so a trial can start with a number.
What would you notice if you came back to your own street after three months away? Tell us in the comments. Someone reading may be about to find out.
Tell us in the comments