Ever go by places you used to live?

[Disneyland1084]

Yes! Whenever we visit my uncle who lives nearly a four hour drive away, we drive by a court we lived on in the early 1980's. Those were some of the BEST years of my life! EVERYONE on the court was friends. It's kind of sad to see it a little run down now. The last owners of the house I lived in painted it turquoise. How DARE they!

 

[JessicaR]

My grandparents lived in the town I grew up in (parents are still in same town) they moved to Florida in 1975. My husband and I recently went to have a look at the house. 37 years later - wow. I wish I could have a look inside too.

 

[superme80]

My parents still live in the house I grew up in, so I get to see it a lot. It is strange to see my old bedroom as an office now.

 

[gatormommy07]

because of this thread, I looked up the house we lived in from the time I was 4 until I was 12. All the palm trees my dad planted are huge now, and the added more fence, pulled up some plants that were in front of my bedroom window and painted it a dark yellow with white trim. It looked cute, and it was fun looking at all the neighbor's houses. I wish I could go back to see inside, but it is a few hours drive away and not feeling that anytime soon!!

It is funny how I didn't even have to think about the address, it was the first one I learned and never forgot it!!

 

[mikron]

Did that for the first and second house. Didn't like how the propertys were keept so stoped doing that. Didn't bother with the third and fourth house so I didn't get sad again if they were not keept up.

 

[soccerdad72]

Yeah, but only because my BIL lives a few houses down from our first house. He was the one who saw it go for sale by owner when we were in the market. I think he said it's gone through 2 or 3 owners since we moved (almost 10 years ago now).

 

[CaoilinnsMom]

I spent 10 years remodeling my old house, it was very special. My first adult place, I don't want to go by and see it. I heard they chopped down my beautiful elm tree, because it was messy in the spring. That tree was the prettiest in the neighborhood, and rare to boot. Sad....

 

[PigletsPal2]

We've gone to the neighborhood where DH and I grew up, and we were kind of scared! The area is so run down now, and I think a little dangerous. I remember thinking our house was so big (9 rooms) and the yard was huge. Now they look so tiny on postage-stamp lots. I don't know how we managed with only one bathroom in a house with five females!

The two houses we owned in a bedroom community outside of Washington DC look pretty much as we left them, except for trim color, almost 30 years ago.

Queen Colleen

 

[momto2inKC]

One of the houses I lived in as a child is just up the street, so I see it daily. The house next door is where my parents got married. My DH and I rented another childhood home of mine shortly after getting married. That's what happens when you live in a small town

 

[*JoGo*]

I've gone by and it's too emotional and depressing.
I just happened to drive by one a couple weeks ago going somewhere and I didn't even let myself look at it or my grandparents' house. The houses are about an hour away and out in the country so I never have to go past. It was just an odd fluke that I had to a couple weeks ago.

I can go past old apartments I lived in with dh and get nostalgic and emotional but not depressed. We are getting ready to move out of the first home we bought and I don't think I will drive by after we move. The neighborhood has gone down in the past 10 yrs and while it's a nice house, I just worry the next owners might not keep it up.

 

[zoemurr]

no, I haven't been back in 20 years. But I recently saw pictures online of what happened.

My parents bought a house in a (now) very wealthy part of CT in 1968 for $12,000. In 1998 they sold it for $250,000. It was a very small ranch house, probably about 1000 sq feet on 1/2 an acre. In 2004 someone bought it and knocked it down. They built a 4,000 sq foot home in it's place. Last year it sold for 1.4 million. It's beautiful, but I can't belive they fit it where my tiny house was. Looking online that happened to all of my neighbor's houses too.

 

[Miniefan]

We moved away from the town I grew up and lived all my life in, until 2010 when we moved to VA.

Every time I go back home I stop by/ drive by some of the places I lived over the years.

Heck, I get so homesick at times I just google them and other places back home. It makes me feel a lil closer.

 

[njmom47]

My childhood home isn't that far from where I live now, and if I was in the area, I would drive by. I've had my dkids with me and showed them. The front porch is bigger and it's a different color but mainly the neighborhood looks the same.
After I moved out of there, I bought a mobile home. I have taken my dds by there as well...it was their childhood home for a short while.
I did live in an apartment (there's a story on another thread about it). It's like the ghetto over there now...scary!!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I have visited places I lived as a child and an adult on occasion and I can do one better - I've visited the farm in Colorado my great grandfather had when my grandfather was a teeenager and driven over the land my g.g.g.grandfather got as part of Austin's colony in Texas where my g.g.grandfather was born in 1825 or 1827, depending on which version of the truth you buy into.

 

[Mom_Rides]

I've drove by both of my childhood homes many times in the past. I would love go see how each of them have changed inside!

The house my grandparents lived in when I was little went up for sale a few years ago. I saw in the paper there was an open house on a Sunday so DH and I went. Everything but the paint color in one room was the same. Brought back many memories!

One time I went with my BFF to visit some of her family in KY. She drove me by the farm she grew up on and we turned in the driveway. We sat there for a minute as she reminisced. The owner of the house came out and asked if she could help. BFF told her she had grown up on the farm and the lady was so kind to us. She invited us to walk around and we got to pet her horses and she gave us some fresh eggs from the hen house to take with us! Good old southern hospitality!

 

[gm]

Everytime I drive into the town I used to live in, I feel like going to the place where I grew up but never do but next time, I will definitly go by and see if the any of the neighbors are still living there.

 

[Disneyland1084]

because of this thread, I looked up the house we lived in from the time I was 4 until I was 12. All the palm trees my dad planted are huge now, and the added more fence, pulled up some plants that were in front of my bedroom window and painted it a dark yellow with white trim. It looked cute, and it was fun looking at all the neighbor's houses. I wish I could go back to see inside, but it is a few hours drive away and not feeling that anytime soon!!

It is funny how I didn't even have to think about the address, it was the first one I learned and never forgot it!!

My parents, along with everyone on our court planted Redwood trees in their backyards in 1983. OMG, the court looks like a forest now.

 

[tvguy]

My parents, along with everyone on our court planted Redwood trees in their backyards in 1983. OMG, the court looks like a forest now.

My dad loved trees, but planted too many, too close together. 53 years later there are a lot of stumps in the yard from trees they had to cut down. Actually, I spent yesterday afternoon there starting to cut down a tree that died. It's a Loquat tree that my dad "rescued" from another yard 50 years ago. I helped plant it. Kind of sad, ate a lot of fruit off that tree in 49 years, it has been sick for several years, and died over the winter.

 

[gatormommy07]

My parents, along with everyone on our court planted Redwood trees in their backyards in 1983. OMG, the court looks like a forest now.

That's really cool!!

 

[poohfriend77]

I took my DDs to an open house at DH and my first home together. We moved when oldest DD was 19 months old, before younger DD was born, although we stayed in the same town. When I saw it was for sale (8 years later), I wanted to go see it again.

The funny thing was the ad said things like "updated bathroom," "newer appliances," etc. and it was all things my DH had done 8-10 years before. I was honest with the agent at the house, and told him I just wanted to show DD where she lived as a baby.

He said that was fine, but then followed us around the whole time, trying to "sell us." He pointed out all the great features of the house: shed out back (I know, my DH built it), privacy fence (I know, my DH installed it), nice landscaping (I know, I ripped out the jungle that was here before and planted those perennials), great tile job in bathroom (DH again). It got to the point where I could barely keep a straight face because he was so over the top. He even asked, "so are you thinking of coming back to the neighborhood?" Um, no... we outgrew it before we had a second kid! He just could not turn the salesman switch off.

With the exception of one room (DD's nursery had been repainted) everything was EXACTLY the same as when we left it. Same colors, curtains, and I swear it was even the same welcome mat on the front porch. Can't decide whether the other owners were really lazy, or whether they just really loved my decorating.