Thank you for this article, Patricia. As someone who has moved many, many times - and is about to embark on yet another move - I totally relate to your statement “the spaces we live in shape how we think and hope”. This next move is to an apartment which will be practical as I’m aging but still have beautiful spaces for thinking, hoping and dreaming.
Patricia, have you read Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space?
I spent a lot of my early years moving house and was never really settled. After many years I've finally got my own house. Lots of friends said, “now you’re secure”. I'm not knocking that sentiment and am so grateful to have a roof over my head, my own home. But after Gaza, I simply can't believe security lies in this direction.
That book is on my list, thank you for sharing! I think I’ll buy a house at some point, but I don’t know where, and that’s the issue. No "land" calls me so far. I don’t think I’ll ever want to buy property in the Netherlands where I live now; the options are quite poor, or the nice houses are incredibly expensive. Still, I’d like to keep our Romanian countryside home for the summer months, as a kind of mental “base,” and keep renting in different countries. And I agree, security isn’t set in stone, especially these days, or maybe ever.
Yes, I don’t think “the land” (any land) calls most of us nowadays (insofar as we are moderns or urbanites and not reactionaries). I don't know if this is my religious sensibility or just a reflection of having moved about so much, but I think a lot of us will always be strangers to the time and place we live in.
Yeah, the housing market (and a market ideology) in lots of places in western Europe has made housing unaffordable for lots of people (especially the young).
The book was actually recommended to me by a Romanian woman 15 years ago! Super smart, from Craiova (in fact, the photo of pigeons in my recent post is by her). So, I'm just returning the gesture.
A beautiful and heartfelt essay. The way you describe the annual visit from the technical inspectors made me laugh, but I feel for you and your lack of autonomy. I agree that the psychological dialogue one has with one's physical surroundings has the potential to be both demoralizing and illuminating.
Not likely as it's not up to me, it's in the hands of the State Government's Housing Department. (?) I've been on the priority transfer list for five years now but no luck. Yet. There is a very serious housing crisis in Australia for renters, both public or private.
We’ll be moving soon, and I’ve had a very strong sense of how I’m changed by place recently. The move feels like an opportunity to start something fresh
Thank you for this article, Patricia. As someone who has moved many, many times - and is about to embark on yet another move - I totally relate to your statement “the spaces we live in shape how we think and hope”. This next move is to an apartment which will be practical as I’m aging but still have beautiful spaces for thinking, hoping and dreaming.
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Susan. I am also very happy to read that about your new home!
Patricia, have you read Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space?
I spent a lot of my early years moving house and was never really settled. After many years I've finally got my own house. Lots of friends said, “now you’re secure”. I'm not knocking that sentiment and am so grateful to have a roof over my head, my own home. But after Gaza, I simply can't believe security lies in this direction.
That book is on my list, thank you for sharing! I think I’ll buy a house at some point, but I don’t know where, and that’s the issue. No "land" calls me so far. I don’t think I’ll ever want to buy property in the Netherlands where I live now; the options are quite poor, or the nice houses are incredibly expensive. Still, I’d like to keep our Romanian countryside home for the summer months, as a kind of mental “base,” and keep renting in different countries. And I agree, security isn’t set in stone, especially these days, or maybe ever.
I am happy that you found your home! ❤️
Thank you!
Yes, I don’t think “the land” (any land) calls most of us nowadays (insofar as we are moderns or urbanites and not reactionaries). I don't know if this is my religious sensibility or just a reflection of having moved about so much, but I think a lot of us will always be strangers to the time and place we live in.
Yeah, the housing market (and a market ideology) in lots of places in western Europe has made housing unaffordable for lots of people (especially the young).
The book was actually recommended to me by a Romanian woman 15 years ago! Super smart, from Craiova (in fact, the photo of pigeons in my recent post is by her). So, I'm just returning the gesture.
A beautiful and heartfelt essay. The way you describe the annual visit from the technical inspectors made me laugh, but I feel for you and your lack of autonomy. I agree that the psychological dialogue one has with one's physical surroundings has the potential to be both demoralizing and illuminating.
thank you, Caroline! ❤️
Sadly it's what the tenants do and have done where I live that is completely demoralising. That is unlikely to change. Maybe the next place...
hope you will find a good place soon!
Not likely as it's not up to me, it's in the hands of the State Government's Housing Department. (?) I've been on the priority transfer list for five years now but no luck. Yet. There is a very serious housing crisis in Australia for renters, both public or private.
We’ll be moving soon, and I’ve had a very strong sense of how I’m changed by place recently. The move feels like an opportunity to start something fresh
hope you will have a smooth transition and an exciting new beginning, Taylor!