I’d planned not to mention a word of my move out of London on social media. My closest friends would know, of course, plus a few of my editors, but there would be no official announcement on my Instagram story, no grid post with a long caption about emotional rollercoasters and fresh starts. I was leaving the city after nearly a decade and that was nobody’s business but mine.
As my moving date approached, however, and the boxes began to fill up around me I found myself on social media not only sharing that I was leaving, but also telling anyone who would listen precisely where I was going. Because I wasn’t off to discover a new city, hadn’t accepted a great job offer elsewhere or followed my fortune to someplace new and exciting. I was leaving London and, at the ripe age of 31, moving to Wales to live with my mum and dad .
My embarrassment and shame about this may have been great, but my desire to seek out and talk to other people in the same boat turned out to be greater. Since starting to share this part of my life online around a month ago, responses from friends and strangers have poured in, ranging from genuine envy and compassion to poorly-disguised judgement and pity. It’s a great chance to save money , many people have reminded me.
It’s time with your family that you’ll be incredibly thankful for later on , several others have said. Your poor parents , a few commenters on my TikTok have noted. How long for? is by far the most common question I’ve been .