They warned me about person breakups, told me they suck, require ice cream, but ultimately are a part of life.
NOBODY warned me about place breakups, at least not explicitly. So I’m just gonna go ahead & 🚨warn🚨 you now.
11 REASONS PLACE
BREAKUPS SUCK:
1
1
Place relationships can last a LONG time.
I've never been with a boy for more than a year; I’ve lived in the same place for five.
2
A place is part of your identity. A person isn’t (or shouldn’t be). ​​
A new acquaintance asks where you’re from... not who you're dating (only extended family does that).
3
Forget closure. A place doesn't say goodbye.
It won't even sign "HAGS" in your yearbook.
4
Similar to a person breakup, you'll a lose a part of you.
You’ll never be exactly the same as you are at 20 in a college town, or 25 in a big city.
5
In place breakups, you have to be the one to leave, even if things didn't end badly.
A place won't ever leave you first.
6
A place changes in your absence, until you barely recognize it.
Randomly checking in on an ex is stalking, randomly checking in on a place is visiting. The freedom to return is nice, but seeing a place change can be hard.
7
You get used to places. You're used to routine, belonging, and the local taco shop.
Leaving means getting un-used to all that, searching for it somewhere else.​
8
After a place breakup you may lose touch with those the place introduced you to.
It’s similar to losing the friends & family of an ex, but harder in that you may not expect to.
9
A place moves on fast. Sorry sis, it's been seeing other people the entire time.
10
Other people will love your ex-place after you.
You may have to see them post their love on social media.
Kinda like seeing your ex post a new lover or bff post a new bffl, it may be a bit jarring at first, but gets easier.
11
None of your exes are Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. They'll remember you & there's satisfaction in that. A place forgets you the second you leave.
A place won’t even acknowledge the traumatic experiences you had in its presence. They kinda gaslight you that way. :/
A place can't recall a happy memory, smile to itself, & mentally wish you well.
It hurts that I will not be remembered by the In-N-Out I frequented nearly every weekend for 5 years. (Even the time I ordered in a David Bowie costume will be forgotten.) Soon only I, along with a few friends, will shoulder the memory that I was ever there at all. It hurts that every room I’ve ever lived in will go on to house dozens more girls, as if our nights together meant nothing.
How odd to dread vacating the place I vacated so hastily every summer or long weekend.
And how odd to be heartbroken, leaving the place I first felt heartbreak.
How odd to love it still, even as I willingly choose to leave.