This is the seventh instalment of a series, 20 Letters, where I share letters I wrote and sent via the post, throughout 2020 and 2021, to people in my life. Read more about the project here.
Dear C,
Long time no speak, darling! I know it is out-of-the-blue to be writing you. I'm moving out of my place in Whitechapel next week, after 5.5 years, and in the process of packing I re-discovered the letter you sent me, along with the ‘Hygge’ book, in 2016. It was so sweet of you to send that, I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to reach out again.
One of my many goals for 2020 is to write and send 20 letters. This is letter #7. Each letter has had a different topic, inspired by a song title or lyric. As I'm about to move, I've been thinking a lot about how memories are tied to a place, and how moving is such a massive, concrete marker of time. I haven't lived anywhere as long as I have here, since leaving my parents' house in Canada at age 19. A lot of significant life moments and changes have happened over the course of 5.5 years; for example, I was single when I moved in, I met N at my birthday party here in 2015 and we dated for nearly 4 years, and now I'm single again – more on that later. I know you've also moved cities and countries many times, so I'm interested in getting your insight into it. How have you adapted to new places? How have your friendships survived? What have been the unexpected challenges in moving from the UK to Germany?
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