Citizen Casey Part 2

More cards and presents arrived today. The thoughtfulness and generosity of my friends feel like an affirmation of the decision to up sticks and move across the ocean, to start over again in a new city. The main reason I wanted to move back was the sense of community I felt living in Derry in the 70s, despite the Troubles. But there was no guarantee I'd find that in Belfast in the 21st Century. After six years, I feel like I have indeed settled into a place where I feel at home.

I struggled to feel at home in any of the places I lived in America (Tennessee, Florida, New York, Missouri, Pennsylvania). There's a lot about American culture that I find alienating. Just one small example: I listen to BBC radio. The other day I changed the station and was assaulted by really annoying ads. It reminded me of how, in America, you can't escape advertising and marketing. It's insidious. Here I can listen to and watch the BBC and drive around the country without seeing ads everywhere. No billboards. No screens with ads in the airport/at the gas pump/at the grocery check out. I resented in the US having my space constantly bombarded by muzak and ads. We don't do that here. There isn't a TV on when you go to get your car repaired, or wait at the dentist or doctor's office. Silence is golden but, in the U.S., it's forbidden.

Bottom line, I made the right move when I moved to Belfast in 2014.

April 28