Updated on October 11, 2024 by Angelika

In August Judith Peters the bloggers in The Content Society are calling for a blog parade. Over 100 blog parades were launched, including mine. It was a first for me, for which I chose the topic The Places I Have Lived in chose. I am delighted with the personal and diverse contributions that have emerged.

I think it was particularly nice that the participants took the opportunity to reflect on their lives and the highs and lows associated with them. It was exciting to discover that some of them, like me, have lived in both Stuttgart and Bremen. Despite our different experiences, this common denominator connects us in a special way.

My heartfelt thanks to all the participants for sharing their experiences so openly. Your stories have added a few more places to my personal bucket list — maybe our paths will cross in one city or another!

In this article, I briefly present the texts of all the participants. Read through their wonderful blog posts on their websites. Perhaps they will encourage you to start your personal journey into the past along the places where you lived.

Ilka Kind: The Town Signs of My Life

In her text The Town Signs of My Life Ilka Kind describes the stages of her life based on the cities in which she has lived. From her childhood in Haan and her student days in Augsburg and Bonn to her professional stations in Château-Thierry in France, Nuremberg, Heidelberg, and Wiesbaden. Each city shaped her in its own way. Today she lives in Hofheim am Taunus and enjoys country life close to big cities.

Ilka shows that every place was an important milestone in her life. Living in different places has broadened her perspective and shaped her as a person. Places of residence are not just geographical points, but formative stations in your life that have a great influence on the development of your personality.

Julia Pracht: These are the Cities I have Lived in

Julia Pracht takes her readers in her blog post on a journey from Plettenberg in Sauerland, where she grew up, around the globe to the USA, Copenhagen, Alicante, Beijing, and London. For her, the most beautiful city in the world is Munich, where she has lived for many years to this day. For Julia, living in these cities was an opportunity to immerse herself in different cultures and to develop personally.

Julia gained valuable experience at each location, which not only opened up new perspectives for her, but also strengthened her resilience. The constant change made her a flexible, self-confident and open-minded person.

Angela Carstensen: Places where I Once Lived

Angela Carstensen takes us in her blog post to the ten places where she has lived, including Oldenburg, Derby, and Potsdam. She reflects on how each move has changed her life — from the rural idyll of Süderdithmarschen to the hustle and bustle of city life in London. She emphasizes that the meaning of a city for her depends on the people she associates with it.

For Angela, every move has been enriching. Her diverse experiences have shown her that beauty lies in the little things in life, regardless of where you live.

Silvana Goldbach: The Places where I've Lived

Silvana Goldbach shares in her blog post very personal experiences. Her childhood in Sindelfingen was disrupted by a dramatic event - the loss of her father — which strongly influenced her view of the various stages of her life. Most of Silvana's moves took place in the greater Stuttgart area, but for some time she even lived in San Sebastiano al Vesuvio near Naples, with her grandparents. Despite traumatic experiences and many new starts, she managed to find lightness, both through change and through letting go.

For Silvana, her moves are closely linked to emotional memories. She experienced them as an opportunity to constantly reinvent herself and occasionally free herself from ballast.

Jenny Richter: Escape or New Beginning

In her article Escape or New Beginning Jenny Richter reflects on her numerous moves, which she sees as both an expression of inner drive and a longing for a constant in her life. Since the age of 19, she has already changed her place of residence 15 times. From her childhood in Hohenstein-Ernstthal to stations such as Greifswald, Jena and Sweden, she has experienced a mixture of emotional escape and the desire to discover something new. The moves were often associated with personal turning points, such as the end of relationships, which led to change and a new direction.

For Jenny, moving is an expression of both her restlessness and her curiosity. She is looking for a place where she can really arrive, while at the same time she is constantly driven by wanderlust.

Martina Bollhöfer: Modern Nomad — The Cities I have Lived in

Martina Bollhöfer tells us in her blog post about the many moves that were part of her life since childhood. These were often linked to difficulties in her environment, whether due to family conflicts or bullying at school. However, she also describes how she has found a way to adapt and move on in each new place. She is particularly emotionally attached to her current hometown of Lörrach, where she feels she has really arrived for the first time since a long time - even if she remains open to new beginnings.

For Martina, relocations were often a way out of difficult situations. She has learned to find her feet in new environments and has grown in the process without denying the challenges.

Jenny Patzig: My 8 1/2 Places of Residence — I have Lived in these Cities

Jenny Patzig shares in her article the personal experiences associated with her places of residence - including Madrid, Santa Clara (Cuba) and Kecskemét (Hungary) - that have left a deep impression on her. When she moved from the north of Germany to the south - first to Karlsruhe and later to Stuttgart - she noticed how different the mentality of the people within Germany was. Southern Germany remained more foreign to her than Cuba, for example, where she lived as a student in sometimes adverse conditions, but felt happy and welcomed.

Jenny not only got to know the world better through her places of residence, but also herself. Each place opened up new perspectives for her and enabled her to grow personally.

Marion Novotny: I have Lived in these Cities

Marion Novotny explains in her blog post how her life took her from her hometown of Aachen all the way across Germany to the deep south of the country, to Bavaria, where she now lives with her family. Every move, often due to career changes, was a mixture of new beginnings and farewells for her. She was particularly struck by the cultural differences between life in the north in Bremen and her current home in Bavaria. Despite frequent moves, she is very attached to her hometown of Aachen, where she enjoys visiting her parents and maintaining old friendships.

For Marion, new places of residence offer opportunities for change, but also challenges, as they always meant saying goodbye to friends. Nevertheless, she has found a new home in Bavaria without forgetting her roots.

Silke Hartmann: Places where I have Lived in the Birding Ranking

Silke Hartmann, the birdwatcher, evaluates in her article the various places where she has lived from the point of view of birdwatching opportunities. Her journey took her from her home town of Korbach in Waldecker Land to Bremen, Dublin, Stuttgart, Göttingen and finally to Cuxland on the North Sea. Most of the time, her life circumstances led Silke to a particular place of residence, but her most recent move to Cuxhaven was a conscious decision to choose an environment that is a paradise for birdwatchers. What Silke loves about her new adopted home is that she has four birdwatching habitats right on her doorstep - the Wadden Sea, forest, heathland and floodplains. Stuttgart, on the other hand, comes last in the birding rankings, which is probably due to the difficulties of feeling at home in Swabia.

For Silke, the birds are a mirror of her own arrival in a place.

My Own Text: City Stories — Places that have Shaped my Life

In my own blog post I take you with me to the cities where my life has taken me, from my childhood in Sindelfingen to my professional stations in Stuttgart and a formative stay in Bremen. I reflect on the challenges that each move brought with it and how the respective places influenced my development. Finally, the time in California, which started out as a dream but turned into an intense burden, became a turning point in my life story.

For me, the places where I have lived are closely linked to personal highs and lows. After 15 moves, I have now returned to my home town of Sindelfingen and feel that I belong here.

Conclusion of the Blog Carnival: Connections through Shared Life Stories

I am very happy about the great and interesting contributions to my first blog carnival. The participants have described their various stations in life in a personal and often touching way. The texts show that cities are not just geographical points, but can also be emotional anchors. They illustrate that our journey through life, despite individual experiences, creates unexpected connections — especially if we are willing to share our experiences with each other.

And now you!

Which cities have you lived in and how have your places of residence changed your life and your view of the world? Tell me in the comments.

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