I went back to Zurich after two whole decades earlier this month. Did it feel like a familiar homecoming you would expect it to? Absolutely not, it was quite the opposite. Buildings seemed unfamiliar, I did not recognise any of the tram stops I used to frequent as a kid and grocery stores seemed foreign. I have memories of a grand total of three physical places, including our home which has unfortunately been rebuilt since, and I could see none of them. It was a long trip, and I thought I’d grow irritable towards the end, but I felt quite the opposite. It felt right, and the trip felt like the life I wanted to lead.

I have usually struggled to find places where I socially fit in, be it school, college and even work. I did not relate to the environment, the people and how things were done. But in Zurich? Planning my days around public transport, walkability and scarily accurate rain predictions was all so natural to me. I most definitely felt like I fit in. The punctuality, orderliness, and the way the Swiss conduct themself is something I related to on a spiritual level. Now one could argue that correlation does not imply causation, but I strongly feel being raised there in my formative years has had a profound impact on my value system and how I conduct myself.

At this point in my life this trip is really forcing me to reevaluate my priorities of the kind of days I want to spend and the experiences I want to fill my life up with. I have toyed with the idea of briefly moving abroad several times in the past, but this is the first trip of its kind where I have been a fully functioning adult and I cannot stop thinking about what life would be like living in a city like Zurich. Public transport accurate to the second, zero haze, running along the lake in the evening and an unmatched feeling of safety. Very, very tempting. Of course this comes at the cost of being away from family, setting up social circles in a starkly foreign land and prohibitively high cost of living. Is it worth it? I don’t know. But I definitely want to find out.