There are a lot of people like me who were adopted and never really know where ther roots are.
As many of you know I found my birth mother and her roots were in North Yorkshire.
I was born and stayed in Lancashire until I married, with the obligatory time spent working in London.
I believe my birth father to be Australian, but having gone through the trauma of finding one thoroughly nasty family, that’s enough for me.
I suppose I feel my roots to be in the North of England, but love it here in Trivy where we have been so well accepted and included.
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If we had done this 20 years ago it might well be different.
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yep, quite possibly…
OH’s health situation meant I had to stop work several years before we had anticipated… and a new adventure began…
but, as it turned out, it was the best thing for both of us 
thinking on your situation… sharing your time between France and UK might work out best for you…
unless you do find another country, and feel you might prefer to be there fulltime…
you’ve already a “home” in France and in UK… so you can take your time… 
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We have a home, it’s true. I can feel how things might go as I get older, more inclined to withdraw from people, communication becoming increasingly difficult - coping with a well understood though changing culture is already demanding, but in a situation where I have to scrabble about for words… I have noted comments from David S about his language issues and aging too, and he has had long use of French
Now you’ve got me wondering what you like about France… that encouraged you to buy a property here…
You don’t have to do much/any mixing if you don’t choose to…
One recent arrival from Paris announced to her neighbour (who had only gone to say welcome) that she had no intention of mixing with locals/anyone and that she wanted to be left alone… and (as far as I know) it’s not caused upset … her wishes are being respected.
no problems where or how one chooses to live.
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Interesting. I was adopted, too. I’ve recently applied to find out a bit more, with the (perhaps selfish: I’ll take it as it goes) aim of finding I’m Irish 
While I feel most comfortable in the North of England, I am aware of a feeling of being at home in France, culturally and emotionally, that I don’t really get in England. Someone referred this morning to a place “catching her heart”, and I recognised what she meant.
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I have been coming to France for 43 years, lived here for 9 years and cannot speak French due to brain damage from an accident and two strokes, I can mostly still understand French but cannot now speak it though I used to be fluent.
I have taken residency, got married here, go into shops daily and deal with normal everyday life here with no problems, folks know my problems and either speak English or use Google translate without any problems and with no rolling of eyes or treating me like an idiot.
We go to all the local events, are part of the community and are part of a large Anglo- French group who have 15 events a year.
A choose to live the rest of my life here because we have been made so welcome, I no longer feel Scotland is my home, France is and I would not ever consider going back because of my lack of speaking the French language.
I spent 50 years living in the central belt of Scotland, worked in 21 countries, but France is my final home and where I love.
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Interesting. Both my brother and myself are adopted from different mothers. Neither of us feel the need to trace our ancestral roots as we feel it will not make a difference and would be distespectful to our adoptive parents which gave up so much for us and gave us so much. We both feel our roots are where we are happiest. Sometimes that is without proving roots and with no rhyme nor reason. He is in Russia and we are in France! We are both peaceful in our lives and souls!!
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Bred in Yorkshire, born in Nottinghamshire to a Derbyshire dad and Somerset mum.
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Born and bred in Norfolk, now I’ve returned I can’t see me ever leaving again.
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Norfolk is very special… some of my happiest memories were forged there… and there’s a flurry of “newcomers” to the fold… more each year… marvellous.
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We like many things about France, and using Porridge’s friends expression, Cussy has been catching our hearts, yet at the same time life there full time in dotage would be a very substantial challenge, not least because it only has a tabac/boulangerie. Our present plan is to sell the cottage here in about 10 years time and move to somewhere with nearby shops and facilities, probably away from Oxfordshire and all the hassles that go with life in such a place to somewhere we can grow old but remain able to look after ourselves when mobility is minimal.
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makes sense… take things gently and I’m sure all will work out for the best
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Interestingly, In my twenties, I went to Liverpool to apply for a passport and was refused because I had a short form birth certificate and they said I could have had an Irish mother who had come to UK to give birth.
I knew th at wasn’t the case because I was privately adopted.
So, adopted people who had been given a short form birth certificate and who hadn’t been told tgat they were adopted who had have had a huge shock.
Lucky you.
It seems a shame that you feel it would be disrespectful to your adopted parents.
If you feel safe in that relationship it shouldn’t make any difference.
Having said that, it is always a bit of a lottery, but when you see stories where the ‘lost’ child is welcomed into a family it is heartwarming.
When I met my half sister, it was fascinating to find that we had similar mannerisms.
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I think the Corsicans are very rooted in that respect. I live in Corsica (or ON Corsica?) and they are (quite rightly) proud of their heritage and culture. Roots are funny, I am Scottish but brought up in England form the age of three. My roots are Scottish but I don’t feel particularly Scottish when I am there (which is n-too infrequently these days).
Faraboots? My Corsican family are from Cargèse.
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Born and grew up in Nottingham but all family is from Yorkshire. I would say my roots are there. I spent a few days up in the dales, several years ago now, to revisit old haunts, and I was pleased to find that the scenery hadn’t changed much at all.
Your post sums it up for me 
Born in Northants and didn’t move until we came here, but ‘here’ (as in France) always felt more like home than UK ever did. Thank goodness that we had the choice to live where we wanted to rather earlier than originally planned!
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Not too far awa’! South side (“Rive Sud”) of the gulf of Ajaccio Cargese is a nice wee town we pass often on the way to the Calanques de Piana or Porto. Do you visit your roots ? I suppose you know that Cargese was settled by the Greeks way back?
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