It’s a somewhat common experience to zone out while driving and not remember how you got from points A to B. However, is it just as common to “wake up” from being zoned out between points A and B and momentarily forget that you’re in New(ish) Location and not lost in your Old Location (hometown). Or say someone asks you for directions someplace and you give them directions how to get there based on a different location you lived? I’ve been living in the Midwest US for 12 years now and still occasionally give directions or think I’m still on the East Coast.

  • @[email protected]
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    14 days ago

    I used to commute between Portland and Chicago, 2 weeks here, 2 weeks there, 1 week here, 2 weeks there… back and forth. Did that for a year…

    It was not unusual to wake up and not immediately know where I was.

  • cloudless
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    2314 days ago

    I have lived long term in 5 countries. There was only one time I forgot that I was in my hometown instead of in my earlier location.

    I was on a bus and I felt asleep. When the bus driver woke me up and told me to get off, I said sorry to him in the language of the different country.

  • @[email protected]
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    1114 days ago

    I accidentally drove to my former house in a different town after work a couple of times

  • ℕ𝕖𝕞𝕠
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    1514 days ago

    I’m an Eagle Scout. I don’t just know where I am, I know which direction I’m facing and the elevation.

  • Hossenfeffer
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    2914 days ago

    No, but if anyone asks me where I’m ‘from’ I never really know what the answer is.

    • @[email protected]
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      1114 days ago

      Anyone who asks this IRL gets to hear my entire life story, 'cause that’s the only answer I can come up with.

      • @[email protected]
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        414 days ago

        Same! I ended up with a kinda stock answer (“all over the state!”), but that still leads to a story. Which is the point of the question, I guess.

        (I’m a preacher’s kid, hence the moving!)

      • @[email protected]OP
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        514 days ago

        SAME! Like I was born in one place moved when I was two, moved somewhere else till I was 6, moved to another state and then 3 different houses before college in that state… then, then, then.

  • @[email protected]M
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    14 days ago

    Not often, but it happens sometimes, usually early before getting out of bed.

    I travel a lot as part of my job, I’ve been to 27 countries, and lived long-term in three of them.

    When out and about, upon waking up from my alarm I sometimes have to orient myself and remember where I am and why.

    • @[email protected]
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      714 days ago

      I have this too. When I open my eyes, sometimes the room is not what I expected and it takes a couple seconds to register

  • @[email protected]
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    14 days ago

    I have a good sense of direction and where I am. I rarely forget where I am. I moved a lot as a kid. Lived in in a bunch of different areas of Washington St.

    The sun and shadows will tell you so much about where you are. I was in Virginia for a few years. It was such a diffirent place, I never forgot how foreign it felt. At night, knowing where to look for the stars you know is also helpful. Even knowing which ways the wind blows normally can help.

  • @[email protected]
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    214 days ago

    When I was a kid and I was trying to get to sleep, I’d close my eyes and remember all the different bedroom layouts I’d lived in. Like in one place the wall was to the left and top and the door was down by the foot of the bed. In another place the wall was just to the top and the window was to the left and down. In another place the wall was just to the top and the door was to the top and left. etc.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      214 days ago

      I do something similar to this. Whenever I sleep in a new place I always make sure to mentally go over the layout of the place I’m in before I go to sleep. I used to sleep walk (im on meds now), and twice as a kid I slept walked to the wrong location for the bathroom. Once my dad caught me and was able to turn me around to the right room, the second time not so lucky.

  • chocrates
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    214 days ago

    I’ve been down south since college, about 14 years.

    I hate it, but no I haven’t had that happen

  • @[email protected]
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    714 days ago

    I can’t say I’ve forgotten where I am, but very occasionally I’ll see a landmark or just a general vibe of a place while driving and get hit with immense deja vu or memories of somewhere I used to live. Then I’ll get on Google maps and look the place up to see how much it’s changed.

  • Drusas
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    414 days ago

    Back when I was moving more regularly, yes, but only when I first woke up in the morning.

  • @[email protected]
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    313 days ago

    I moved away from my home town, lived in many places, then settled into a new home town. For the most part, no, since the places have been too different.

    However, yeah, I drove on autopilot in my home town for many years after I left. Up until I went through a red light that was never there before. Never again