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.
I accidentally drove to my former house in a different town after work a couple of times
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.
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
I’m an Eagle Scout. I don’t just know where I am, I know which direction I’m facing and the elevation.
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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.
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.
No, but then I grew up traveling a lot as a kid, so I was used to being in different locations.
My spatial understanding of where I live has gone to shit due to Google Maps, though.
Same, except my sense of direction has always been shit.
No.
I’m 54, not a military kid, just a genX that had hippie parents.
I’ve lived in 13 different states. Went to a different school every year, sometimes a couple of different schools in one year.
When people ask for directions, i tell them to use maps.
I’ve accidentally said an old address or telephone number after a move, but more commonly, if I’m traveling in a place I’ve never been before, I’ll see someone and think, is that Bill from work? Of course it never is, because I’m 1000 miles from home, but for a split second I don’t realize how improbable that would be.
see someone and think, is that Bill from work? Of course it never is, because I’m 1000 miles from home,
Except when it is them. It happens to me surprisingly often, even internationally. I ran into two people from my previous city twice in the last month and a half, purely by chance
Yes. Usually when waking up or after dozing off. In extreme cases, i sometimes know i am in location A, and yet struggle to accept it — the sounds or smells or something is just too reminiscent of location B.
No, but i completely can’t remember things about places I used to live. Lived in the US in one city for a decade. Drove around it every single day. I don’t think I could find my old work, most of my friends’, or any of the places I’d want to get food at this point lol. Out of sight, out of mind?
I grew up in a small town, joined the RCN moved around a little, lived where I’m at for sometime.
I can’t say I have had this experience. Though if there were a lot of similarities in the areas you are in I can see it happening
yes
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.
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.
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
