History YouCantGoHomeAgain / RealLife

* This can occur during severe infestations of pest animals (IE: Rats, cockroaches, etc.). The infestations can be so severe that the families living in said home have no choice but to pack up their things and leave. The AnimalPlanet series ''Series/{{Infested}}'' is a documentary that is basically about these situations (Though, fortunately, they are often [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], but not always).

** In some cases it did mean they finally went home to a place they never knew. Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was a Finnish Noble with a Swedish name who was in the Russian military for nearly 30 years and forgot how to speak Finnish, due to lack of use.[[note]]Baron Mannerheim's native language was Swedish, just like most Finnish nobility of the time. Even after re-learning Finnish upon returning to his homeland, he was known to speak with a heavy accent, to the point that during the Finnish Civil War, he required an interpreter.[[/note]] He became Regent of Finland but found Finland strange. He lost his bid for president after helping to set up a new government. He spent most of the next 20 years semi-retired until WorldWarTwo when he was Field Marshall and was later elected president.
* At the end of the [[WorldWarII Second World War]] the borders of Poland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia were altered by the Soviets. Nearly ten million people were forcibly relocated, many leaving behind villages where their ancestors had lived for generations. Particularly heartbreaking for [=POWs=] who were released and suddenly found their homes didn't exist anymore.

* Happened on a massive scale to the African slaves brought to America, who were MadeASlave and in all likelihood never even saw their continent again.

* Happened on a massive scale to the African slaves brought to America, who were [[MadeASlave]] and in all likelihood never even saw their continent again.

* At the end of the [[WorldWarII Second World War]] the borders of Poland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia were altered by the Soviets. Nearly ten million people were forcibly relocated, many leaving behind villages where their ancestors had lived for generations. Particularly heartbreaking for [=POWs=] who were released and suddenly found their homes didn't exist anymore.
** Because Poland was now Communist, virtually all of the Polish Army in Exile remained in exile for the rest of their lives.
** When the Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to complete the "Iron Curtain", those who found themselves in East Germany had to stay there. Not that it stopped some of the more determined ones.
** Some of the Soviet Union soldiers during World War II who were captured as [=POWs=] by the Germans risked a few years in prison by returning to the Soviet Union after the war. This was because failure to fight to the death against the Nazis was seen as a potential sign of cowardice (or worse). Many either stayed in Germany living in Displaced Persons camps, or migrated elsewhere.
*** The book ''Literature/OneDayInTheLifeOfIvanDenisovich'' demonstrates quite well what happened to POW's who tried to return, as the main character was sentenced to ten years in TheGulag for being a suspected "spy" for the Germans.

* Many people find themselves displaced from their homes due to political turmoil, often losing, in the way, [[TheStateless their nationality]]. One noteworthy case was Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian national who ended up having to live in an airport terminal lounge for '''18 years''' because his refugee papers were stolen.
** It's said he eventually [[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/981/has-a-guy-been-stuck-in-the-paris-airport-since-1988-for-lack-of-the-right-papers made a sort of life for himself there]] and wouldn't leave even when he could. See the movie ''TheTerminal''.

* In 1958, a Virginia interracial couple-Richard and Mildred Loving-were [arrested for leaving the state to get married in Washington D.C. and then returning to Virginia to live as a married couple. The judge sentenced them to a year in prison but suspended the sentence for 25 years on the condition that the Lovings never return to Virginia together or at the same time. Eventually, the Lovings did return home after winning a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, ''Loving v. Virginia''. The case not only overturned their convictions, but also legalized interracial marriages across the whole country.

* In 1958, a Virginia interracial couple-Richard and Mildred Loving-were [[MalignedMixedMarriage arrested]] for leaving the state to get married in Washington D.C. and then returning to Virginia to live as a married couple. The [[TheFundamentalist judge]] sentenced them to a year in prison but suspended the sentence for [[DisproportionateRetribution 25 years]] on the condition that the Lovings [[TheExile never return to Virginia]] together or at the same time.
** Eventually, the Lovings did return home after winning a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, ''Loving v. Virginia''. The case not only overturned their convictions, but also [[HappyEnding legalized interracial marriages across the whole country]].

* The foreign volunteers of Waffen-SS after World War Two. Germany had lost the war and they would have faced trial of high treason in their native countries. Many of them found their only solace in French and Spanish Foreign Legions. It is said the majority of the French forces in Vietnam consisted of former Waffen-SS soldiers.
** This was averted with Swedish volunteers, as shown in ''Film/{{Frostbite}}''. Almost none of the surviving volunteers where jailed. The few who where punished where simply punished for avoiding drafting.

*** The book ''OneDayInTheLifeOfIvanDenisovich'' demonstrates quite well what happened to POW's who tried to return, as the main character was sentenced to ten years in TheGulag for being a suspected "spy" for the Germans.

* Many people find themselves displaced from their homes due to political turmoil. One noteworthy case was Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian national who ended up having to live in an airport terminal lounge for '''18 years''' because his refugee papers were stolen.

* Americans who renounce their citizenship often find their ability to stay in their country of origin severely limited. For example, Creator/TerryGilliam, an American who became a British citizen, is only allowed to visit the U.S. for 29 days ''a year'', much lower than most U.K. natives are allowed to visit. On the other hand, people who do this in theory ''don't want to go home again''.

* Its not just the military brats – the "Diplobrats" (a.k.a children of diplomats) often have the same feelings. You live in so many homes, but you don't own them; the government does, or you rent. They're not your home, and going back would just emphasize that point.

* This can occur during severe infestations of pest animals (IE: Rats, cockroaches, etc.). The infestations can be so severe that the families living in said home have no choice but to pack up their things and leave. The AnimalPlanet series ''{{Infested}}'' is a documentary that is basically about these situations (Though, fortunately, they are often [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], but not always).

*** Many military brats move between bases so frequently while growing up that they don't ''have'' a hometown. Asking them where they are from will yield a blank look.

*** This is a good example of entertainment lagging behind reality, since living with your parents past high-school/college age ''does'' make you an {{Acceptable Target|s}} for comedians, the media, and at least one major US political party.

* Americans who renounce their citizenship often find their ability to stay in their country of origin severely limited. For example, Creator/TerryGilliam, an American who became a British citizen, is only allowed to visit the U.S. for 29 days ''a year'', much lower than most U.K. natives are allowed to visit.

* Americans who renounce their citizenship often find their ability to stay in their country of origin severly limited. For example, Creator/TerryGilliam, an American who became a British citizen, is only allowed to visit the U.S. for 29 days ''a year'', much lower than most U.K. natives are allowed to visit.

* Americans who renounce their citizenship often find their ability to stay in their country of origin severly limited. For example, Creator/TerryGilliam, an American who became a British citizen, is only allowed to visit the U.S. for 29 days ''a year''.

** This was averted with Swedish volunteers, as shown in {{Frostbite}}. Almost none of the surviving volunteers where jailed. The few who where punished where simply punished for avoiding drafting.

* This frequently happens to victims of natural disasters. Floods, fires, earthquakes, and other events can destroy whole countries. Even if you can physically return to where you house once stood, your house and neighborhood may no longer be there. Especially the case when there are a lot of fatalities. These are more cases of No Home To Go Back To.

** Hurricane Sandy destroyed much of New Jersey and New York. Houses were completely washed away, or irreparably damaged.

* For many Americans today, the concept was an abstract or something that happened in other countries... until Hurricane Katrina left tens of thousands with no homes (or jobs) to return to.
** The vast majority of them have managed to make new homes in Texas or further inland in Louisiana. A large number simply returned to New Orleans.

*** Another Canadian example was the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resettlement_%28Newfoundland%29 resettlement of much of coastal Newfoundland]]; the population of hundreds of tiny and isolated fishing communities were concentrated in areas . Many of them removed their houses from the foundations and literally towed them overseas to their new communities. See the song [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNF3V2y5hKo Out From St Leonards]].