Is it normal to feel like you were born in the wrong country?

I work and live on the very spot my family have inhabited for at least a thousand years and probably two thousand or more. I know in my head that I am very firmly rooted here but my heart has always felt Scandinavian or Russian. Watching Swedish TV and film as a teenager, it always looked like my idea of home. It's difficult to explain. I know I'm English and I fit here. Part of me just thinks that somewhere else is home. An ancestral home, maybe. I don't know. It really is very difficult to explain.

So I vaguely know what you mean, yes, but I think it's for different reasons with me. I also feel a bit out of place in this time. 700-800AD feels more like where I should be. Maybe I'm the reincarnation of a Viking?

If the recent Brexit vote and the latest general election weren't the final indicators of this, I definitely don't belong in the UK. I am not conservative or myopic enough, and I think that for its faults (and it has a few), the EU remains a great concept. I far more enjoy living in Germany than I ever did in the UK.
Germany actually is not my favourite country - that honour goes to the Netherlands, where I lived for 9 years in total. Liberal, open-minded, tolerant (yes, I know that does not apply to everyone, but overall it is true, apply that principle too to my previous comment about the UK). Work environments in both the Netherlands and Germany have been generally far better and opportunities far more abundant, and I have been extremely thankful for the opportunities that I had since I left the UK - where such possibilities simply did not seem to exist (debt and unemployment seemed to be everywhere). My wife (who is from a different continent) also loves the life here.
With Britain leaving the EU, most of its young people will be denied a lot of the opportunities, both professional and personal, which I have had, and I feel sorry for them for that reason.
For the record, I have a degree in French, and have also lived and worked in France, though that was a few years ago. Paris is a great place to live though and is affordable when compared to many of the world's major cities.

Hello! I searched this through with hopes that someone might just relate to what I’m feeling and now, I got a bunch! I’m an Asian, I live here in the Philippines all my life, my family loves to travel so growing up, I became knowledgeable of other cultures and got deeply influenced by some. So far, I’ve only toured Asian countries like China, South Korea, Japan and Singapore but I am very fond of reading European and American cultures as well so I got a glimpse of what it’s like to live there. It’s not that I hate the Philippines but I feel like my personality or my nature does not fit with other filipinos or the country itself. I feel secluded and lonely with this thought and sometimes, I can’t help but feel guilty. My country have always upholded nationalism but I feel sad that I can’t do it myself, I just can’t bring myself to be attached to my country!! A lot of foreigners love to stay here in the Philippines because of the friendly people and nice surroundings but honestly, real filipinos dream of a better place to live in. A country filled with warm smiles and hospitable people is not enough to consider it beautiful, the ugly truth here is that a lot of people are jobless, population is rapidly growing, more and more people go through poverty and corruption is at its worse case!! And the people? The people still think that it’s okay. They still think that we can be happy amidst all these!! Last year, I went on a trip to Japan and it was not what I expected at all. Japan exceeded my expectations. This country valued work over anything, together they strive to become better each and everyday, no doubt they are one of the best countries in the world. Also, just a week ago, I went to South Korea, I was very observant with their way of living mainly because even before I went there, I grew fond of their culture as I am a big fan of Korean Entertainment. My trip there made me realize my love for South Korea even beyond the entertainment they give to people. Their economy is amazing, people are not afraid to venture into business (plus the food is great!). Just when I was about to leave, I can’t help but cry because I really don’t wanna leave. One thing is that, I have this strange feeling that I will eventually be back there one day like a magnetic force or something. When it comes to people, I find both countries very easy to connect. Now, I am looking for study opportunities in those 2 countries.

Do I really feel like I don’t belong to my country or is it by the influence of other cultures that I can’t help but dream something big for my country?

I have that exact feeling, but with opposite circumstances. I'm Brazilian and I hate their openness, lack of general propriety, disregard for rules, unpunctuality etc. My ancestry and my family's culture perfectly fit the Brazilian mould, but I don't. I also DESPISE the warm weather all year long. I'm aware that I come off as bitter, but it's all true. I don't fit well here at all. I spent 1 year in South Korea and I felt more at home than ever before. I'm introverted, which is seen as a bad thing in Brazil, but in Korea I felt normal. People weren't loud and intrusive, they were generally reserved, punctual and respectful. My boundaries weren't being constantly challenged the way they often were in Brazil.

Hi. I know how you feel!! I feel the same!
I was born in Brazil.
This country is dominated by corruption!
I hate corruption!
I am an architect, and a good professional!
But ....here ...to be successful you must be part schemes corruption!
Would you like to change with me?
Here is hot weather and i love cold weather.
Here people love dance.
And here people are spontaneous, as you wishes...
I am very serious for this place!!
I"d like to be a canadian citizen! Not a brazilian citizen!

I totally understand you.
I like my birth country but I love UK.
I lived the First 17 years of my life where I was born (South America), then I moved to the UK. That was the best thing ever to happen in my life. Before that I'd feel lost like I couldn't fit in.
It's very weird because ppl didn't and still don't understand me. Even my family. :(
But I found myself with the British! I'm even a British Citizen now. Lol
However, I'd love to have it as a Real birth country, but my thoughts and personality is kind of a mixture of both nationalities. 85℅ British and 15℅ South American.
Weird... Isn't it?
I've never loved the hot weather! I enjoy the cool summer breeze but not the killing 40°+ temperatures like the ones in SA. :x
Well, I don't know if anyone understand me, but I'm happier in UK than in SA.

I was born and brought up in the States, but I feel just the same. I've always felt like an outsider, an immigrant in the country I was born in. I suppose it might have to do with my mum being English, and I've always been much closer with her than with my American dad, so I think that's translated into identifying with her native culture more. Whatever the reason, I'm uncomfortable with being called 'American' (either by myself or by others), I actually have refused to say the Pledge since I was about eight. If I left and never came back, other than missing my family here, I wouldn't care at all.

I won't pretend it isn't because I don't like certain aspects of the culture: there's a lot of overprotection of children here, which I think hinders developing independence. There's also so much self-centredness, and I find it extremely off-putting.

And about the weather; I was brought up in Portland, and I hate the cold wet greyness very much. So I don't know how much I would like that bit of living in the UK. (Perhaps Australia would be nice...)

I know how you feel. I was born in america, but for many years I've felt like I was born in the wrong country. I feel like I was supposed to be born in Britain. I went there last year and felt like I had lived there for many years. Maybe in a past life I lived in Britain. I just know that I don't belong in "this" country. I hope to eventually move to Britain, that would make me very happy.

This is definitely normal... to me at least. I've felt as if i were born in the wrong country, and in the wrong century even.
Maybe i'm the only one who feels that way, but i can identify with you.

I LOVE AND RESPECT ALL PEOPLE. I just feel like my natural personality is out of place here in AMERICA's Self-Centered ways.

Funnily enough I really feel at home in Poland - where major atrocities happened :o( However, I am from N. Ireland and now that the 'Troubles' are over and we have peace, maybe I miss the remnants of the destruction and the poverty.

I don't know but I would happily set up home in Poland as I just love the hard-working people.

Canada's a big place, what area are you basing these generalizations on?

I'm Canadian and I've never been to a concert where everyone stayed sitting down. I've seen a lot of bold colours in Canadian homes, so I'm not sure where you're getting the "insufferable neutrals" from.

The only part of Canadian culture that bothers me, is the culture that is derived from the U.S.A.. A lean towards the individual self-entitlement that defines a capitalist state, instead of a considerate awareness of one's neighbors.

I've lived in several provinces and each one is very different from the next. My least favorite provinces, in this order, are: Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario. It has been my experience that the people in these provinces are generally not as friendly and considerate as I would expect true Canadians to be.