I moved to Bulgaria eight years ago, more or less by "accident." (I was a peace corps volunteer, assigned to Bulgaria, then I met my husband and it was much easier for me to stay here than to try and get him to the U.S.).
While I enjoy my life here, and I think it was the right decision to stay, I do miss the U.S. at times. The problem is that we are not particularly well-off and flights to the U.S. are expensive. So in the beginning I thought we would save up so we could go back for a longer period of time. (plus it was hard to get him a tourist visa). Then we had kids, so each year it just seems to get more and more expensive.
Which adds up to it being 8 years and I've not gone back to the US. Now I think when I go home I am going to freak out/be too emotional to enjoy it. So now I wonder how often I should aim to go back so I will be able to relax and not feel like it's the last time I'll ever see it or something.
I get, this is very personal and depends on a lot of factors so no one can answer but me. But I am curious how often other people try to go back to their home country, especially those from further away.