What does 'Home' Mean for You?

Which place in the world most feels like home mean to you? This is the question that people around the world are answering on the HomeStories interactive map. 

The concept of HomeStories is very simple. It simply asks people to describe where their home is and show it on a map. However as you browse the HomeStories interactive map it soon becomes apparent that the idea of 'home' is often a very emotional and personal concept tied inextricably to our own unique life experiences.  

HomeStories is inspired by Paul Salopek's Out of Eden expedition. Journalist Paul Salopek is currently on a 21,000-mile walk around the world. His Out of Eden walk is roughly tracing the footsteps of the very first human beings who migrated out of Africa in the stone-age to eventually populate the whole world. 

During his multiyear walk Paul is documenting his journey and reporting on the stories of the people he meets. You can learn more about Paul's huge trek, view a map of his route and read his account of the journey on National Geographic's Out of Eden. Out of Eden includes video, audio and text about the people and places Paul has encountered on the walk. It also features an interactive Journey map, which allows you to access all the stories and media from each stage of the Out of Eden expedition. 

The National Geographic has also published another interactive map of the Out of Eden journey. The Out of Eden: Milestone map provides a fascinating insight into the people that Paul encounters on his journey. Every hundred miles Paul stops the first person he meets and asks them three questions: 

 Who are you? 

Where do you come from? 

Where are you going?

You can now use the new HomeStories map to answer the question of where 'home' is to you. Initially the map was designed only for the citizens of Chicago but news of the map has spread around the world and people are now submitting their stories from all corners of the world. Adding your own HomeStory to the map is very easy. Just click on the “Add Your HomeStory” button. You can then upload a photo of the place that feels like home to you and explain why this is the place that most feels like home.