Thomas Wolfe had some thoughts on this exact question, although his story is a little funny. He wrote actual people from his hometown of Asheville, NC into his first book, Look Homeward, Angel (PS3545.O337 L6 1934). The townsfolk were angry at their depiction, so he left them out of his second book, Of Time and the River (PS3545.O33 O3x 1944). Being left out angered them even further, so he wrote You Can’t Go Home Again (PS3545.O337 Y6). Long story short: you may return to where you grew up, but as you mature and make your own path, you’ll find yourself making a new home.