not one of their own

[alpacinou]

Hello.

Have I used "one of their own" correctly and naturally? Is this sentence okay?

She immigrated to London in 2010 but she returned home. She could feel that the people there didn't look at her as one of their own. She could sense that she was an unwelcome outsider.

My reservation is that when we say one of own we are talking about a smaller group of people. But does it work about a big group of people and the way they look at an immigrant?

 

[GoesStation]

You're speaking from the perspective of her home country, from which she emigrated.

 

[PeterCW]

Your second and third sentences aren't clear, my first reading was that she no longer fitted in at home after living in London. The use of "one of their own" gives this impression as it implies a cohesive group rather than a city of 8.7 million.

You could use the phrase to apply to a particular small town, suburb, housing development or place of employment but not to a major city.

 

[alpacinou]

Your second and third sentences aren't clear, my first reading was that she no longer fitted in at home after living in London. The use of "one of their own" gives this impression as it implies a cohesive group rather than a city of 8.7 million.

You could use the phrase to apply to a particular small town, suburb, housing development or place of employment but not to a major city.

Yes. As I said I wasn't sure. So I will use something like "she didn't feel she belonged".

 

[GoesStation]

Yes. As I said I wasn't sure. So I will use something like "she didn't feel she belonged".

That's totally fine, but for some reason I'd prefer she felt like/that she didn't belong.

 

[tedmc]

How about "she felt she couldn't fit in"?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yes. As I said I wasn't sure. So I will use something like "she didn't feel she belonged".

That sounds good to me. So do Goes' suggestions.

Keep in mind that Goes and I come from different regions. What sounds natural in one English-speaking place sometimes doesn't in another.