Usage patterns
故郷を離れるto leave one's hometown
I left my hometown to go to university.
故郷に帰るto return to one's hometown
I plan to return to my hometown for New Year's.
故郷が恋しいto feel homesick for one's hometown
Living abroad, I start to miss my hometown.
故郷を思うto think fondly of one's hometown
I think fondly of my faraway hometown.