You can be proud of your hometown and still need to leave it.

Loving a place and outgrowing it are not opposites. Being grateful for where you came from does not oblige you to stay inside it, and going does not pass judgment on the people who stay. The two can sit beside each other without either one cancelling out. Most people who left well still speak warmly about home.

If leaving is in your plans, say the grateful half out loud to your family first. Then say the other half without apologising for it. One honest sentence now spares a lot of hurt later.