Did you grow up where you live?

**zakity** · 03-27-2008, 09:35 AM

I grew up near St. Louis, MO in Illinois. I now live near Portland, OR. I won't move back.

**momof1in150** · 03-27-2008, 09:39 AM

I grew up in CT but now live in RI. I took the long way to get here - VT to RI to FL to Japan to HI to RI.

**Caoineag** · 03-27-2008, 09:42 AM

Grew up in MI, live in Denver, CO. I would never move back but there is a part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that I wouldn't mind vacationing in.

**simpleyme** · 03-27-2008, 09:52 AM

we still own a home in the city were we grew up ,we may move back someday ,it was a timber town and everyone seems to work to shut down all employment in the whole town except tourism which you cannot support a family on so when we no longer require jobs it might be a good economically depressed place to live our retirement years

**syracusa** · 03-27-2008, 10:02 AM

Your question contributes little to the argument I had made in the thread that ignited this discussion.

Of course most people DID NOT grow up where they live: because they chose to move. What does that prove??? That was my entire argument.

Now...would they want to move back home to be close to family?...That's another story. We'll see what they say. So far people pretty much said "I would not move back". So much for longing for family ties.

My answer to the latter is a BIG YES. We are working towards a relocation (horrifically hard in this economy, with the dollar woes and all that), especially now that we have kids and having family close by would be priceless from a million standpoints.

**tabbycat31** · 03-27-2008, 10:15 AM

I lived in the town I grew up in until the summer, when I moved 2 hours away to NJ. I'm very happy that I moved here though, as it's been relaxing compared to NY.

**disneysteve** · 03-27-2008, 11:26 AM

I grew up in Philadelphia and now live in southern NJ about 20 miles away. And growing up I spent plenty of time in the area where I now live. We used to come to NJ all the time for shopping, dining, etc. And my dad used to do business over here. So essentially, yes, I live in the area where I grew up.

**disneysteve** · 03-27-2008, 11:27 AM

Originally posted by syracusa View Post

Your question contributes little to the argument I had made in the thread that ignited this discussion.

What was the original thread?

**pearlieq** · 03-27-2008, 11:30 AM

Most people I know grew up within about a 50 mile radius of where they live now.

I grew up here in Chicago, and I now live two towns over from where I was raised. DH is the exception--he was raised in Northern Ohio and came here to Chicago for college. We met and married while he was here and he stayed. We didn't consider going to Ohio, because he came from a fading rust belt town and there was no future for him there.

I don't know if our area is an abberation or not, but most people don't really have a burning reason to leave Chicago unless it's for school, military service, etc.

You're close enough to a big city to enjoy all the benefits of urban life, but the surrounding suburbs are pleasant places to live and housing prices are pretty darn reasonable for a major metropolitan area. The job market is decent, the weather is tolerable, and we don't get a lot in the way of natural disasters.

Everything East of the Rockies is accessible by plane in less than 2 1/2 hours, and flights are cheap and plentiful.

Really, unless you've got a firm purpose for leaving, there's really no strong call to leave the Chicago area. And most people don't.

**FrugalFish** · 03-27-2008, 11:45 AM

I don't think I would bother to stay in SoCA if I hadn't grown up here. I live about 100 miles from where I was born and raised. I've lived all over CA at various times, and lived in the midwest for 2 years as well. I came back here because it beckoned me, but I also see it as somewhat necessary to stay nearer our parents as they get older. I feel some obligation to to stay put.

**herm4** · 03-27-2008, 12:48 PM

Originally posted by zakity View Post

I grew up near St. Louis, MO in Illinois. I now live near Portland, OR. I won't move back.

My husband and I both grew up near St.Louis also! I live in Omaha now....wish I was back in St. Louis!

**jodi** · 03-27-2008, 12:57 PM

I actually live in the same house I grew up in

DH grew up about 60 miles away. We lived in Syracuse, NY, while going to school and for a few years after, but decided to more back to the country just before we had kids. Since I had stronger ties to my community than he had to his, we moved back to my hometown - a "temporary" relocation to my parents house became permanent, as we never found anywhere that we liked as much and my parents wanted us to stay. This is the house we will inherit someday (part of my family's farm), so I don't anticipate us ever living anywhere else.

**rduell** · 03-27-2008, 04:37 PM

We live in the same town we grew up in (Pennsylvania). We lived in Virginia for 5 years and then moved back.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 03-27-2008, 06:38 PM

Syracusa basically said americans are stupid and like to move away from family. They choose to relocate and hence why were are on a hamster treadmill.

Basically we don't live with close family ties. Nor do we value them. People move for $$$ they don't stay put.

Syracusa

If this country still had the vaguest clue as to what real community, extended family ties and organic social support mean - they would suddenly discover that childcare, for example, is not all that expensive. Or college (take "going away" out of the equation and the cost will suddenly drop down).

Yes, those good old days (or good ol' countries?) when people actually HELPED each other in organically grown communities as opposed to just talking about "volunteering" with fancy-sounding mammoth organizations.

Yes, I know, this country is not built the way I am suggesting. But you guys built this social infrastructre yourselves, in a very anti-humanistic way - and then complain that kids are expensive?

Syracuse, I'm showing you that people do not like to move in the US. They do not want to move necessarily if they do not HAVE to.

You're argument is wrong. You like to judge Americans (as a non-american) and obviously haven't travelled to some parts of the US, where family ties are very important.

You also have not meet people from certain specific areas of the country where living there is very difficult! Specifically HI. Please don't tell me it doesn't count because it does. But try living on an island and see how you survive with jobs, okay?

And I'm not alone in knowing that there are lots of people with strong family ties.

So yes a lot of people move, but they would prefer not too. Also as shown those that do move would like to move back. Also as shown, while a lot of Americans move, many do STAY PUT!

I feel a arrogant european trouncing on American values.

Did you grow up where you live?