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I feel like I’m that person. Born and raised in NYC and I do travel a lot but have yet to find that city that would convince me to move.
For example I really love DC but since it’s 4 hours away I’m comfortable traveling there once a month if I can. I’m not missing anything that that a DC local has living there.
I was born, raised, and have spend the vast majority of my life in the same Charlotte suburb (Gastonia). I've lived 1-2 year stints in Orlando, Columbus, and Boston. Liked each in varying degrees. But I came back here to Gastonia knowing I never wanted to live anywhere else. I have traveled a lot and have "lived" (6 months or less) in many other metros across the nation. There are some that I know I could live and be happy living there (Orlando, Tampa, Charleston, Philly, Chicago, Minneapolis). But this is the best place I've ever been in terms of living permanently. From my own experiences, I don't agree that one HAS to spend tons of time and money moving from place to place to find that "perfect" utopia. The "grass is greener" syndrome and people getting easily bored is very prevalent these days. Generally speaking (again generally), the cost/benefit ratio isn't in favor of most people airmessly traipsing across America. Being content. Being thankful. Being realistic. Being objective. Traits that are hard to find. I did all of my short moves due to research, except one (to Boston/Cape Cod) to care for my mother-in-law. I never did them out of boredom. But I did learn a lot. I learned to be thankful for what I had. Sorry for rambling, lol. The thread just got me to thinking about this issue from a personal perspective. There are some wonderful areas here in the U.S. But where I was born, raised, and where I've been most of my life (including now) is my wife's and my personal part of Heaven.
Born and Raised in Boston.. little other cities appeal to me.. Philly is too gritty, NYC is way too dirty/trashy, Chicago lacks the ocean and mountains nearby, DC is too sprawly outside the diamond... Everything below the Mason Dixon is too hot.
It is actually rare for someone to move out of my small Arkansas home town. It's a very big deal when people leave. Everyone wanted to know why I would ever want to live somewhere else. I can't imagine not trying something else.
So most of the people I graduated with were born there and yes, they are completely content staying there. Good for them if that is the life that makes them happy. It would make me restless.
Born and Raised in Boston.. little other cities appeal to me.. Philly is too gritty, NYC is way too dirty/trashy, Chicago lacks the ocean and mountains nearby, DC is too sprawly outside the diamond... Everything below the Mason Dixon is too hot.
I find it interesting what people find best in the cities that they grew up in without having lived somewhere else. My mother's family is from Boston and I lived in Brookline for three years and went to college in Boston. I just came back from a 5 day stint in Boston, and could never live there again. Congested, traffic, expensive, come to mind. To Boston's credit, the city has become better with redevelopment and the big dig, but no.
I live in Chicago now after growing up in the LA area, and agree that the lack of mountains and ocean are a negative, but the lake is almost ocean like and so a part of downtown, more even than the ocean is a part of Boston proper. I miss the mountains of California where Big Bear was so accessible. But Chicago is clean and livable, and will do.
My hometown is very much a place where 90% of the people you graduate high school with will still be there when (or if) you come back for your 20 year class reunion. Roughly 15% of my graduating class left the state for college/military/etc., and now 9 years later, I'd guess based on Facebook and Instagram that 80-90% of those who left came back.
I lived in my hometown for the first 18 years, a suburb of Philly for college for 4 years, 5 years in Philadelphia, a 2 month stint in Shanghai, and now New York. I couldn't imagine life if I had never left my small hometown so detached and isolated from the real world. If you were born and raised in a major city where these is so much to do and experience, I can understand why you would stay. But if you were born in a small town and never leave (even for just a few years), I think that's pretty sad and a bit pathetic. People need to experience the wider, more complicated world and a small town isn't that.
An awful lot of us had no choice. My first job out of college was pretty far from where I grew up. I didn't have that kind of opportunity living in my home town. At my 40th High School reunion, pretty much none of the top-10% of the graduating class still lived in the area. Several of us owned summer homes since it's a nice coastal town.
If you're constantly relocating every 2 years, that's a sign of unstability.
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