Where were you born? Were you born in another country to the one you are a citizen of/identify with now/live in? (living, moving to)

[chilaili]

I was born in Singapore too but because my parents were British military I don't think I was ever eligible for citizenship there and I left when I was still a baby. Now I have dual citizenship in other countries but I sometimes wonder what it would've been like to live my life in Singapore.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by foadi

born in DF, mexico. raised in orange county california and hong kong. don't really feel attached to any country. i prefer living in asia but no major preference towards any one country, i like a lot of them.

How do you find living in Bangkok, like? Is it much different to just visiting as a tourist?

Will you be forever a 'farang' with a big dollar sign on your forehead to them or do they actually treat you as part of the community?

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by chilaili

I was born in Singapore too but because my parents were British military I don't think I was ever eligible for citizenship there and I left when I was still a baby. Now I have dual citizenship in other countries but I sometimes wonder what it would've been like to live my life in Singapore.

Me too...

Not sure if you're familiar with 'Singlish' (which either refers to the patois or a strong Singaporean accent) but when I was in Singapore I was at Burger King when there was this teenage girl who looked European (not sure where her parents were from) with her friends and she had the full on Singaporean accent. It was pretty cool actually, lol.

[Proterra]

Born in Minnesota.

Moved to Europe at a very young age, because I was raised by a friend of my aunt and grandmother who was in the military and broke up with her husband.

Grew up in Limburg province, Netherlands. Foster mother died when I was a teenager, moved back to my parents in the US, ended up not liking it there too much, went back to Limburg, didn't like it there either anymore, moved to Scotland, loved it there, but hadn't finished anything like college yet, so went to Germany and commuted in to my uni in Nijmegen. Visited Kraków on an exchange and never bothered to go back.

Over the last years I have to admit I start enjoying my trips to Minnesota more and more. As a teenager used to Maastricht and Nijmegen with the likes of Cologne and Amsterdam within an hour or two away, Detroit Lakes, Frazee and White Earth / Ogema didn't have much appeal to me... Almost 15 years later the idea of being out on the ice drinking a beer (or five) and catching my dinner for the evening is becoming much more something I can enjoy...

Now I have three passports; US, Polish and Dutch. And frankly, I don't know whether I identify with only "one" of them. I sure as hell identify with the city I've lived in for years, Kraków. I identify with the place where my roots are, Minnesota. And Limburg gave me a fun childhood... And whenever I go back to Minnesota or Limburg I always bring goodies such as oscypek, smalec, żurek and many different flavours of wódka along... And here in Kraków I have a freezer full of venison and enough wild rice to last me through WW3...

So, in the end I don't know... And I guess I can't really care about it either. National borders are in the end nothing more than lines drawn on a map by medieval kings and have ended up being constantly subject to change anyways, Poland being a good example of this... So, I guess the answer to the question where I identify with depends on who's asking it and in which context... Sometimes I might end up saying Minnesota, Rhineland, Limburg, Poland, EU, Scotland, Edinburgh, Central Europe, whatever. Most of the times it would be Kraków though...

[dragonborn]

Born in the UK, lived in the US for the best part of a decade.

I don't speak to many Brits very often and honestly now, I find myself "forcing" British words, even though they no longer feel natural. My accent has morphed into somewhat of a hybrid accent too, which throws off a lot of British and Americans alike.

Culturally, I am British for the most part, though even that is more out of wanting to reminisce than anything else. A lot of my thinking and way of living is very much American. If I moved back to the UK tomorrow, it would be like having to adjust to a foreign country in many respects.

Living abroad for a considerable amount of time changes you, whether you want it to or not.

My allegiance is to both countries.

[wikiwikirunner]

I was born in Upstate, NY in a small town that I utterly hate. The nearest city is Niagara Falls, NY, and those of you familiar with the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area can understand why I hate it. I spent a substantial amount of time on the Big Island of Hawaii, where I have some very close family and friends, and officially moved to Central California. I'm now spending a year in London, which I absolutely love, and plan to move to Brisbane or Gold Coast, Australia within the next 18 months, long enough to get an AUS passport, however long that takes. I identify with Hawaii and Central/Southern California, as I am hugely into the beach, and the type of lifestyle that goes along with it.. don't ask me how I love London so much with it's land-locked location and terrible weather.I'm a very nomadic person though, so I have a hard time fully associating myself with a single place. In addition, my American accent has blended with the British accent, and the amount of time I spend with my Aussie friends here, which causes me to have a very strange aussie/british/american accent so no one can really figure out where I'm from exactly when talking to me.

[Tiger Beer]

Born in the United States, but live in Japan.

[Scotslass]

I was born in Scotland lived in MS for a while and now currently living in Andalucía, Spain and love it.

[Huamii]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Wow lots of coincidences with my life actually! I was actually conceived in Manila, believe it or not, as my parents were briefly missionaries there for about a year. Then they moved back to KL and then Singapore. When I was six months, actually, they wanted to move to Sydney where my aunty was living but my dad had NZ PR so we lived in Auckland for six months! However, my parents had visited Perth and really liked it so decided to move there. After returning to Singapore briefly and having my sister, we settled in Perth when I was a year and a half and I've been here ever since. While Perth is home I've always longed to see and live in other parts of the world. I've done a bit of travelling but ideally would like to do something that exposes me to different places and cultures.

Great to see that there are people that have gone through things like me! I believe that after travelling to different places, it really does change a lot of your views and perspectives on certain issues, and I think it is actually quite a benefit for anyone that goes through such a trip!

[callmemaybe]

I was born and raised in America, never been anywhere else aside from Canada, but I don't really feel like an American. I just feel like .. a person I guess?