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I've been in AZ for the last three years but I was born and raised in Southwestern Virginia near the Tennessee border. I'll always consider myself a VA native and a southerner above everything else regardless of the length of time I live here.
native
late 14c., from O.Fr. natif (fem. native), from L. nativus "innate, produced by birth," from natus, pp. of nasci (Old L. gnasci) "be born," related to gignere "beget," from PIE base *gen-/*gn- "produce" (see genus). The noun is mid-15c., originally meaning "person born in
To be a native of a state, you have to be born there. To be actually from a state has different meaning to different people. I know people that say if you were born in a state, even if it was on accident and you never lived there, that is where you are from. Others say that you are from where you grew up or went to high school. I knew one man that said that as far as he was concerned, once you have lived ten years in a state, then you are from that state. My opinion on the matter is that you can't be a native of a state if you weren't born there, but you can be from a state that you most identify with and feel is home, especially if you have lived there for awhile.
You really think so? I think that if you're the child of transplants, like I was, you're still more like those of the region you're in as you grow up with more people from that area than from your parent's area, if that makes sense. I mean really, who has more influence: parents or friends and people you're surrounded with?
My parents, by a long shot. Not to say that my environment played no role, but I grew up in the Bronx with one parent a Norwegian immigrant, and one parent a German-American from the Midwest. Despite my quintessential NY Bronx surroundings, I would not be mistaken for an extra from Goodfellas either in accent or attitude.
On the other hand, I have very definite ideas on what constitutes an adequate pizza and I know all the best stations to jump the turnstiles:-)
My parents, by a long shot. Not to say that my environment played no role, but I grew up in the Bronx with one parent a Norwegian immigrant, and one parent a German-American from the Midwest. Despite my quintessential NY Bronx surroundings, I would not be mistaken for an extra from Goodfellas either in accent or attitude.
On the other hand, I have very definite ideas on what constitutes an adequate pizza and I know all the best stations to jump the turnstiles:-)
I feel that the place you are "from" is the place that had the most influence while growing up. It needs to be A LOT of influence as well (like at least half of your childhood, if not longer.) Many people who moved around a lot as kids are not really from any one place. It doesn't have to be the place where you were born, or the place you went to high school, but the place where you spent an overwhelming majority of your life from birth to 18.
Where your parents are from also does not affect where you are from. Regions are not monolithic, and culture is influenced by everyone who lives there, not just everyone who is from there. Parents have a huge impact on what your life is like growing up, but everyone in your area takes in the same feedback from strictly regional output (if that makes sense.)
My parents, by a long shot. Not to say that my environment played no role, but I grew up in the Bronx with one parent a Norwegian immigrant, and one parent a German-American from the Midwest. Despite my quintessential NY Bronx surroundings, I would not be mistaken for an extra from Goodfellas either in accent or attitude.
On the other hand, I have very definite ideas on what constitutes an adequate pizza and I know all the best stations to jump the turnstiles:-)
This is a really easy thing to get your arms around IF you fit into that definition. However, for many of us, we don't fit into the "born or reared" definition. I am a perfect example. I was born in Oregon but don't remember it at all and have never been back because we have zero family there. You see, my parents are from Gary, Indiana and they moved to Oregon for 5 years during which time I was born. At age 3, my family moved to the Bay Area of California. When I was in the middle of 6th grade, my family once again picked up and moved to North Carolina where I finished school, college and entered adulthood.
So....where does someone like me say that I'm from? It's not so clear cut. When asked now, my first inclination is to say that I am from Raleigh because that's the place where I spent the second half of my formative years and it shaped me fully into adulthood. It's perfectly average for people in Raleigh to be from somewhere else and a question to that effect is typical in many initial conversations. So, when asked in Raleigh, I usually say that I was raised a young kid in California before moving to Raleigh and consider myself from Raleigh.
In the end, I am technically a native of Oregon....though I have absolutely no roots there whatsoever.
My early childhood years were in the South Bay but even it's a completely different place than it was then. I was most shaped by Raleigh and the people that moved there primarily from the Northeast. My parents claim that they raised me with Midwestern values though I have never lived in the Midwest.
Answering the question is a lot easier when I am out of the country because I can just tell them that I am an American.
This is a really easy thing to get your arms around IF you fit into that definition. However, for many of us, we don't fit into the "born or reared" definition. I am a perfect example. I was born in Oregon but don't remember it at all and have never been back because we have zero family there. You see, my parents are from Gary, Indiana and they moved to Oregon for 5 years during which time I was born. At age 3, my family moved to the Bay Area of California. When I was in the middle of 6th grade, my family once again picked up and moved to North Carolina where I finished school, college and entered adulthood.
So....where does someone like me say that I'm from? It's not so clear cut. When asked now, my first inclination is to say that I am from Raleigh because that's the place where I spent the second half of my formative years and it shaped me fully into adulthood. It's perfectly average for people in Raleigh to be from somewhere else and a question to that effect is typical in many initial conversations. So, when asked in Raleigh, I usually say that I was raised a young kid in California before moving to Raleigh and consider myself from Raleigh.
In the end, I am technically a native of Oregon....though I have absolutely no roots there whatsoever.
My early childhood years were in the South Bay but even it's a completely different place than it was then. I was most shaped by Raleigh and the people that moved there primarily from the Northeast. My parents claim that they raised me with Midwestern values though I have never lived in the Midwest.
Answering the question is a lot easier when I am out of the country because I can just tell them that I am an American.
There are exceptions to every rule!
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