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I grew up in Valparaiso Indiana. It was a small town when I was a child but has become swallowed by metro area growth. Moved back briefly after college but haven't lived there for nine years. A piece of my heart still lives there but as I work in a field that simply doesn't exist there or anywhere nearby (besides Chicago) I can't imagine ever going back. My brothers hate going back but I love the area still. It's home and I have so many fond memories of my childhood there. I would probably never return but would consider nearby Southwest Michigan for retirement and wouldn't rule out moving to Chicago if it was in the cards.
I lived in Fresno, California for 38 years. My husband and I started to want out of California, but all of our family is in California and we have two children so we stayed put. We'd daydream about moving away, but never did any serious looking.
Then in May of 2016 hubby found out that his job security wasn't as rock solid as we thought. Chances were once the bosses kid took over the company hubby would be out on his butt looking for a new job. So we took maters into our own hands and hubby started job hunting all along the Pacific Northwest. This was our chance to escape California.
Hubby was offered two jobs, both in Wyoming. He took the second job and we moved 1,000 plus miles away from all of.iur family and friends. We moved where we knew no one. We made the best decision of our lives. We love it in Wyoming. Hubby loves his new.job, his new boss, and the kids love their new schools. Everyone is making friends. So happy we took the gamble and decided to move.
I still live within 45 minutes of where I was born. There might be a few places I would like better, but this is where we have jobs, the house, etc. I've traveled enough to know there's no magical place of perfection out there, and here, at least, I know what to expect. Plus it's a booming and diverse economic area with relatively low COL, so I very much doubt I'd be better off somewhere else.
I was raised in Irvine, CA which is objectively a great place in many respects. But it is extremely expensive, increasingly crowded and yet lacking any authentic urban core, an ultra-competitive rat race environment and the weather is overly moderate to the point of being monotonous.
I moved away 20 years ago and even if I wanted to, returning would severely compromise my finances and standard of living, so it's not happening. Metro Atlanta is a much better fit and although I enjoy traveling elsewhere, I fully intend on residing in the South from now on. For those who enjoy California, they are sincerely welcome to it and I have no delusions about being missed!
No, I moved away from the Kansas City metro area as soon as possible, and have lived in many different cities and areas of the US since then. I presently live in the Louisville metro area for employment reasons and certainly has its pros and cons like any other place its size. I plan on retiring in the Northwoods as soon as I can pin down a town I like well enough to move to. I like having long-range plans regarding where I want to move to next.
Moved away for a while, went to school, started a career, started a family. Moved back, certainly not because we were down on our luck...we were extremely successful and that allowed us to live wherever we wanted. We liked my hometown and we wanted our children to grow up with grandparents and family around.
Left my home town because I figured it was time to try somewhere else. Then-fiance wanted to try FL, I said what the hell. Now married and have a kid, and while I don't want to go back, I'd prefer to be close by. Couldn't afford to buy a SFH in my home town even if I wanted to and the traffic up there would be unbearable now that we've lived somewhere with significantly less of it, but somewhere an hour or two driving distance would be great for family visits. Also, we're done with FL. Our life is comfortable here, but we could have an overall better quality of life back closer to home, with far better schools, outdoor things to do that don't involve the beach, and summers that don't make you want to tear your face off. Can't wait to leave.
I don't have "a" place where I grew up, we moved around often. I have lived in Oregon (well, brief stint in Washington state) as an adult longer than I lived any other place in my life - 35 + years. The spouse is from Florida and would never go back to live, although we've visited friends there a couple times.
Some people never leave their hometown while others leave and never look back. There's a third group that does leave but for whatever reason they either get nostalgic or get down on their luck and end up moving back to their hometown. For the purposes of this poll, your hometown is wherever you graduated high school, regardless of how many places you lived growing up. I also consider living within two hours of your alma matter living in the same area you grew up in for all intents and purposes.
So which group do you fall into? Where did you grow up and where are you living now? If you stayed in your hometown or you moved back after having moved away, are you happy with that decision or do you want to move? If you left, are you happy with that decision and/or do you ever consider moving back home?
I fall into the third group in that I moved away for about three years and then moved back home primarily due to the Great Recession and pressure from family.
I also unfortunately am in the 3rd group. I'm from Philly and tried to leave more times than I can count but because I couldn't get out of poverty, I always came back to family. Now I have a chance to move beyond the 200, or at least to the Jersey shore where the vibe and climate would be better for me.
I left St. Louis in the 90's for Durham NC. and swore that I would never move back to St. Louis. I thought it was the most boring and racist town on the face of the earth.
Once after living in Jesse Helms country, I soon rethought my opinion on St. Louis. In the meantime, I also learned to embrace a different culture and different people and new opportunities a new city brings.
I then relocated to Charlotte taking my new found thoughts and findings with me. I really enjoyed Charlotte. It wasn't a exciting city but my new found relationships and personal growth made it exciting.
Then came Memphis. Very devastating. The "let me lay hands on you and cast out your gay demon" expressions were very disturbing. The economy wasn't what you would expect for a city of that size either. The conservative politics of Tennessee along with the Bible belt culture didn't make any sense. Don't get me started on the extreme Pentecostal fake it till you make it, devastating impact the new prosperity thingy had a hold on Memphians. Totally bad move.
Then came Chicago. My first real big city experience. My first time choosing my dream city. Beautiful city with tons of culture. I quickly fell in love with the frantic pace and the culture.
Three years ago, I reluctantly moved back to St. Louis after being away for 20+ years. I knew it looked appealing on paper. My memories told me something different. After being back 3 years, St. Louis has been very good to me. The small big city culture is great. A fair cost of living with a good quality of life. At the same time I still have the big city lifestyle that is affordable and manageable.
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