Why Do You Live Where You Live?

Why do you live where you live? Have you just always lived there, is your family there, did your job take you there, are the taxes low, was the land cheap, did you decide to retire there, or???

I am where I am (Los Angeles County, CA) because that is where I got a job when I finished college. I grew up in Pennsylvania and studied metallurgy in college. I figured I'd end up in a Great Lakes state and had most of my job interviews in OH and PA. However, I wasn't getting any job offers until I got one from a place called Rocketdyne in CA. I was getting pretty desperate for a job anywhere, so I accepted that one. I was also up for the adventure of going somewhere far, far from where I had ever been before. I ended up liking it here and stayed. I also got married and DH likes it here, too. Plus, this is where is job is.

We are in the particular house that we are in because it was just a few miles from Rocketdyne (where we both worked at the time), was in a decent but not super overly expensive area, the house has a lot of closet space, we liked the interesting style of the house, the price was in our range, and it has a big (by suburban So. CA standards) back yard. We had both lived in apartments for years, but knew that we wanted a place where we could do some gardening.

This message was edited Aug 17, 2005 1:53 PM

We are here in OH for a number of reasons. I was born in AL, left there when I was 18 months moved to Moundsville WV until Iwas 3, moved to Bridgeport OH, then to Adena OH where I grew up. I moved around a bit after HS, had DeWayne in Oct after I graduated, got married to his dad and moved to the Erie PA area for 6 months, came back to here, in 1995 I moved to Alabama to be with my dad who still lived there. In 1999 we moved back to Ohio, because my father passed away, and my oldest son was living here with his dad. We have always been with in 30 minutes from where I grew up except when I was in PA and AL, of course. We now live outside a village called Dillonvale, we are 5 miles from there and 5 miles from Adena. My sis lives in the house we grew up in, about 20 minutes from me, and mom lives 5 minutes past her. Jeff was born and raised here, and will not consider leaving this area LOL

Janis

I was born in Western PA, my family moved to South Florida when I was six. Met hubby in high school, his family had moved to Florida when he was 8. We just didn't really like Ft. Lauderdale that much, he had family here near Philadelphia, and a chance to get into the union and paint pictorial billboards (before the sign trade was computerized). I think he made $8 an hour, and it seemed like a zillion dollars to us!

So up we moved, had kids here, HAVE kids here, will probably stay here unless they move. Other than that, I would be open to moving elsewhere. My little portrait business doesn't require me to live anywhere, in particular, I could live anywhere. But I'd miss my boys!

My husband & I were both born & raised on Long Island, NY, but moved here when his company offered him a transfer.

It's wonderful because we paid virtually NOTHING for 21 GORGEOUS acres with a fixer-upper farmhouse - the kind of property that would probably be going for double-digit millions on Long Island right now. The house is centrally placed on the property, & our neighbors are completely out of view. It sure is nice to be able to sit out on the deck with a cup of coffee in just my robe if I want - lol!!! No idiotic "homeowners association" or any of that nonsense. Just us & the neighbors - who are also wonderful.

And since I'm a horseperson - this place is a BIG plus. I have room for my horses, gardens - heck, pretty much anything I want to do. Virtually zero crime, yet 4-6 markets (2 of which are totally local organic), high-end restaurants (ever hear of The Inn At Little Washington?), film & live theatre, etc., etc., etc. And if that isn't enough, we're only about 90 minutes from DC.

In essence it's living in the country with some of the "good" attributes of the city. I can't imagine any place offering more.

I moved to Alaska because my first husband made a camper out of an old school bus and brought us up here from Indiana in 1974. We settled into the Seward area and I've been here ever since. In spite of being born in the midwest and spending my childhood there, the reason I have stayed here isAlaska is my home. I can't imagine living anywhere else after all these years.

Our summers are mild, our winters are wintery but not bitter cold, our air is fresh and our well water is glacier fed and chilled right from the tap. We are surrounded by mountains, our house is surrounded by woods, and we see wildlife every day. Eagles circle overhead, squirrels chatter in the woods, ravens cluck and grumble at one another, moose wander through the yard, and the occasional bear drops in for a visit.

Seward is situated on the tip of Resurrection Bay, so we always have seafood available... silver salmon, halibut, sometimes cod. There is a hooligan run in the rivers every year, as well, and we can catch nice trout and grayling in the rivers and streams. There are lots of hiking trails and park areas.

The people are friendly. We never lock our car or our house. We know many of our neighbors and nobody asks us for I.D. when we cash a check. You can stand in line at the grocery store and ask the person in front of you where they found the nice peaches.... and they'll smile and tell you. They might even tell you about the last time they had some really good peaches, and the best recipe for peach pie. It's friendly here.

Employment for my DH brought us to Colorado from Missouri. He retired from the Police Dept. in Columbia, MO after 22 years of service. We met a year and a half before his retirement, I had moved there from St. Louis after finding my birth brother who lived just north of the area. DH and I love Colorado and especially where we live now, as we own the place. Ten acres and many critters. I too can appear in my robe or sweats on the front porch in the cool mornings and watch the sun come up. It's so quiet out here except for an occasional coyote pack off in the distance after 9:30p.m.

We have our gardens, veggie and flowers, that we love tinkering in. Good neighbors, there if you need 'em, though we all pretty much mind our own business. I don't think I could ever live in a large city again. I'm sure the noise of traffic would keep me awake. It's beautiful here, peaceful.

I do get a twinge of missing Missouri once in a while, especially after talking with one of the granddaughters, my daughter's girls. We have a blended family and DH's daughter just had a baby boy last week, so he will drive back on vacation tomorrow, 8/18 to see our new grandson. I will stay behind to take care of the place and critters and find work. In the summer I don't miss Missouri....LOL**
Patti

We're in Memphis because that's where I got a job after graduating from college. But - we'd been married 12 years by then - and we got married in Memphis, moved to Helena Arkansas for 18 mths - then to Baton Rouge, LA for 11 years - because of Tom's job. Tom was born north of Chicago and moved to Forrest City Ark in jr high. I was born in Shreveport, LA - but having a father that was a jack of all trades, I lived in (chronological order) LA, MS, TN (Lawrenceburg), TN(Memphis), FL(Fort Meyers), FL(Winter Park), CO(Littleton), TN(Memphis). Since I graduated from high school in Memphis and spent from jr high to college there - met Tom in college after I went back after getting my hair stylist license - I call Memphis home. So - when we got a chance to come back here after living in Baton Rouge far away from all family - we jumped on it.

Only problem I have is because I moved a lot as a kid - and Tom didn't - I get antsy staying in one place - so I do a lot of re-decorating - LOL!

Fun thread!

Marcia

My, my. Where have I been, and why am I here?

Born in Miami but to a career Navy man, I have lived all over the east coast both as a child and as an adult ... FL, GA. SC, NC, MD, RI and even a stint in Calif. and KS. I ended up in the NC mountains by choice... there's something about the Blue Ridge mountains that speaks to me, to my soul.

I love the blue-grey haze that give the mountains their name, and I love the mountains themselves. Plus, the temps are generally moderate (for the mountains) even though we have 4 well-defined seasons.

I don't take advantage of the mountains like hiking in them or wandering woodland paths, which i should... I am content to just see them every day or drive through them.

Things I do not like... good stores are too far away, and even moderate "city life", entertainment and restaurants are a hundred miles away. Yet, I don't lock my house, I leave my keys in the truck (under the seat), and I feel safe (if lonely) here.

I continually consider moving but I have yet to find another place I would like as well.

I'm retired so job is not a consideration.

I was born, raised, and lived most of my life in NH. When I retired, and my income plumetted, we realized we had to move in order to enjoy our retirement instead of just 'surviving'. NH is NOT retirement friendly. We were paying nearly $4000 a year property taxes, $800 to $1000 yearly in heating bills, $200 monthly for electric, and on and on and on. Retirees just can't afford to live comfortably in NH, so a lot of retirees are leaving. NH's loss!

Also, we could no longer stand the cold and the snow, and the snow, and the snow. Most years it gets ankle deep to a tall indian standing on his head! We just got sick of it!

Anyhow, to make a long story short, we ended up here in friendly Kentucky. While we were lookin for land, we were driving to an appointment with a realtor, and saw this sign beside the road (see pic), and knew we had to buy it (nearly 17 acres)!

So here we are, in the friendliest state in the good ol' USA! Been here 2 years and lovin' every minute of it! Our neighbors welcomed us like family, as did most Kentuckians. The gardening is good, taxes are reasonable, and the fishing is great! What more could you ask?

I live here in Lappeeranta because I have no other change really:) I was born here, I and I am still under 18, and uneducated. After I have finished international hghschool, I will propably go study abroad.
This is so small place and I just cannot stand it, I hate small cities:( I visited in Paris two
weeks ago, and that is the kind of place where I would like to live:)

Big Red, your property is lovely and I'm sure with those big trees in the Spring and Summer are just gorgeous. There was nothing on our property when we bought it, full of Wheat Grass, 3 feet tall. Like you we "developed" the land, planting cottonless cottonwood trees, building the house and DH built all the out buildings and put in the posts for barbless wire. Then came the gardens!!!!

Colorado isn't retirement friendly either, tho' we aren't there yet. The cost of living here is higher than in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. The mountains here are beautiful, but I for one miss those grand old trees back home (Missouri).

Born in Mich, lived here all my life and will be planted here too. Lived in the same house growing up, went locally to college, married a guy from a small town 20 miles south of where I lived. Rented the family farmhouse for three years and bought our house from DH typing teacher (knocked on the door and asked if they wanted to sell - they did!!) Lived here for 35 yrs and will probably die here. Inlaws are 4 doors from us. Kids are within 5 miles of us. I'm a homebody!!!

Got a job teaching locally and retireed after 33.8 yrs of that. DH got a tool and die job from my college roomates dad. Got the boot after 33 yrs -another story in itself!

Always wanted a spankin brand new house, but cannot leave my gardens and my wonderful neighbors - they are like family to us. We have been vacationing for years with them.

When we do travel, I get homesick and can hardly wait to get back!!

Mitjo, meant to send you birthday greetings yesterday and never got around to doing it. I hopw you find a big city when you are ready to move!

Born 10 miles from here Family moved about every year more or less. Moved back 'home' from So. Cal. as soon as I was able. Love the mountains, forests and waters in Washington's Puget Sound region.

What an idyllic looking place, Robert!

I was born on a farm in Nebraska and we moved to another farm when I was about ten. I was around twenty when I moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Lived there for three years, really liked the area.

I had intended to move to Florida until I met some people who lived there. Then I set my sites on California. Moved her about 1967, first to Garden Grove and then later to my present house. It is extremely unlikely that I will ever move again.

College brought me to Charlotte, then work to Ft. Mill. Terribly boring I know!

It's interesting that most of us live where we do by happenstance rather than a deliberate choice.

DH bought this land and built this log / board& baton house 12 years before he knew me. We met and married 5 years ago and we both know that what he had built and maintained all those years was in preparation for me. This place and life together is everything we both ever wanted and we will stay here til the end. He is my heartbeat.

ginni

(We both were comfortably settled into the "single" life when we finally did meet - not looking for anything else - lesson, don't go looking for another life style, just live the lifestyle you are comfortable with and if Mr or Mrs right comes along - go for it!!))

Of all the places listed here so far, the one that draws me is Balvenie's Pacific NW. (Not that I'd move or could afford to, LOL.) KY is a strong second.

Why do you live where you live? Have you just always lived there, is your family there, did your job take you there, are the taxes low, was the land cheap, did you decide to retire there, or???

I live In Council Bluffs, Iowa. (right outside of Omaha, Ne for those of you who don't know)
I have lived here all my life that I remember but I was born in Nashville, mother is from there. I live here because my parents and DH's parents are here. The land is not cheap (to us) but it is cheap compared to many other parts of the country. It is a ok area but I don't want to live here forever. Why don't I want to live here forever, well lets see. I have been to many parts of the country but last year DH and I took a road trip and spent a week with friends (online friends!) in Conyers, Georgia. I did not fall in love with GA although it was a great time and we will do it again. When we came home we came home along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I fell in love with the area. I think my DH thinks I have lost my mind. I won't give him a break on it and he does like the idea of retireing there, I think he just wants me to shut up...lol I have literally been dreaming of those mountains since then. Darius I think your soul must have talked to mine because I cannot for the life of me get those mountains out of my mind. Oh I think there are many other beautiful places to visit but this is just a feeling I have not been able to shake. Kentucky was beautiful Tennesee too. But waking up on that hot humid morning in August and looking out at my first real glimpse of the Blue Ridge foothills with the mist still over the ground, well I just can't explain what I felt and still feel a year later. It was an immediate never before experienced love for a place. I knew right then where I will end up.

Jos, how well you speak my feelings about the Blue Ridge! Yes, it is undefineable... and that's okay!

Oh Darius...thank god someone understands this feeling, especailly strong now telling someone about it. Silly that this brings tears to my eyes..lol I have to tell DH I am not crazy after all. Its just something I knew the second looked out that window.

Yeah, I cannot articulate my attraction either... It just IS.

Jos - it isn't a "word" thing - its a heart "feeling". When it happens, its forever, even if you never get there. You just know there is a place for you.

I was born and raised in Winfield, Kansas. Probably will die in Winfield, Kansas. Boy doesn't my life sound exciting????

Linda

Linda - exciting? maybe, maybe not - but you know who you are and that means a lot. I haved lived all but 2 1/2 years within a 30 mile area, and I know that I have made a difference in the lives of "small town" people because I really knew who they were and where they came from. There is a connection in small towns that you can't find in "the big city". Travel is good, but home is better.

I was born and raised at the Oregon Coast, and spent nearly all my first 50 years there. In '97 my remaining family had moved away, and my dearest friends had passed on. Then my health dictated I get away from industry. Family looked for a place for me and here I am in the mountains of SW Oregon. Sometimes now I feel cheated that I wasn't raised out like this. I cannot imagine ever living in a community again.

I love country living, especially the wildlife. Alaska has always been my fantasy............maybe someday. Much as I love this mountain, I really don't like the dreadfully hot dry summers. I have to spend all day indoors. ;-(

Hmmmm, tell me more about the Seward area.

This message was edited Aug 19, 2005 8:05 AM

You don't have to spend your summers indoors in Seward. Of course, we old time Sewardites complain of the heat when it reaches 75F! Right now, the night temps are in the upper 40's or lower 50's, and the day temps get to be in the upper 50's or 60F. Fall is approaching here and cottonwood leaves litter the yard. Soon the tourists will climb in their motorhomes and head back up the Seward Highway.

If you live in Seward very long, you lose the knack for looking up. So much of our beauty is 'up'. There are mountains surrounding us, white capped a good part of the year, and tall spruce seem to tip inward as you stare up into them. You can see eagles surfing the air currents, and hear the strange whooshing sound of ravens' wings as they fly overhead. I can find a mountain trail or a fishing hole within a few miles of my home, and you don't bump into lots of peope when you visit them. Alaska has about 1 person per square mile, but of course, we aren't disbursed like that! LOL!

I guess we all day dream a bit when we hear someone describe their home. Some of us put down roots like a tree and some of us are more like tumbleweeds, but there is something magical in the word 'home'.

Weeze, that last paragraph is a keeper.
;)

Thanks weez! 50's are perfect for working outdoors. Oh! I'm dreamin' on!

I was born in San Mateo, Calif, in the Bay Area and grew up there. I left and lived in Lake Tahoe for a few years in my 20s. I loved it there. I love mountain lakes. I moved back to the Bay Area to finish college and then just stayed around there as my dad died unexpectedly so I changed some plans (was headed for the east coast which I have always been enamored of) and stayed home with my mom. I ended up becoming a court reporter and started working there freelance and just stayed. I moved down south a teeny bit where it is much warmer even tho just a few miles south, to the Redwood City/Menlo Park area and met my husband who had grown up in Atherton (they moved there from So Calif when he was in 3rd grade). We ended up moving into and buying his parents home (the part we didn't inherit) when they died.

His family has a cabin on the McKenzie River in Oregon (I also love mountain rivers) and they have vacationed there every summer for over 35 years. We had always talked about retiring in Eugene or somewhere like that to be close to the cabin which he now owns with his 2 brothers.

We didn't like the way the Bay Area had become so busy and money-focused and expensive, so we always talked about moving somewhere else but never did much about it. I have a lot of family there and that had something to do with it.

Then his company opened a satellite office in Mukilteo, Washington, and I jumped on it! He was more noncommittal, very comfie in his parents' home, but I had always loved Washington, so made him take a trip up here to check it out. Typically, he did little more than drive around the highways. I came up next and stayed with his cousin in Lake Stevens and got the grand tour. We were looking at places near enough for dh to commute reasonable - so Lake Stevens, Bothel, Edmonds, etc. On my last day here, she had to work, so she lent me her car and let me go off on my own. I drove around a bit in Mukilteo but something kept calling me to take the ferry to Whidbey Island. I knew Practical Magic had been filmed iin Coupeville and I loved that movie (esp the scenery) so I just had to get on the ferrry and come here. I actually cried on the ferry coming over here, it was so beautiful and if felt like coming home even tho I'd never been here.

It was POURING rain all day. Usually the rain here is more of a mist. I drove around Langley (which had recently been voted one of the best little towns to live in by Sunset Mag so I was curious about that), got out at the library and talked to the librarian, talked to the principal of the middle school, talked to a realtor, and then drove to Coupeville just for fun. But I had already made up my mind about South Whidbey.

I went home and started packing. Then I drug the whole family up on a house-hunting expedition around the whole area. There were some so-so places for rent in Lake Stevens and Woodenville and Bothell. There was a HUGE house right on the water in south Whidbey. We ended up there, moved 4 or 5 times in 3 years before we bought a place here (owners kept kicking us out of the rentals as they were all retirement homes and owners wanted to retire - how rude), and we just love it.

It's like what a lot of you have already said - quiet, great neighbors, friendly people in the stores, you know everyone everywhere, no one locks their houses, leave keys in the car, etc.

I'm not sure we'll stay here when dh retires. I guess part will depend on where the kids go. The entire west coast is way overpriced compared to the rest of the country, even tho Washington is way less expensive than California (do not even get me started on California!) But it's a great place to raise kids, that's for sure, and the physical beauty of the place is amazing - water everywhere, snow-covered mountains in the background (even in the summer), the occasional whale going by. It's like being on vacation every day of the year.

Gwen

What a lovely story, Gwen!

Gwendalou, Welcome neighbor.Langley is one of the neatest places anywhere. Visit the Whidbey Island Winery if you like good wines, they are a ways out of town and very nice people.We'd move to Langley in a tice if it was feasible, but settle for breakfast and shopping now and then when we get a boat ride from the cabin on Hat Island.

I have always lived in Ohio...for 63 years! I grew up living in the same house...in the country. Married my husband right out of high school...had 3 children. We basically lived in the same area..not too far from our parents.
We lived in Kettering Ohio...which is a fair sized city, while our children went to school. That is...until our youngest was in the 9th grade. Then we moved northwest...still in Ohio...to a 40 acre farm. We loved it! After ten years there...we bought a smaller place right up the road...and are still here.
The only traveling I have done...was a trip out"West"...when I was 15....a 3 day trip to MIchigan once...and a trip to Florida.
Right after 9/11, I got on my first airplane and flew..by myself...to Florida to visit our daughter.
My husband won't fly...get on a boat...or even travel if he can help it. So if I go anywhere...it will have to be by myself. Not complaining..just..how it is.
We stay home and garden...LOL!!
I enjoy seeing and hearing about all the different places you folks are from...and have been. Thanks much!

We have roots like an oak tree. Family, friends, jobs ect. We travel quite a bit, but I still love coming home to KY! To me it is a diverse, but beautiful state. The natural beauty is great for the gardener and photographer/birdwatcher. The zone 6 is nice too.
Teresa

I grew up in the Midwest - Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio at various times. After graduating from high school, my sister and I rented an apartment in Columbus for a while and then moved into a rented house with a friend for a few years. Our friend got married and then my sister graduated from college and got a real job and moved out, so I ended up in an apartment by myself. I was lonely and bored! So one day after work, in the fall of 1996, I was playing with my computer, and wandered into a Christian forum in CompuServe (Christian City - or CCity - if any of you are familiar with it..) It was SO much fun! I was hooked on the chat rooms almost immediately and made a ton of friends. I even met 20+ of them in real life. I became a sysop in there ("sysop"=systems operator; I was a moderator in the chat rooms; other sysops were in charge of various message boards) in June of 1997. Also in June of 1997, this guy wandered in one day and started chatting. I was NOT in there to meet "someone!" Actually, I had watched several people who were hoping to find romance get very hurt and I wasn't interested in going there at all. But this guy... for some reason I still can't explain he seemed... different.

Anyway, before very long we were doing IMs and e-mailing back and forth every day. He flew up in September and stayed at my brother's house for a long weekend. He met my whole family on the first day and didn't run away screaming!! And then in December I flew down to Houston and stayed with his sister. She more or less proposed to me for Charles the first day I was there. LOL! We met in Colorado in January at his niece's wedding, so I got to meet the rest of his wonderful family. And then in April we met in St. Louis at the wedding of some friends who also met in CCity.

In June I came back down here to go to his best friend's daughter's wedding (are you starting to see a theme emerging here??) and to look for an apartment. It had become obvious that we needed to spend some real time together to get to know each other and decide where our relationship was going, which meant that one of us needed to move. He LIKED his job, so I came down here over the 4th of July weekend in 1998 and rented a spare bedroom from a lady from Charles' church.

We were engaged in October and married in May of 1999. :-) Now we have 2 little bunnies (Joy is 4, Katie is 2) and are very very happy and blessed. I would love to live closer to my family, but since Charles STILL likes his job, we aren't likely to be moving any time soon. I keep trying to talk my family into moving down here, but so far they seem to be content to visit occasionally.

~ Marylyn :-)

This message was edited Aug 19, 2005 6:34 PM

Great photo... and story!

I live in the town I grew up in during last part of school years, (earlier years just a few miles away) because my family lives here. My parents live across town and I can visit them whenever I want, which is a GOOD thing because we plant shop together! :) My brother's family live just a few miles away in the next town and my sister lives in Dallas but is looking to move back closer to us, because she's discovered the big D isn't as homey. It would be fun to live in other places, but not worth not being with my family. If I could get the rest of the family to move, then I'd be willing to go. (don't mistake being close to my family as being "clannish" tho because we are nothing of the sort! lol)

Balvenie, I know *exactly* where Whidbey Island Winery is, it's not that far from 'downtown' Langley. I've been there many times and always take visitors there. I love their Chardonnary and usually have a bottle on hand for gifts. (I currently don't drink in front of my family as one of my kids is having teen rebellion issues and it seems prudent to set a good example by abstaining at the moment.)

Next time you're in the area, give a holler and maybe we can meet up. Have you been to the new Chocolate Flower Farms nursery that opened on Saratoga Road? It's a dream - all her stuff is so healthy and she has lots of unusual stuff too.

How do you get to Hat Island? Is there a bridge or do you have to have a private boat? I haven't been to many of the other islands yet - Camano, Hat, etc. I also want to go to Bainbridge. I understand there are some good nurseries there.

Gwen