leaving home

[hpdrifter]

I was just wondering how many of you guys ended up living where you grew up. If so, do you wish you had moved away and experienced another part of the country or world.

If not, do you think it was a valuable experience leaving?

I still live close to where I grew up and, except for the 2 years I lived in L.A., I've never spent a significant amount of time away from here. Sometimes I think I should at least try living in another part of the country. Chicago intrigues me, as does Miami and Austin. New York is absolutely my favorite city in the world. But I like Seattle too. Its not super exciting or renowned but its quirky and artsy and maritime. And its home.

Thoughts?

[mickill]

I wouldn't move from Seattle. It's pretty much another Vancouver, really. Albeit, a little less friendly, a little more artsy, a little less beautiful and a little more little.

I'm moving to Lake Como, Italy. Sometime soon. Hopefully. I pray.

[Qdrop]

i grew up in Rochester....
i moved to Baltimore for 2 years after i graduated college...
hated it for the most part...

i broke up with my then live-in girlfriend and moved back to Rochester to regroup and get some more money together...planning to move again shortly after...
but i ended up landing a great job, got side gig Djing again, realized how much i missed being close to my families and friends...and said "fuck it...why would i leave again?"
and here i be.

it all comes down to "are you happy? are you satisfied?"
if you answer yes to those....why move?

some people may feel like thier hometown just doesn't have enough to offer them...like it's holding them back and they feel like another local would make them happier.
others got everything they need right at home.

it's purely personality.

but one should never pick up and move because they feel somehow "guilty" for living thier whole lives in one town/city.
there is no shame in that.
you're not "missing out" in that case.
home IS where the heart is...

[hpdrifter]

I think it all stemmed from when I went to New York City. I was always somewhat intimidated by the thought of that city and when I went there I found it was one of the most accessible cities I've ever been to. So I started to think, hey, I could live here. And then I thought, if I could live here, I could live anywhere. It was like a whole world of possibility opened up for me and I haven't been able to forget about it since then.

[cosmo105]

i still have a lot of life ahead of me and probably won't live in southern california forever. hell, no way could i guy a home out here. but for now, i'm pretty happy living near my hometown. i'm a lot closer to the city now, and about an hour away on the freeway, but it's nice knowing i can see my family whenever i want to. i think i want to live in a different state for a while, maybe even Georgia so we can be near steger's family, but i really, truly love LA. it'll always be home to me.

next fall i might be going to school in san fran, so that'll be a big change. that's a good 8 hours away from here. who knows.

[hpdrifter]

I wouldn't move from Seattle. It's pretty much another Vancouver, really. Albeit, a little less friendly, a little more artsy, a little less beautiful and a little more little.

I'm moving to Lake Como, Italy. Sometime soon. Hopefully. I pray.

I;d snap back at you about this if it weren't all true. :(

Except for the beautiful part. :mad:

[mickill]

But your Fish Market is better than ours. Pike Place is somewhere I can really spend the whole day at.

And you have more coffee spots than us. You pretty much don't need to walk more than 10 feet to find a place to stop for a nice cup of warm beverage.

[Documad]

I had to stay near my parents--even during college. I would have given anything to have moved away. I encourage everyone to get away if they can.

[miss soul fire]

I hated my boring hometown, so about 2 years ago (less than that actually) I moved to Rio. It was all "flowers" when I got here. My brother, sister and brother-in-law used to take me to watch great plays, to the beaches that I love, the museums and all that I loved to do, but then it all started getting boring because I had no money anymore and I couldn't get a job, so I started studying and blah blah. Anyway, there's a couple of things I don't like here. It's so so so dangerous. And it's like hell if you stop in a traffic light at night, you have 80% of risk of getting robbed and maybe killed and even kidnapped. Not to mention the complete caos that is the traffic here. And there are no government jobs that I've started to want...when I got here. Damnit. And there's still lots of things I wanna get to know here, but less than 2 months I'll be back my hometown because I can't afford living here, the rents to live in crappy apartments are so expensive. Back in my hometown I could rent a much better place and get a better job (with time) for much less, so that's good, not to mention I got family there and the traffic is much much organized. People are more polite there and I liked that. Well, but here I'd never get bored. It's really great. Maybe someday I'll study to get the gov jobs in other places, but a place with beaches, of course. It's gonna be hard living in a place with no beaches anymore. Alas. :p

[Documad]

I would totally live in Seattle if my sister didn't.

[mickill]

I think it all stemmed from when I went to New York City. I was always somewhat intimidated by the thought of that city and when I went there I found it was one of the most accessible cities I've ever been to. So I started to think, hey, I could live here. And then I thought, if I could live here, I could live anywhere. It was like a whole world of possibility opened up for me and I haven't been able to forget about it since then.
I lived there for 2 weeks. I'd like to move back someday.

[hpdrifter]

But your Fish Market is better than ours. Pike Place is somewhere I can really spend the whole day at.

And you have more coffee spots than us. You pretty much don't need to walk more than 10 feet to find a place to stop for a nice cup of warm beverage.

Yeah, that's fair. We used to joke about the fact that there were 4 Starbuckses in the University Village shopping center. You could see them all from the other ones. Comedy gold.

"You were at Starbucks drinking your nonfat latte and I was at Starbucks, not the same Starbucks but the one across the street, reading the new J Crew catalogue..."

Yeah, I love Pike Place. But for me its one of those typical things, you take it for granted that its always there and you only go to it when there's someone in town who wants to see it. I should make an effort to go over there more often.

[hpdrifter]

I had to stay near my parents--even during college. I would have given anything to have moved away. I encourage everyone to get away if they can.

Where is that if you don't mind my asking?

MSF, I would love to visit Rio, I imagine its also very dangerous for tourists, probably more so, yeah?

[miss soul fire]

Where is that if you don't mind my asking?

MSF, I would love to visit Rio, I imagine its also very dangerous for tourists, probably more so, yeah?
It is, but most people get lucky so it's not the most dangerous thing in the wolrd. You just have to get to know how to act in some situations. Also people take advantage from tourists, especially when buying stuff. There are some smart asses here that we have to keep distance from. Other than that it's good, but if I were you, I would go to the Northeast it's much better and the beaches are greater.:D

[Documad]

Where is that if you don't mind my asking?
Minneapolis. It's got a lot of nice qualities but I always wanted to work or go to school in a foreign country, and I always wanted to try another big liberal city for a change of pace. Next year will be the first time it might be possible for me to move and so I'm thinking about it, but I think it's probably too late.

[hpdrifter]

I think its never too late. Sometimes when I start to worry that I might be missing out on something by staying here I think, I'm young, I've got my whole life to live other places. I could move to Chicago when I'm 40.

Like cosmo said earlier.

[bigblu89]

I've lived on Long Island (New York) for my whole life. I never even went away for college. I probably could've survived living somewhere far away from my friends and relatives, but I never felt the need to test it.

[hpdrifter]

Yeah but that's cause you're from New York. Who would move away from New York? They'd have to be a few beers short of a six pack.

[Documad]

You can wait too long. It gets harder all the time.

I have a career and a reputation. I don't want to start over at the bottom. I don't have any other skills as a back up. I have a house that I hate and a houseful of stuff. If I sell my house, I'll never find another one near as cheap. I'll have to ditch some things that have sentimental value. If it costs me a lot more to live someplace else, I might not have the money to spend enjoying the new city. I have a lot of really good friends here.

On the positive side, just thinking about this has made me give away a lot of stuff.


EDIT: I used to think NYC was the coolest place on earth. When I visited last fall, it wasn't as cool as it had been before. It's still cool, but there are a lot of cool places, inside and outside the US.

[hpdrifter]

Yeah, that's the other thing to consider. I have a great group of friends here, most of whom I've known since college (7 or 8 years now). And its hard to start over and build a community. I just got involved with a guy a couple of months ago and I'm really happy with him and he can't really move anywhere because his son is here.

[Documad]

Yeah, the friends are a draw, but honestly, if I had a shitload of money, I would move to another country and never tell my family where I moved. All of my problems could be solved by shitloads of money (after I get my mom moved of course).

[hpdrifter]

The way I see it there are three ways to get rich quick:

1. Marry well
2. Sue someone
3. Rob a bank

I think if you go with #3 moving out of the country after wouldn't be such a bad idea.