I grew up in a military family who was based in Nashville. We lived and traveled all over. When it was all said and done, my parents came home to Nashville. My mom's family has lived in Nashville since the late 1700s. So I guess you'd say, family roots are what brought me here.

California born and never thought of leaving. Before my birth, my parents lived in S. Dakota. One evening after work, Dad trudged home through the snow and said, "We ought to move to California!" Mom's reply was, "When can we leave?"

DH and I grew up in the Midwest. We were tired of snow, ice, summer humidity, and mosquitoes. He decided on a career change, finished training with a large finance institution, and selected a job in Southern California. We moved back to the Midwest for another career move, but returned to Southern California to raise our family.

Just Southern CA here. If I marked all of the places I have lived on a map, the farthest distance between two points would be under 130 miles.

I grew up and attended college in Buffalo NY and the western NY area. Visited my friend Sue at her college one weekend, met her groovy friend Peter. Pete and I clicked immediately, upon graduation I moved to Queens NY to be near him- he was from Long Island. We broke up but I remained in New York City area, met the True Love Of My Life Vic, got married and moved to Long Island. We bought a house and raised two daughters together, we were together 40 years and married just short of 38, Vic died in June but I am still here.

Born and raised in Ohio. Married and moved to Morgantown WV for husband's graduate school. Left there for Charleston WV for husbands postdoc. Moved to suburb of Philly for husbands job, moved to Maryland and still in state although moved to different county after husband's death.

My parents moved to the Puget Sound area when I was 6 mo. old for my dad's job and I have lived in the general vicinity all my life. About 10 years ago, I left the big city (Seattle) and all the traffic and moved to an island in the middle of the Sound.....considered a 'bedroom community' for the city. It is quite rural and small townish and with endless scenic views and properties (including my own). As I and most other PNW residents consider this one of the best places in the US to live, I have no desire to be anywhere else.

Born & raised in central Maine, never lived anywhere else. Too close to family to move away for any reason.

Grew up in the county, living in town. Got married and moved to the country and been here ever since!

When my husband and I were married, he had not yet gone to grad school. We lived in DC where my husband was a nuclear engineer for the Navy. Once his Naval contract was up, we found the perfect program for him and moved to the city where the school was located the year before he applied.

Fortunately, he was accepted into his first (and only) choice school and we have lived in said town (SF peninsula) happily ever after.

ETA We now split our time between SF and Europe where my husband's work sent us. But SF is home- and I am currently in NYC.

I was born & raised in Il. moved to Fla. after the blizzard of '78. Met & married my now ex husband. From there we went to Maryland, from there he dragged me to Ohio. From there he moved us to Al. with me kicking & screaming all the way. Well long story short. I divorced him & married my current husband. And I have been here for over 30 years.

Both sides of my family came to PA over 300 years ago from Germany and Switzerland and except for one cousin, no one ever left. My husband's family also emigrated from Germany hundreds of years ago and all remaining are still living here. My kids, my cousins' and their kids are all still here. Our whole family went to college/university in PA, but roque grandson is now at WM&Mary...lol)

What's not to love about living in this historic area a couple hours from (NYC, where I was yesterday for the day), two hours from Philly, DC, Baltimore, and three hours from the jersey shore. The downside to this is we are the biggest hub on the east coast so many businesses are flocking here because of the proximity to interstates. That's a downside because after the traffic , noise and pollution in NYC yesterday, I was wanting some quietness and clean air.

Here in the North Houston area we ended up here due to husbands work. As soon as he retires, soon I hope, we will be out of here lol In the driveway in the motorhome well thanks to Harvey till we can sell this house.

We've crisscrossed the country several times for job opportunities, but we always come back to SoCal as we like it here best.

We used to come from Ohio through Georgia on our way to see my parents in Florida and said when we retired we wanted to live in Georgia. Well it didn't happen right away, but God works in mysterious ways and put us in the perfect location, not where we originally thought we wanted to be. We are very thankful that He decided where we should be.

Born and raised in Ohio, but moved to NC after high school. Parents had had enough winter, decided to move south. I followed and went to college, where I met DH. Still here, 36 years later.

born and raised in SE PA. vacations and day trips to Jersey shore were the normal summer activity. went to college about 1200 miles away... perfect distance to be truly "away" but not so far away that coming home on a weekend was not reasonable. moved to NJ almost 40 years ago when price of houses were actually less. now NJ is literally the densest populated state in US and pretty sure highest property taxes.

I was a navy brat and enjoyed moving around. Parents eventually took root in SoCal when most of it was still orchards. Moved with my SO and daughter to Lousiana in the early 80’s, then went back to SoCal in the 90’s. After I remarried, my husband got a job that had offices all over. One day I said I missed my daughter and wished we could live closer to her and my son in law, he asked for a transfer and within a few short months we were here.

Born and raised in Iowa. When I was 15 my dad lost his job and couldn’t find another. Penniless and homeless, we moved in with his parents in north Missouri.

I married a local boy and am still here, almost 50 years later. DH has never lived outside this county and I expect he never will.

DH and I have both lived most of our lives in suburbs within fifteen miles of downtown Chicago. Now we live THIRTY miles north of the city! DS and family are in the city, 20 minutes south.

We considered moving to a warmer climate when DH retired, but decided we enjoy most of the year here and can escape to Maui in winter.

I lived all over, dad in the Navy and me in the Air Force. Got married and my ex was from Kentucky. When we divorced I almost moved back to Nevada, where my dad lives. I kept thinking how depressing it was there, joined the Air Force when I was 21 to get away from there and then I also didn't want the kids growing up without their father. So I stayed here. This is the longest I've lived anywhere ever in my life. I like it here okay but am ready to move on to some other place.

Family farm established in 1885 in NE Kansas before it was a state. Later generations have never strayed over 100 miles or so. My branch ended up in Kansas City. People are nice here. I will probably move someday when youngest daughter finally settles permanently, if she moves somewhere warner. ; )

Born and raised in North Vancouver, BC. Moved to Vancouver After High School. Met and married DH here in Vancouver. Moved to Fort Nelson BC for a miserable two years. Got pregnant and came back to Vancouver for a wonderful 2 years. DH had trouble finding work so we then moved to Edmonton for five difficult years when our children were young. Then back to Vancouver. Woohoo! Recently we've had to move from Vancouver boohoo. We are now in Delta BC I'm not loving it.

born in north central arkansas, met dh at ATU in Ar. married and continued to live there til 83 when dh came home from work and asked if i'd like to try living in Tulsa or south tx. i chose south tx and we've been in, near here since we did move to cypress, tx (northwest burb of Houston) for 10 years. Had every intention of moving back to northwest ar when we retired, but dh developed some health problems and i wanted to stay here (again south of houston) with daughters and doctors near...right now we're still discussing Ar and planning a trip there in 10 days to see what we think.... summer is never ending here and so are the mosquitos.....

Born in Kansas, lived there until my Father lost his job and we moved to Oklahoma. Been here every since and don't anticipate ever moving.... at least out of state.

I’ve been in Indiana all my life. I lived in the northeast part. Met my hubby and moved to Central Indiana when we married where he worked for GM. Have lived here since 1969. We’ve also had a place in the southern part of the state for the last 25 years that we enjoy. Life is good.

I was born here. BUT: my parents immigrated from The Netherlands. Mom was 4 1/2 months pregnant with me. They had several countries to choose from: South Africa, Australia the US and Canada. Mom decided she wanted to come to Canada because it was further north and figured the weather would be similar. It took her 25 years to get to the BC coast where the weather is more similar than it was in Calgary or central British Columbia. ;) But: I could have had a sexy Australian accent! I did move with my parents to central BC and like most teenagers who just left home, I made some stupid decisions. My first BIG dumb decision was to move back to Calgary. I really don't like it here. The only good thing about this place is it's less than an hour from the mountains. I would do anything to move back to BC. I love the mountains. The fresh air. The ocean. I probably wouldn't live too close to the coast as they get too much rain. But close enough where I could get to the ocean in a few hours. But now that I have grown children and a grandchild, I won't move.

I helped a friend with his move to Houston. Fell in love with the city. Been here since 1980. Born and raised in TN, lived in FL, WY, HI. Hawaii I would return to!

Born in Kansas City, father transferred to KS, then 11 yrs later to St Louis. After college in KS and St Louis, went to school in NYC for a year, married and moved to Washington DC for 2+ years, back to St Louis. Divorced. Remarried and DH accepted a job in So Ca. Rented out there for 3 years - could never afford to buy there on a teacher's salary, looked for someplace with affordable housing, and moved to KY in 1984. DH took a job in ME in the mid-90's but we kept the house in KY and "commuted". Glad we did. He died in 2005 and I'm still here. For the past 40 years, we've spent time each summer on Martha's Vineyard.

So, I've lived from Maine to California and several points in-between!

A lot like rob333. Military family. At 18 years in dad put in for duty only most lower ranking officers got--B52 crew, standing ready on a base in the northern tier. He wanted to find out if he went back "home" if he could stand the cold. I was late in high school when his retirement came. He chose a city,near where he grew up, with many post secondary education offerings so if necessary we could live at home and go to school, he had five he wanted through college. After graduation I went where the job offer took me. There I met and married a man whose job took us to where we are today. Midway between where he grew up and my parents retired. Today I watch my offspring making these decisions totally dependent on friends/social life. How things have changed!!!! It is ironic we chose a smaller town for the quality of life it would give our kids and now as they look for places they see no future here. Maybe that will change like it did with us, as they have children?

Both parents were born & raised in Milwaukee. Dad & his side of the family had itchy feet, because they all dispersed: Tennessee, California, Texas, and I don't even know where else. Mom's family is mostly still in the Milwaukee area (except for Mom of course who moved around with Dad). They lived about 6 six years in Texas (where I was born), 2 years in Virginia, 4 years in Oklahoma, then when I was 11 we moved back to Virginia. Mom says she never expected we'd stay there but we all did.

I have strong, positive memories of elementary school years in Oklahoma, and I've visited around the country as an adult. I can well understand how a person could fall in love with any part of our beautiful country: the mountains, the prairies, the deserts, the coast ... they all have their appeal. But for me, the Blue Ridge of Virginia is home. Green, well-worn mountains, amazing diversity of flora and fauna.

I was born in Indiana, have lived in Indiana all my life. The town we moved to was because of my husband's job. It was not as far to drive.

Sue

DH and I were newly married and living in midtown Manhattan when we decided to get a weekend house. We wanted to have a boat, so we got out a map and saw a decent-size lake in PA. We drove there and bought a little house. Our weekends got longer and longer, and after our first child was born we moved full-time to an old farmhouse on some acreage further into PA. That was over 40 years ago, and I'm still here.

II grew up in the capital district area of upstate New York but went to college in the midwest, Wisconsin to be exact. After college I came home for a year or to and then moved to Boston for the adventure of it. I met my husband one summer on Cape Cod. He was from nearby Rhode Island and we settled in southern Massachusetts which was near his job. We stayed for 35 plus years when he died. I've made a couple of small moves since then but never strayed more than 8 miles from the place I spent most of my life. I'm now dating a very nice man who takes me to Florida every winter. I hate it there mostly because I have no friends. Plus I think the state is just plain ugly except for the coast. Sorry Floridians I'm just a northeastern girl in my heart

We were tired of urban life and decided to move to a more rural setting. We love it here.

Lots of interesting stories here. I'm on the CDN side of the PNW in B.C. and yes it's raining, the third rainstorm of the week, the fall rains are upon us.

My parents were born here and went to university here, my DH and I were both born here and went to university here, our kids were born here and went to university here. Both my DH and I live within 20 kilometers of our childhood homes and my kids are the same. It appears that none of us are going anywhere. - despite the rain.

I came to Oklahoma cause I married my soldier "sweetheart" the first time, and came back here when my Florida adventure went bust on me. Life and real estate is cheaper here than most places and most of my friends live here.

Moni

These stories are fascinating! I'm north of Boston now as its where my husband (and his parents, and grandparents) lived. Its nice and the trees and weather have been fabulous this fall. I'm first generation American and have lived a lot of different places -- Tennessee, Iowa, North Carolina, upstate New York, Michigan, Rhode Island, and now Massachusetts. Its fun to read about other folks living in the same places in this thread! And with relatives there, I have been fortunate to spend time nearly every year of my life in the PNW. I have loved aspects of all these locations and love reading everyone else's experiences too...hoping we can retire in 10+ years, and as DH is willing to try living somewhere else...there's a lot to consider!

Born and raised in So Cal. Currently only about 30 miles from where I grew up. Hubby too. He would love love love to move up to the PNW. I don't like change too much, and still like my house down here. Lol.

I am now about 100 miles west of where I was born and grew up. After marriage, moved to Ohio due to DH's job. Then 20 years later moved to Michigan, again due to Dh's job. 15 years there brought about retirement and after seriously considering moving to the Rocky Mountains area that we loved most during our motorcycling days. We came to our senses and moved back to PA where we grew up and to be near our daughters and siblings.

Military brat married Navy. Dad born in Texas, mom in NY, have lived in N.J.,Pa.N.Y,Md,Va, SC,Fl,La,Tx,Ca (North and South), plus, as well as Puerto Rico,Spain and Germany. Met Dh in N California, he was born in Ga but swore he would never move back. I always say "never say never" :)) . Here we are. He is now a tenured college prof so will probably stay.

Born and raised in Minnesota and here to stay. Very few other places I'd even consider. Wisconsin would be OK. There were parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho I liked. Can't stand heat and humidity. Also enjoy the change of seasons.

Philadelphia born and raised, mom, brothers, last living aunt, and a boatload of cousins still there. Lived in Georgia and Germany when I was in the Army. Moved to NJ in 1982 when I was hired by AT&T, 1 year in Ann Arbor, back in 1987, moved into my current home in 1992. For the most part, I have lived near a river and within the sound of a train. I'm close to the ocean, I won't move inland.

We started out in Northern Ca, and moved to Seattle for 2 years, then to Nashville for 7 years, then Dallas TX for 2 years and now we are in Atlanta all for my husband’s job. I truly love the adventure, but it isn’t as romantic as it sounds. Moving is very hard on children. It was hard raising my children with no support system while my husband worked 65 hour weeks. I always tried to make children believe we were the luckiest family alive to get to move....once they were teenagers they no longer bought what I was selling. I love Georgia and hope that we stay awhile. I have enjoyed something from every city we have been blessed to call home. Ca is beautiful, Seattle is breathtaking and the shopping! Tennessee has the friendliest people on earth, Texas has the best food on earth. Georgia is gorgeous and inexpensive comparatively.