Have you moved a lot?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Born: Mansfield OH.

Then, in order:
Lexington, OH
Mansfield, OH (again)
Athens, OH (college)
Greenwich, OH
Sandusky, OH (summer job)
Kipton, OH (summer job)
Greenwich, OH (again)
Boca Raton, FL
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Greenville, SC
Tallahassee, FL

Note: I’ve noticed that those of you who have lived in Greenville, SC all lived there for a short amount of time. I lived there two years and couldn’t wait to go back to Florida. Does everyone else hate Greenville too? (Natives seem to dig it, so no offense to any Greenvillians. I think it’s just not easy to transplant there for some reason.)

22

Greenville has its good points and its bad points, too. It’s been a while since I’ve lived there so I can’t attest to any huge particular ones, I only pass through every now and then. But I know that a lot of the residents are merely passing through.

Shogun, thanks. I try. :slight_smile:

23

I lack the exotic locations, but here goes:
Ventura, CA
Pensacola, FL
Baltimore, MD
San Diego, CA
San Diego, CA again
San Carlos, CA
Lakewood, CO
Littleton, CO
Ventura, CA
El Rio, CA
Fullerton, CA
Canoga Park, CA
Hollywood, CA (apt 1)
Hollywood, CA (apt 2)
Culver City, CA (but we called it "Beverly Hills Adjacent)
Canoga Park, CA (apt 1)
Canoga Park, CA (in with housemates)
Canoga Park, CA (apt 2)
Simi Valley, CA
Northridge, CA
Sunland, CA
Moorpark, CA
Glendale, CA
Moorpark, CA (again)
Ventura, CA
Mesa, AZ
Chandler, AZ
Des Moines, IA

That makes 28 in 38 years. Hmm, maybe I have a problem with commitment…

FTR, longest in one place was the last time in Ventura (4 years), and shortest was Sunland (3 months).

24

Well…funny how it always seems like you’re the only one who’s moved alot 'cause everybody you meet in the new town has been there their entire bloody lives.

Born Saskatoon, SK
Dundurn, SK
Wainwright, AB
Vancouver, BC
Mahlberg, Germany
Oberschopfheim (sp?), Germany
Lahr, Germany
Orleans, ON
New Liskeard, ON
Waterloo, ON (moved 3 times during school)
Peterborough, ON
Vancouver, BC (moved 2x)
Hamilton, ON
Washington, DC

16x in 28 years. Man. I’m nowhere near the top.

25

My parents

Buffalo, NY - birth to 1992
Amherst, NY - 1992 to present

Me

Buffalo, NY - birth to 1984 (home / one house)
Valparaiso, IN - 1984 to 1987 (college / two dorms)
Chicago, IL - 1986 (special college program)
Buffalo, NY - 1987 to 1989 (college)
Las Cruces, NM - 1989 to 1993 (first “real job” / four apartments)
Amherst, NY - 1993 to 1996 (grad school / home)
Fort Collins, CO - 1996-1998 (employment / one apartment)
Denver, CO - 1998-2001 (employment / one apartment, one house)
Orlando, FL - 2001 (employment / one apartment)
Ocoee, FL - 8/2001-? (house)

26

Oh, yeah. A bunch…

Born: San Jose, CA

  • Campbell, CA
  • Boulder Creek, CA
  • Santa Ana, CA
  • Newport Beach, CA
    (then back to the Bay Area)
  • Three separate addresses within San Jose
  • Lake Tahoe, CA (two addresses there)
  • Sparks, NV
  • Stead, NV
  • Eugene, OR
  • Linwood, NJ (just outside of Atlantic City)
  • Ft. Collins, CO
    (then back to Lake Tahoe…three more addresses)
    (then back to San Jose…two more addresses)
  • Memphis, TN
    (back to San Jose…three more addresses)

Now, I am preparing to move to Rhode Island.

Whew!

27

This does not include military:

Davis Dam, AZ- 2 years
Yuma, AZ- 5 years
Phoenix, AZ- 6 years
Montrose, CO- 2 years
Pueblo, CO- 2 years
Greeley, CO- 2 years
Hilo, HI- 1 year
Wottegail, Woleai, Yap District, Micronesia- 2 years
Agana, Guam- 1 year
Sado, Japan- 1 year
Namche Bazaar, Nepal- 1 year
Kurriat Shumona, Isreal- 1 year
Bern, Switzerland- 1 year
London, England- 1 year
Trinidad, CO- 2 years
Goodland, KS- 2 years
Garden City, KS- 5 years
Dodge City, KS- 2 years
Clayton, NM- 5 years
Deming, NM- 1 year
Fowler, CO- 3 years
Ordway, CO- 3 years

There were a bunch of shorter stays that I didn’t count (six months here, nine months there, etc). I guess I move too much, but it’s the nature of my business or at least, it was before I became an editor. Besides, I enjoyed it: the change, meeting new people, seeing new things and the like.

28

Let’s see, is this a lot?

5 years: Saint John, NB
1 year: North Hatley, QC
9 years: Winnipeg, MB
4 1/2 years: Westmount, QC
6 months: near Papineau metro, Montreal, QC
2 months: near Mont-Royal metro, Montreal, QC
10 months: near Place St-Henri metro, Montreal, QC

That’s an average of one move every 3 years or so. Of course, three of those moves have taken place including when, and since, I “moved out”.

29

To expand the question, has moving around so much negatively affected you? Would you rather have lived in fewer places and not have to have gotten used to new surroundings all the time? Or are you glad to have seen lots of new places?

30

Kellyville, OK to Glenpool, OK - 1977

Glenpool, OK to Sapulpa, OK - 1977

Sapulpa, OK to Mesquite, TX - 1983

Mesquite, TX to Rockwall, TX - 1984

Rockwall, TX to Greenville, TX - 1986

Greenville, TX to Greenville, TX - 1987

(lived in 3 different apartments in the same complex from 1987 to 1992)

Greenville, TX to Cash, TX - 1992

Cash, TX to Greenville, TX - 1992

(lived in 3 different apartments in the same complex from 1992 to 1996)

Greenville, TX to Dallas, TX - 1996

Dallas, TX to Greenville, TX - 1996

Greenville, TX to Dallas, TX - 2000

Dallas, TX to Richardson, TX - 2000

I hate moving. I will not help friends move and now that I have hired someone to move me I’ll never do it myself again. I may be moving again this winter.

Other than the trouble of actually moving I really didn’t mind the relocating. I never had many friends so it didn’t take me long to get back to the same social status I had before, and I kidna like a change of scenery every now and then - it’s just that the physical process of moving is a pain.

31

Nice as it is, I think Greenville is just the kind of place that is easy to get tired of. I spent my undergraduate years there and actually had a job offer that would have kept me there after graduation. I chose instead to go with the job offer that took me “back home” to Columbia, SC.

Oh, and to address the OP:
Columbia, SC, to Greenville, SC, back to Columbia, to Winston-Salem, NC, to Charlotte, NC, with a few address changes within each of those cities. For somebody who’s first ever big move was to leave for college, I still find moving very traumatic, so I’m hoping not to have to do too much of it again.

32

[ul][li]Beavercreek, OH. (born there)[/li][li](the north part of:) Beavercreek five years later (parents built a new house)[/li][li]Columbus, OH, The Ohio State University. first three years, three different locations.[/li][li]Parris Island, SC. Marine Corps Boot camp (followed by a brief stays at Camp Geiger, NC and 29 Palms, CA)[/li][li]Columbus, OH. OSU again. 2 1/2 years, 2 apartments.[/li][li]Perrysburg, OH. 1 year. First job.[/li][li]Perrysburg, OH, but down the road a bit. 1.5 years in a better place.[/li][li]Laurenburg, NC. 6 months in the middle of nowhere.[/li][li]Columbus, OH. 3 weeks, but technically still my place of residence.[/li]Louisville, KY. Corporate apartment- I’ve been here on a two month assignment for 8 months.[/ul]Counting the military all as one move, I’ve moved 13 times in 28 years, 11 of those are in the last 10, 6 of them in college and 2 of them professional moves with packing and trucks and everything.

33

[ul]
before age 7, I’m not sure of all the details.

Balston,OR
Sheriden, OR
Corvallis, OR (at least 2 houses and 2 apts.)

After age 7

Loveland, CO (6 years)
Portland,OR (2 years)
La Grande, OR (3 years, 3 houses)
[/ul]
There were also several stays with family in between for several months. I’m 18 now and moving to NY in a month. I don’t think that it’s affected me badly, except for the fact that in the small town of La Grande it takes time to get established in social groups, the people who I hang out with tend to be well-hidden. But it gives me the chance to reinvent myself and have new sets of expectations on me, which is kind of fun.

34

I’ve moved probably about 20 times, usually in and around Sydney. I’d count it as a positive experience. I grew up in a beautiful fishing village, lived in the 'burbs, in a country pub, at Bondi Beach (twice), and on a farm 10 miles on dirt road from the nearest village. I’ve shared flats with impoverished uni students, done the messy bachelor flat thing, the married/house/lawnmower/car/dog thing, the arr-stuff-it-I’ll-sell-my-stuff-go-overseas-and-worry-about-it-when-I-come-home-broke thing, and now I’m living in a nice modern townhouse with my girlfriend.

It’s been good for me. I can travel anywhere and I never get homesick.

35

I’ve moved around a good bit, partly due to my parents and partly due to myself. Here’s the lowdown starting from birth:

Lebanon, IN (1970-1972)
Ft. Wayne, IN (1972-1973)
Ft. Wayne, IN (different location, 1973-1976)
Clinton, IL (1976-1977. My parents hated this place.)
Cincinnati, OH (1977-1980)
Suwanee, GA (1980-1993, although the last five years of that was spent mostly at college in Atlanta)
Mesa, AZ (1993-1995. My first apartment; I lived alone)
Tempe, AZ (1995-January, 1996. Moved in with friends, a married couple, to help save money for a house)
Chandler, AZ (January, 1996-September, 1996. Friends moved back to Atlanta. Moved in with another friend while shopping for a house, saving money for a house, and waiting for the house to be built)
Gilbert, AZ (1996-present. My house)

36

I haven’t moved nearly as much as some of your folks. But the newly refined question reminded me of a fascinating book: Military brats: legacies of childhood inside the fortress. It’s a very readable study about the effects of “growing up military”.

Two recollections: one effect of the constant moves was that military brats generally felt at home anywhere. One stumper was the stock, “where are you from?” because most didn’t feel a particular sense of identification with any one place. Second, that most military brats could spot another very quickly even without knowing specific backgrounds–possibly from the “home’s where I’m at” experience.

I’m generalizing madly and from a frequently faulty memory, here. But it’s really a fascinating book, especially for those who’ve lived the life.

Veb
P.S. Forgot to mention I’m not a military brat, I just found it interesting. And no offense is intended by the term. It was used throughout the book by interviewees themselves so I assumed it isn’t considered derogatory.

37

Good question, and in composing a reply I’ve run on at such length that I felt a new thread was called for, so I’ve done so here.