# How close do you live to your birthplace? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461 "2010-05-06T00:54:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/61 "2010-05-06T15:54:49Z")
Born in Tennessee, live in Georgia - 178 miles from my place of birth. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/62 "2010-05-06T15:55:05Z")
I live about 400 miles away from my birthplace, but I lived in the same metro area until last summer. ---
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/63 "2010-05-06T15:57:52Z")
Born in England and live in California. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/64 "2010-05-07T02:44:19Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Nitpick: There is only one Solar System. Huh? 😕 Not according to the astronomers. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/65 "2010-05-07T02:53:24Z")
I was an Army brat born overseas in Munich, West Germany. Now I live just outside of Washington, DC. So that’s 4,263 miles. Give or take. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/66 "2010-05-07T03:04:47Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Huh? 😕 Not according to the astronomers. There is a difference between a star system and the Solar System. There’s only one Sun. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/67 "2010-05-07T03:06:21Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > There is a difference between a star system and the Solar System. There’s only one Sun. I’m afraid you’ve lost me. As far as I know, there are many suns, and other solar systems, with planets, have been discovered. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/68 "2010-05-07T03:14:10Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’m afraid you’ve lost me. As far as I know, there are many suns, and other solar systems, with planets, have been discovered. He’s arguing that Sol is the name of our star, so _solar_ only refers to our system. The same argument is often used for Luna (i.e. “the Moon”) and _lunar_. That said, I’ve known many scientists to use solar system when referring to another star or stellar system. Anyways, I was born within 75 miles from where I live, and have always lived within a 5-mile radius of my current location. I took this to mean I should choose the metropolitan option. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/69 "2010-05-07T03:15:50Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’m afraid you’ve lost me. As far as I know, there are many suns, and other solar systems, with planets, have been discovered. [Sun](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun) is the name of our star. > [@Wikipedia](#): > > The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. Note that it doesn’t say “at the center of a Solar System” or “our Solar System.” “Solar” describes things having to do with the Sun. The Solar System is the star system with the Sun at its center. There is only one [Solar System](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_System). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/70 "2010-05-07T03:19:52Z")
No, sorry, I’m not buying it. “Sun” is not a name, it’s a description. Same with “moon.” There are other solar systems out there. Yout cite even says: **The Sun has no official name according to the International Astronomical Union, the body responsible for naming celestial objects. The name Sol is accepted but not commonly used; the adjectival form is the related word solar.** ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/71 "2010-05-07T03:27:25Z")
9,897 miles according to the Great Circle Mapper - from Detroit, MI to Melbourne, Australia. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/72 "2010-05-07T03:31:07Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > No, sorry, I’m not buying it. “Sun” is not a name, it’s a description. Same with “moon.” There are other solar systems out there. > > Yout cite even says: **The Sun has no official name according to the International Astronomical Union, the body responsible for naming celestial objects. The name Sol is accepted but not commonly used; the adjectival form is the related word solar.** Sorry, it’s not up to you to buy it or not. In academia ‘Solar System’ will exclusively refer to our star system. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/73 "2010-05-07T03:58:07Z")
I’m about 170 miles from home, but the house my hubby grew up in is only about 500 feet from our house. Essentially he’s lived on the same ten acres for 51 years. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/74 "2010-05-07T04:27:01Z")
I currently live in the same metro area I was born in . . . but most of my life I’ve lived elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/75 "2010-05-07T13:24:07Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Sorry, it’s not up to you to buy it or not. In academia ‘Solar System’ will exclusively refer to our star system. Hmmm. Intrigued by this question, which I’ve honestly never come across before, I asked a professional astronomer I know. An American who teaches physics at Mahidol University here in Bangkok and whose specialty is planetary mechanics. His doctorate is from the University of Chicago’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. He spends two months each year at about this time at the University of Delaware, this being Thailand’s two-month school break, so I e-mailed him there to ask, and I received this response: **“It’s true for sticklers. Scientists tend to refer to ‘extrasolar planets’, which is a nice, clear, and compact way to say ‘planets around other stars.’ So in the specialized literature, one might see the phrase ‘extrasolar planetary systems.’ However, in teaching I always say ‘other solar systems,’ and in my opinion that should be OK.”** ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/76 "2010-05-07T16:50:04Z")
Born in Fort Frances, Ontario, now living in Winnipeg, about 4.5 hours away, driving distance. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/77 "2010-05-07T16:53:25Z")
2,730 miles according to Google Maps ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/78 "2010-05-07T17:06:37Z")
I was born in a little town in Ontario, lived there til I was 17. I moved out of province for several years. I then moved back to Toronto, ON when I was 22 and have been here ever since. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/79 "2010-05-07T17:11:11Z")
When I was born, we live about two blocks from the office where I’m typing this. We moved about two miles across town in 1960. My brother still lives in that “family homestead” and I live two streets away from there. (My grandfather, my father, my siblings and I and my daughter all attended the same elementary school, though it closed two years ago when my daughter was in second grade.) My dad was born in a house three homes down the road from the family homestead. My mom and my three siblings all live within a couple of miles of each other in our hometown. Dad lives out of town now, about a 20-minute drive away in a different state. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyMac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@JohnnyMac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyMac)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461/80 "2010-05-07T17:12:22Z")
My birth certificate says I was born in Camden, London. I’m currently living in Camden, London. …However, both of my parents are kiwis, and ages 5-20 I lived in Auckland, NZ. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-do-you-live-to-your-birthplace/538461.md?page=5)