# How much affinity do you feel towards your town/city of birth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203 "2022-10-13T19:07:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/1 "2022-10-13T19:07:54Z")
I was born in Dallas, but only spent about 6 years of my life there. I do feel a little bit of affinity towards it, and support the Cowboys and Rangers as a result, but otherwise don’t feel too much tie to it. How much affinity is there for you and your region of birth? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/2 "2022-10-13T19:10:24Z")
Very little. I was actually born in Edinburgh but left when I was 18 months old. Neither of my parents are Scottish (and they didn’t stay there that long, just for my Dad’s masters degree). So I don’t consider myself “from” there or Scottish in any meaningful sense. Random aside I never imagined for a moment that would effect my citizenship status in anyway, but if Scotland leave the UK and rejoin the EU, I would be very tempted to get a Scottish passport. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/3 "2022-10-13T19:10:33Z")
None. My parents moved when I was a year old. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/4 "2022-10-13T19:18:16Z")
Absolutely none. Grew up in a town of about 5k, was the social outcast throughout my school years, now that I have no relatives living there I’ll be totally happy to never set foot there again. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/5 "2022-10-13T19:29:44Z")
None at all. My parents moved within a month after I was born. We moved seven more times before I was sixteen years old. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/6 "2022-10-13T19:36:22Z")
Tons, but I’m from San Diego. I feel more for the city than the state, and more for the state than the country. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/7 "2022-10-13T19:37:39Z")
None. We moved when I was a year old. I feel no love for Virginia in general as I remember it as full of quiet and polite prejudice. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/8 "2022-10-13T19:42:45Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Absolutely none. Grew up in a town of about 5k, was the social outcast throughout my school years, now that I have no relatives living there I’ll be totally happy to never set foot there again. True for me as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/9 "2022-10-13T19:57:53Z")
I have zero affinity for the place of my birth (a town outside L.A.) on the basis of it being where I was born; my family moved when I was four and I bear only fragmentary impressions of memory. However, I visited a long while later as an adult for unrelated coincidental reasons, and it’s a total armpit, so I have a negative opinion of it in the end. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/10 "2022-10-13T20:00:45Z")
I was born at the original Scripps Hospital in La Jolla. I don’t have much affinity for the town itself but La Jolla Shores beach and Torrey Pines State Park are a couple of my favorite places. I go down to the San Diego area at least once a year and spending time at those two spots is always on the agenda. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/11 "2022-10-13T20:02:29Z")
Absolutely I have an affinity. I’m a proud Chicagoan. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/12 "2022-10-13T20:04:30Z")
Fairly strong. I personally haven’t lived there for forty years now but my family is still in the area and I visit fairly often. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/13 "2022-10-13T20:09:06Z")
City of birth - not a bit City of my childhood - active contempt 13+ - love the entire area, since I’ve lived in several communities in the general area since I moved back from Alaska ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/14 "2022-10-13T20:10:32Z")
I have a strong affinity for San Francisco, even though I only lived there for a week. Both my parents were raised there, and my older brother lived there for two years before I was born. We ended up moving 50 miles south after I came into the world. So while I never actually lived in SF, I visited it often since both grandparents lived there. I was a teenager during the Haight-Ashbury period in the late 60s. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/15 "2022-10-13T20:15:27Z")
Born in Madrid, spent the fist 17 years there. Zero affinity. Berlin is the city for me, and I chose that. The only feeling I have for Madrid is contempt for its football club. Granted, Berlin’s football clubs are crap as well, but for other reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/16 "2022-10-13T20:15:34Z")
I’ll always be an Islander. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/17 "2022-10-13T20:15:35Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > None. My parents moved when I was a year old. Same here. Was born in Belgrade, Serbia/Jugoslavia. My family emigrated to Canada when I was not yet a year and a half. So no memories of my birth town. I have never been there to visit and while I would be happy to check it out one day, there are a lot of other places that I would be more keen on seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/18 "2022-10-13T20:26:42Z")
I spent my whole childhood in the same town/house (Putnam County, NY) and my dad ran the same small business (Millwood, NY) until I was about 30. I find myself very linked to the area, to the point where I get a warm feeling whenever Archie Goodwin takes a drive up the Taconic Parkway while investigating for Nero Wolfe. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/19 "2022-10-13T20:30:15Z")
Now, I do feel strong affinity to the city I lived in while I was a teenager. But that’s not where I was born. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203/20 "2022-10-13T20:35:56Z")
Quite a lot, because I lived there for most of my life. There’s the village I grew up in, and then the nearby “home town” I moved to in my 20s. I left at 30, but they still matter a lot to me. Also my family still all live there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affinity-do-you-feel-towards-your-town-city-of-birth/973203.md?page=2)