Not that unconventional but my folks had a bookstore from the time I was a toddler. My main early memories are from it, and most of my most clear and joyful childhood memories centre on it. I was doing work of some sort there from about the age of 5 (as ridiculous as that sounds) and I’m still there 21 years later. I really think it benefited me growing up. I was surrounded by people years older than me and they opened the world up to me. I’m not as ‘literate’ as many people on the SDMB but that part of my life still largely defines who I am. In a way I think a smallish family business is the ideal and I wish many more people could pursue a similar lifestyle.
Born an only child to dedicated Trotskyist parents in upstate New York. Moved to D.C. as a baby, then Dorchester ( Boston ) for nursery school and kindergarten. First and second grade spent in Washington Heights in NYC. Then across country for a divorce and third and fourth grade in San Francisco. Then to the midwest with my mother and her boyfriend ( most of that time ) in Ferndale, Michigan ( outside Detroit ) for fifth - seventh grade. Then with my ( remarried ) father, step-mother and two new step-brothers ( both about my age ) for a final destination in Alameda ( SF Bay Area ) for 8th grade, through High School and into my first few years of college.
Subsequently I’ve remained in the Bay Area, but have bounced around from East Bay to West and back again over the years ( Alameda, San Francisco, Alameda again, El Cerrito, Berkeley ).
Growing up I never had teen babysitters, but rather adult “party members” filled that capacity. Consequently I grew up a little spoiled ( only child until my teens ) and very comfortable around adults, which led on occassion to me treating them more as peers than authority figures. I was pretty average in terms of social communication with my actual peers, but ultimately no long-standing childhood friends due to all that early moving. I’m not currently in contact even with anyone from High School ( I was for many years, but not the last few ) and I’ve never kept up with anybody prior to 8th grade. None of my current friends that I see semi-regularly pre-date, oh, maybe 1986 - so over 20 years, but not reaching back beyond young adult.
ETA: Oh, yeah - I was also somewhat aberrantly raised to refer to my parents by their first names. That seems to freak out a surprisingly large cohort of people for some reason :D.
I’m not sure how unconventional this is but I don’t remember meeting a black person until I was 16 working at a retirement home as a dishwasher.
My high school had a graduating class of 495 and one student was half black. It has become less segregated over the years of course but it is still very white bread.
I didn’t really get to know or become drinking buddies with a black man until I went into the military.