# Who has traveled the furthest from the place of their birth? Who has stayed the closest? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102 "2011-12-22T18:52:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/123 "2019-09-17T15:09:53Z")
My farthest is just over 5,000 miles - Atlanta, GA to Buenos Aires, Argentina ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/124 "2019-09-17T16:06:58Z")
Western New York to southern California, just about 2300 miles. In high school I thought that the [Kerguelen Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerguelen_Islands) were the farthest point on land from my hometown, and I have been fascinated by them ever since. I haven’t made it there yet though. Now I see that parts of Western Australia are closer. No matter, I still want to visit Kerguelen. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/125 "2019-09-17T16:56:43Z")
My birthplace is Mooresville, North Carolina, USA. The farthest I’ve traveled from there, I think is Adelaide, South Australia, a distance of 10220.86 miles or 16448.43 kilometers. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/126 "2019-09-17T16:59:02Z")
4251 - from NYC to Bratislava,Slovakia ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/127 "2019-09-17T17:38:46Z")
I live zero distance from my place of conception, actually. My home occupies the same exact geographic site the original home Grandpa had built, and into which my parents moved after they married. At one time, I lived over 800 miles away for 8 years. But now I’m back, and have been since 1995. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/128 "2019-09-17T18:43:08Z")
> [@Dinaroozie](#): > > Looks like maximising this number has a lot to do with having been to Australia at some point. If you were born in the continental US, the antipode for your birthplace is somewhere in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar (West Coast) and Australia (East Coast), so either Australia or some Eastern/Southern bit of Africa is going to be be the farthest you can get on land. I get 9353.73 miles from my birthplace in CA to Uganda. Maybe someday I’ll sail out to the antipode of my birth and get a full half Earth-circumference. Then the only way someone could beat me would be to be born closer to the equator where the earth bulges out more. ---
**Author:** ![Sofrito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sofrito/32/510_2.png) [@Sofrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofrito)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/129 "2019-09-18T00:13:59Z")
6185 miles. Chihuahua, Mexico to Rome, Italy. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/130 "2019-09-18T00:20:40Z")
Born Melbourne Aus, 17,208km to Dublin, Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/131 "2019-09-18T01:05:20Z")
Dublin to Dunedin: 19,139 km. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/132 "2019-09-18T02:10:20Z")
My daughter has to win something. She not only lives in the same place she was born, she works in the medical building next to the hospital where she was born. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/133 "2019-09-18T02:33:30Z")
Cleveland, OH to Honolulu, HI: 4,563 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/134 "2019-09-18T03:02:08Z")
Birthplace: Chico, California. Furthest distance, Berlin, Germany. 5500 miles. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2019, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/135 "2019-09-18T04:02:09Z")
Born in northern New York. I currently live in western New York, about 325 miles away. I believe the furthest away I’ve ever traveled is San Antonio, Texas, about 2000 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/136 "2019-09-18T04:10:52Z")
Lexington Ky to Shenzhen China - 8076 miles BUT - there was a trip I took that started in Lexington, went to London - then to Tokyo - then back to Lexington thru Seattle - so, I managed to go ‘all the way around’ on 1 trip. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/137 "2019-09-18T04:31:52Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I get 9353.73 miles from my birthplace in CA to Uganda. Maybe someday I’ll sail out to the antipode of my birth and get a full half Earth-circumference. Then the only way someone could beat me would be to be born closer to the equator where the earth bulges out more. The crew of Apollo 13 will be tough to beat. One of them must have a singular claim to farthest ever from birthplace, it would depend on the rotational position of Earth when they hit their farthest point ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/138 "2019-09-18T04:59:59Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > …For example, I was born in Heidelberg, Germany, and have traveled to Hilo, Hawaii – a distance of 7551 miles. FWIW, I’ve spent time in both of those cities. My parents moved to Heidelberg after I went off to college, and I visited Hilo in 2016. In any event, I was born in Houston, Texas, and as best I can tell, the farthest west of Houston that I’ve been is O’ahu, which is about 3,900 miles to the west. The furthest east I’ve been is Pompeii, which is about **5,815 miles** from Houston in the other direction. I’ve been under the pack ice north of the North Slope of Alaska; I’ve been to the North Pole; and I docked in Tromsø, Norway (the third largest city in the world north of the Arctic Circle), but all of these are actually closer to Houston than Pompeii is. I’ve never been to South America, Africa, Asia, or Australia. For all the travel I’ve done in my life, I’ve evidently not strayed all that far from where I was born. ETA: I just realized that I’m responding to an 8-year old post. :smack: Nevertheless, it’s an interesting thread, and it seems to still being going strong. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/139 "2019-09-18T05:08:45Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > My daughter has to win something. She not only lives in the same place she was born, she works in the medical building next to the hospital where she was born. I was in a similar situation back when I was in college. I went to college across the street from the hospital where I was born. I was also living in my grandparent’s house while in college, which was the same house I was brought home to as an infant when I left the hospital with my mother. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/140 "2019-09-18T05:22:41Z")
California Bay Area to Ubud, Bali — 13438 km (8350 miles) rounded to nearest whole unit). Currently live in Tokyo: 8298 km (5156 miles). ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/141 "2019-09-18T05:26:11Z")
Melbourne to Berlin 15,977.88 km ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102/142 "2019-09-18T08:33:26Z")
Born in Tampa, FL. Visited Shoalwater, Australia. 18,196.63km [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-traveled-the-furthest-from-the-place-of-their-birth-who-has-stayed-the-closest/607102.md?page=8)