I live in Houston because I was born and raised here, and because I’m in the oil and gas industry. I hate the long hot summers. (It actually rained today for about 15 minutes, first time in two weeks.) But my dad lives nearby and he’s getting up in years, my husband is from here and so is his family, so I guess we’ll be here a while. It’s not so bad if you don’t mind traffic, crime, heat, and bugs!
It’s home. I was born here. My family is here. My mom and dad’s families are in the state. The only one that has moved away is my aunt, who moved to Tennessee.
I can wake up in the morning to the sounds of the crickets and frogs, sit out on the deck with my coffee watching the squirrels play. Seems that the weather over the years has gotten hotter and more humid so that I don’t enjoy the summers as much. But the other seasons are wonderful. Winters aren’t too cold, and spring and fall have just the right tingle to them.
I can’t imagine living anywhere else. When I want to travel I hit the road and I’m at the coast in three hours, or in the mountains in four hours.
Everyone has their special place they call home, this is mine.
I’ve lived in Oklahoma my entire life.
Yeah Yeah… I still live with my parents.
It’s my third year in college…(human resource management major)… and you know… I have no clue what I will be doing with my life…where I’ll live… nothing… not a damn clue… it’s sort of depressing.
You are making me sad. I miss going for “boat floats” down the Russian River. It’s also the only river I have kayaked (sp).
Darn it, the rivers out here have alligators in them, not much fun to kayak in for me. Plus it’s all flat.
I live here because Demo lives here. I agree with everything Demo said, the weather is perfect. But I’m an East Coast girl at heart, and the looming fear of an earthquake is never too far away.
plnnr put it pretty well. When you live in (or near) Richmond, VA, you are close to ocean, lake, mountains, and cities. I came here for the job (tneure track faculty positions can be difficult to find) but now have trouble identifying a better place to live.
Now if I only had money to buy my dream sailboat . . .
Eissclam
I live in the Seattle area primarily so I don’t have to live in Peoria, IL.
I was born and raised in Spokane. That was because my grandfather came out to Washington from Minnesota to work at the Hanford Works (part of the Manhattan Project) during World War II. One weekend he drove up to Spokane and as he crested the Sunset Hill he saw the city of Spokane (it really is a great view) and decided he wanted to live there. So when his family moved out to join him they moved to Spokane.
Mrs. Pluto is also from Spokane. After I graduated from college I got a job with Caterpillar in Peoria. It was a great job but Peoria is not a great place, IMO. We lived and worked there for five years but had decided beforehand to move back to the Pacific Northwest before the plutinos started school. So when the eldest was getting to be school-age I found a new job (with Boeing) in Seattle. We had hoped to get closer to Spokane and grandparents but that was the best we could do.
We really like Seattle. Lots to do, lots to see. The weather is a problem. We would both prefer colder winters and hotter (well, sunnier) summers. Also, when we visit Spokane we notice the pace of life is much more relaxed. So, even though we like it here, our hearts are turning eastward.
One of the big reasons I moved to Phoenix is because this is where the company I hired on with straight out of college is located. Being an Aerospace Engineering major in the early 1990s, I was damn glad to get a job offer (only 5 out of 32 graduating AEs got a job offer that year). Beyond that, there are a lot of high-tech companies in the area. I also liked the weather (I got so sick of Georgia rain) and the outdoor activites available here. There are things to do all year round, although you have to drive up to Flagstaff, the White Mountains (my favorite part of AZ), or the Mogollon Rim for outdoor activities during the summer. Also, an amateur schmuck like me can sing in the resident choral group for the city’s major symphony. The main disadvantage is that I’m so far away from my family.
I’ve considered moving up North, like to Chicago (a few Dopers are aware that I was knocking that idea around for a while), but I don’t think I could handle the snow, the problems that go along with it (salt rust), and the winter cold. Plus I really like being within driving distance of some sort of mountainous terrain. If I do move, it will probably be to North Carolina where the high-tech industries are rapidly growing and the Appalachians are nearby. As much as I like my job and Arizona, a cross-country move is not out of the question given the runaway sprawling urban growth we’re experiencing here.
jjjfishe, don’t be discouraged just because you’re a Junior (I assume) who doesn’t know what she’ll be doing for the rest of her life. I, and probably a majority of the Dopers, had no clue where I would be working, what I’d be doing, etc. when I was in my third year at college. Reading your posts here, I get the feeling that you’ll be successful in any endeavor you undertake.
Come on out Aenea. We’ll arrange a float, with keg, for ya.
psycat said:
How many times do I have to tell you? Earthquakes are fun!!! Sheesh!
Why I live in Michigan? I was born and raised for the first ten years of my life in Northern California (Fairfield and Vacaville). When I was six, my parents divorced and my mother got remarried right away to a man in the Air Force (stationed at Travis AFB at that time). When I was eight or nine, my new stepfather was being transferred and for some strange reason, they actually gave him a choice where he wanted to go. One of the choices was Selfridge ANGB in Michigan, only 20 miles from where my stepfather had grown up. Needless to say, he packed up my mother and their new baby boy and hauled ass to Michigan, leaving me and my sister behind with my dad and new stepmother. That only lasted for about a year, then my father decided that us girls “needed” our mother more, so he shipped us out to Michigan to live with our mom. That was twenty years ago and I haven’t been back since. I’ve thought about moving back, but my kids are all in school now and I don’t really want to uproot them just right now (went through it myself, spent half of fourth grade in CA, the other half in MI. It wasn’t easy).
However, it’s not really that bad here. We live in a nice neighborhood. The schools are good. Both of us like our jobs. However, if we were to decide to move to another state, it is kind of a toss-up between California and Texas. He lived in Texas very briefly as a teenager and fell in love with the place, and he really wants to go back there someday.
I have lived in FL almost all my life. I ended up in Tampa for college. Now I am just kind of stuck here because I’m too broke to pack up and move someplace else. I would love to get out of FL totally. But aside from money matters, Iam not too keen on moving someplace where i don’t know anyone. A friend of mine keeps saying she wants to move to GA. I would go with her in a heartbeat if I htought she was serious. I might be able to afford a move if I lived with another person for a while. I have nothing tying me to FL. Anyone want me to move in with them? 
I’ll bet this doesn’t get any responses, Michi, since everyone on this board knows you’re a mean-hearted witch and not much to look at. Plus the general avoidance of any sexual or suggestive topics we’re famous for.
Nope. No one’s gonna even reply.
Damn!
Oh well, I don’t want to hijack this thread, so if anyone out there DOES want me to move in with them, start a new thread about it!
Done and Done!
wicked laugh\
Osip
I’m out here in the hinterlands of the country courtesy of the Air Force Travel Agency: “We don’t care if you don’t like it”.
I was born in Melbourne Fl and we (the family) moved here when I was 6. I did move away for college but in my final year my father developed Prostate cancer. I came back home found a job so I could be near by to the family. Dad is ok now, I have a job I love and work with good people. I have not gone back to finish my Forensic Anthropolgy courses, but I do not mind. Sometimes I want to Live in Uglich Russia. Yet, it gets Waaay to cold there.
So here I am, and here I remain for the time being.
Osip
Well, my reasoning is pretty mundane, for the most part. On one hand, I’m going university and that pretty much takes up most of my time, so I’m currently living with my partents. We’re not exactly financially endowed, so I couldn’t really move away to go to university.
On the other hand, I was lucky enough to live in the same city as the only University with a film production program in Canada (one that takes you from concept to writing, directing, editing, and everything in between). There are other film schools in Canada, but this is the only University with such a program and is much cheaper (they cover the expenses). Also, the film industry here is just starting to boom, so I can get work here while I go to school.
As an Air Force brat, I moved around a lot. My mother would occasionally leave me with her older sister who lived in NC. I ended up spending my entire childhood traveling back and forth across the US with NC being the one stable thing in my life. So although, I would love to live in Colorado, I will probably stay in NC. It represents stability to me.
Thanks for the words of encouragement Strainger.
What a great thread! It’s fascinating reading where all of you are and why.
In specific terms, I’m here in the midwest because I started out here (a few states away), bumped around the country a bit and settled in western IL due to maritial and job reasons.
Like Zette and SouthernStyle, I really do love it. It’s home. I like the change of seasons–even though they’re about as extreme as possible around here.
I’m w/in 3 hours of Chicago, 7 from St. Louis and 9 from Denver, so cities are no problem. I grew up in a large city, and now love the slower pace, easier traffic and convenience of a smaller city. I can walk to work and restaurants, and people know me.
For all the true-and-false aspects of stereotypes about the midwest, I like the friendliness, sturdy common sense and lack of pretension. People really do wave to strangers.
Still, I love both coasts–and the desert. I have another move in me, and fortunately my profession let’s me write my own ticket. When I do move it’ll be appreciating other aspects of living, not rejecting where I’m at now.
Veb