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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: May 11 2005
Posts: 130363
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 2:53pm | IP Logged | 1
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Long time ago, a friend informed me that she felt when someone had lived in the same place for more than ten years, that was where they were from. Thus, having lived in Connecticut for half my life, when asked where I’m from, Connecticut is what I say. This will occasionally prompt some people to say “I thought you were born in England.” “I was,” I’ll say, “but I haven’t been FROM England for a long time.” In other words, I don’t think of England as home. Sometimes I think about how different my situation is from, well, most people. The average Jack or Jill is born, lives and dies within a very small area. Some can live their whole lives in a single district—there are people who live in New York City who have not ventured outside the borough where they were born. My parents wandering meant I moved about once a year growing up, three cities (and two countries) before I was sixteen. This has created in me a kind of geographical detachment. Altho I will invoke my friend’s rule and say I’m “from” CT, mostly I don’t feel like I’m “from” anywhere. How about the rest of you?
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: March 17 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 15285
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 4:26pm | IP Logged | 2
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Interesting thing to consider. I've lived 'here' (the Maritimes) for ten years now and though obviously there are elements that feel like home, England is still what I consider my "real" home.
I have, after nearly 30 years, stopped considering the Bournemouth area as home (grew up there, left in the late 90s), and I suppose London no longer feels like home either (lived there for about 15 years after leaving my home town). So, I suppose I feel some of the geographical detachment that you mention.
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Brian A Burnham
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: January 04 2023
Location: United States
Posts: 2
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 4:32pm | IP Logged | 3
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I have lived in RI pretty much all my life. My parents are both from Maine but my Dad was in the Navy and based out of Newport RI. I was born in Bath, ME as my Mom went back to her mom's at the end of her pregnancy and my Dad was away at sea. It's funny tho. RI is home but I always feel a sense of relief when I get into Maine for visits. I did spent my adolescent summers there.
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Brian Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: July 28 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 30125
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 5:05pm | IP Logged | 4
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I live in the town just north of the town in which I grew up. I was born in a
city in which my parents did not live. (Close to it tho). When people ask
where I'm from, I most often say I'm from where we live now. If the
discussion is with someone that’s familiar with the area, I’ll usually say,
“originally, i’m from…”
(Why does my omnipotent iPhone not recognize “I’m” as a valid
contraction?)
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Petter Myhr Ness
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: July 02 2009
Location: Norway
Posts: 3710
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 5:28pm | IP Logged | 5
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Born, raised and - approaching 50 - still living in Oslo.
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Craig Earl
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: July 13 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 858
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 6:07pm | IP Logged | 6
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When I was a kid, my aunts, uncles & grandparents all lived within a five mile radius. Now all my relatives are spread far and wide, including my four siblings (I'm the only one to live in Sevenoaks*, Kent - the town of my birth - even though I've lived elsewhere at different times during my life).
* Fun fact - Sevenoaks contained the head office for Marvel UK during the mid to late 70's, which was mind-blowing to my 7 year old self that had just discovered Marvel!
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Michael Murphy
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: June 06 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 325
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 6:24pm | IP Logged | 7
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My father's job moved us around a fair bit when I was growing up but when we got to Ohio in 1983 that's where I stayed, other two years in S.C. as an adult. I have lived in some part of Ohio most of my life. When asked where I am from Ohio is always my answer.
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Steven Myers
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: June 10 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5559
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 6:51pm | IP Logged | 8
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I never thought I would end up living so close to where I grew up, but I'm about a half hour from the town I was raised in and maybe 45 min from where I was born and originally lived. I say I'm from Sandusky. I used to live in Bellevue but I escaped!
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Marc Foxx
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: April 16 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5543
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 7:12pm | IP Logged | 9
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So, I was born in Philadelphia...dad was in the Navy, so there was a bit of travelling to different duty stations, but I was never anywhere long enough to be from there...I lived in California for 10 years, but
moved back to the Philadelphia area (the city for about 10 years, then suburban NJ for the last 19 years), but since I continue to work in the city (and pay them wage tax), I consider myself to be from Philly.
My son was born abroad, but he's spent all but the first 5 months of his life in New Jersey, so that's where he's from.
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Dave Kopperman
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: December 27 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2897
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 7:15pm | IP Logged | 10
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My wife and I bought the house I grew up in, so despite living in a number of different places over the years I basically live about twenty feet away from where I'm from - the distance between my childhood bedroom and the master bedroom.
Rhode Island would definitely be my close second, having spent all holidays and summers there with my mom's family, along with attending college. There was an online test from the NYT a few years back that would pinpoint where you grew up based on a few vocabulary words, and it pinpointed me in two locations - RI, and southern NY.
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Joe Smith
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: August 29 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 6460
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 7:45pm | IP Logged | 11
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CT has a bit of a stereotype to it, although that stereotype seems to lend it
self to the southern part of the state, as it’s practically a suburb of New
York.
When I hear you speak, I don’t hear a Canadian or British accent, but what I
do hear is an education. That’s the stigma that follows us Connecticut
residence. The whole Yale/Ivy League/white privilege/blah blah blah.
I myself live in the inverted nipple that resides upon the Connecticut,
Massachusetts border, and I can tell you, what I see every day doesn’t
follow to type.
My family has lived in the same house since the mid-1800s and built it with
their bare hands. Immigrants. Every time we have to do some work on wiring
or plumbing, and need to remove the walls to do so, we find evidence of the
bygone era. humbling. I am from Connecticut. I feel like I’m from Pluto. Or at
least Neptune.
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ron bailey
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: October 16 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 770
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| Posted: March 14 2023 at 8:55pm | IP Logged | 12
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I always considered, "Where are you from," to be more about your formative years, like which location is most responsible for forming your identity. That can be a lot different than merely where you have lived the longest.
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