# Why do you live where you live?



## BadOregon (12 mo ago)

I have always wondered how/why people choose where they live. Do you live there because you were born and raised there? Moved because of a job? Like the weather? The politics? What was it that drew you to where you are now?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I haven't figured out exactly where I live yet. Find my truck. I am nearby.


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## Vjk (Apr 28, 2020)

We were in Lompoc, CA when my job transferred me to the DC area. Coincidentally, near where my wife grew up and her parents still lived. When FiL passed, MiL gave me their farm. She didn't like country life, although she grew up in the Bavarian Alps. Go figure.


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## Big_Al (Dec 21, 2011)

Life long Floridian.
We live on a dead end dirt road six miles outside a one stop light town because both my wife and I don’t like to be around people.
Especially me.
The two gates on our property that front the road stay closed and secured with chains and padlocks whether we are home or not.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

It is where my mail is delivered.


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## Kmac15 (May 19, 2007)

DS lost his job in Nashville and got another one in Charleston SC. He had the nerve to insist on moving his wife and our grand daughter with him. So back to SC we came


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

I’ve tried to move my farm to a more suitable climate area, but it’s a hard pull, so I’ll just stay here and farm at the edge of agriculture.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

I like the elevation, 7500 feet. It is much cooler in the summer, yet has all four seasons. I also like the fact that it is near the end of a dead end road. I sometimes go for a month or more, with nobody even driving by.


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## link30240 (Aug 22, 2021)

*Why do you live where you live?*

Because I could no longer stomach living in California, and Georgia seemed as good a place as any to start over. Honestly If it wasnt for the Hurricanes, the Florida pan handle would have been my first choice. After 20 years here in Georgia, I can say I made the right choice.


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## doozie (May 21, 2005)

It was Family ties, DH and I both grew up in the same suburb, moved one burb over, and raised our family. Thought of moving on and off, but didn’t want to uproot the kids as they got older. DH had a decent job, extended family all nearby, everything we could ever want at our fingertips, and we even got major flak from both sides of the family one time we mentioned an out of state move when our kids were 5 and under. 

Fast forward about 40 years we are now where we want to be, wish we could have done it sooner.
It’s just a few acres, and DH says he could never go live on a city lot again.
Better late than never.

We previously lived under a flight path and had the never ending humming of the expressway.
I can’t say there was any single thing that motivated us to move to a completely opposite location.
Constantly rising property taxes and the all too real threat of flooding helped prod us along.

Now it’s dead silence at times and an occasional train whistle in the distance. A truly peaceful existence for the most part.
I can’t rule out another move to a warmer climate though.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

Born and raised here. We reside on the farm that my great grandfather first purchased in 1909.


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

I like it here.


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

I was born in Chicago. I always hated living there. We at least moved to the northern part of the state while I was in high school.
When I moved out on my own, I just felt more at home up here in Wisconsin, and the cost of living and housing was way cheaper than illannoy at that time. I’ve been here ever since.
My wife’s family lives in the Driftless area of Wisconsin, clear on the other side of the state from where I lived. Every time I came here I felt “at peace “. I always told my wife we were going to retire here. Well, major life changes which I won’t go into here, made me reassess my life, and I decided to live my life as I would as if I were retired. I gave up my job of 32 years, put the house on the market, and crossed my fingers I could make a living out here. I guess that’s what my higher power wanted too, as I’ve been blessed repeatedly ever since. As far as the financial aspect goes, I have play money now, where as in the city I was always broke. BTW, my blood pressure has dropped almost 25 points since I got the heck out of that urban rat race.
Beats the hell out of living in Chicago-


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## BadOregon (12 mo ago)

So, it doesn't sound like many of you actually sat down and said "hmm, I don't like it here, I need to find a new place to live" and did research to find a "better" place. Many people I know (and have known) just stay wherever is easiest or where they have always lived. When I moved out on my own, I just knew there had to be a better place to live than the state I lived in. Same now. Things have gone so far in the wrong direction in this state, but dang sure seems like they have everywhere. And the weather seems to be crappy no matter where you go anymore.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

well 
it is about 75 miles west of where I grew up and were my parents still live 
it is about 25 miles south from where my in-laws live and where I met my wife 

it is 45 minutes to where I work when I go to work at the office which I have't done much lately 
been working from home 4/5 of the time since 2007 and all but 3-5 days a year for 2020 , 2021 and 2022.
we bough this place in 2004

from 2000 to 2004 we were about the same distances from in-laws and parents but in a different direction north east and now we are south.

it is a smaller rural county with less taxes , lower property values , and bigger yards than are common closer to work

I am minutes from hunting and minutes from fishing 

I have friends with farms places to cut fire wood , but my kids were easy access to the library and schools in town. 

I live in town but it is a small rural farm town and I have a large yard with a good size garden.

so yes local government 
taxes
rural 
property values 

when we sold the house in 2004 it was because child 3 was on the way and it was a small 2 bedroom
the house we were planning to move to fell through while we were selling our house.
houses were very slim pickings in 2004 so I said to the agent , we need to find a house and got out a map and drew half circle 45 minutes out from work with the stipulation towns less than 5K. why a half circle I had lived west of work for a year and did not like it , drive into the sun every morning and evening spring & fall , also it makes the trip to my parents longer we also didn't like that when we lived west in 99.


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## Max Overhead (Feb 22, 2021)

Divorce is what drove my siblings and I from Florida to North Carolina. I was five years old. My mother worked for American Airlines, so we were free to move anywhere they had a terminal. We settled on NC because the state has all seasons, and all geography from mountains to beaches. Where I am now (for the past 11 years) was determined when my landlady attempted to jack up my rent. My mother, at this time a realtor, gave me a stack of houses for sale, and I without reservations settled on the very cheapest one, which was about a 45 minute drive from the berg where I worked. It was a depressed former mill town and the property values and "culture" reflected that. That's all changed now and I thank my lucky stars that I am stubborn and independent enough to choose to live where I want to, when everyone around me said it was a bad idea. Grass as high as a man, tarps on the roof, plywood on the windows, just perfect.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

My son called one day and asked if I had ever thought of moving as the boys (grands) were getting older....so I did.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Because the place where I want to live is too far from any jobs that would be necessary to pay for property where I want to live.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Goats and a position.


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## ofanevening (9 mo ago)

I can't afford anywhere I like and anyway I'm not sure where would be good to go.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Born and raised in a small town, (central NY). Spent 5 years with the USN during that time visited about 40 states and didn't find anywhere else I'd really care to live. Bout 2 months after I got out of the Navy my G-father passed away, my parents bought my G-father's house and sold me their house. One year later, I found a deal on 57+ acres of land bout 14 miles away from where I was living. Had a house built, sold the in-town house, and have been here ever since..... going on 54 years.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Left here at 18. Came back at 58. Lived in Houston, Memphis, Knoxville, South Bend IN, Quincy IL, Charlotte, Raleigh and back home. Came back soon enough to spend the last few years of my parents life with them. Played with cattle here. I just sold out. Trying to decide the best mode of travel to tour the country. I'll be here until I die. It is my spot as far as you can see east, west and north. I can see a neighbor and a highway about 2 miles south.


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

Thread drift alert,but related. Going through this at 6:30 tonight. I think I can see one other home from here, as we checked it out last night by ourselves. FSBO. I’ve been looking for something like this, but figured I’d have to venture out a little farther from my current town. Fingers crossed. 



https://www.redfin.com/WI/Boscobel/16744-Sand-Hill-Rd-53805/home/57647545


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## link30240 (Aug 22, 2021)

67drake said:


> Thread drift alert,but related. Going through this at 6:30 tonight. I think I can see one other home from here, as we checked it out last night by ourselves. FSBO. I’ve been looking for something like this, but figured I’d have to venture out a little farther from my current town. Fingers crossed.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.redfin.com/WI/Boscobel/16744-Sand-Hill-Rd-53805/home/57647545


Beautiful Place.. home it works out for you


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## Kiamichi Kid (Apr 9, 2009)

Never mind


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

link30240 said:


> Beautiful Place.. home it works out for you


Thanks!
OMG, I’m going to do everything in my power to live here! We spent 2 hours there, and are in love. Views are spectacular! I’ll start a thread on it if this goes through,or I have questions, as I don’t want to muddy this one up more than I have already. I will actually be asking homestead questions if I live here, not just pictures of my food. 
Donkey and pony included.
Wish a had taken more photos, I took a ton of videos.( which I can’t post here) Pics don’t to it justice.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

I grew up on this place. Grandpa bought it. I inherited it from Dad. Gettin too crowded though.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

67drake said:


> Thread drift alert,but related. Going through this at 6:30 tonight. I think I can see one other home from here, as we checked it out last night by ourselves. FSBO. I’ve been looking for something like this, but figured I’d have to venture out a little farther from my current town. Fingers crossed.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.redfin.com/WI/Boscobel/16744-Sand-Hill-Rd-53805/home/57647545


Is photo 27 a outdoor wood fired heater (boiler)?


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

BadOregon said:


> So, it doesn't sound like many of you actually sat down and said "hmm, I don't like it here,


Oh, believe it, that has happened more than is given credit. Some times one just needed some motivation. I lived for many years in the midwest where the summer temp was often 90f++ and the humidity about the same number. Winters could be horrendous. Then I moved to a higher elevation in the same state and it was the same except the humidity was lower and fewer tornados. Then I met a gal in WA and married her. I sold out to the midwest in turn-key fashion and never looked back except for some memories. I had only been to the PNW once before and that was too short of a trip to get a feel. _But after I had been here a bit I wished I had moved 30 years earlier._ High elevation or low, rainy to almost desert, plains to forest, big city or almost human free and combinations thereof.

But the research wasn't so much about location. The research tool I used was Eharmony.


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

Micheal said:


> Is photo 27 a outdoor wood fired heater (boiler)?


Yes. It heats the house and attached garage. Hydronic lines under house and garage floor. They also have an LP tank if you don’t want to burn wood and prefer the furnace.


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## B&L Chicken Ranch and Spa (Jan 4, 2019)

Good food, nice people, and not to many of them...


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## miteigenenhaenden (11 mo ago)

We come from the middle of Germany and moved to the southwest near Heidelberg because there were jobs for us here.
The climate is also warmer here.


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## KC Rock (Oct 28, 2021)

BadOregon said:


> I have always wondered how/why people choose where they live. Do you live there because you were born and raised there? Moved because of a job? Like the weather? The politics? What was it that drew you to where you are now?


Had a buddy recommended my place when he learned I was moving back from Seattle. Set off west of a north south

road by 600 feet. Planted red cedar on the north, east and partially on the south side. Gives a certain amount of

privacy. No dust from vehicles and the neighbors are excellent...Except for the north one, but after I sued him, he

and his kids settled down.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

I was living where I wanted to live but had to move back to the US for medical. I am now pretty much stuck in the US.
Currently where I want to live in the US but moving due to family problems. I own another place in the US that I will probably fix up and sell. Not because I wouldn't want to live there but the medical care is lousy. 
So pretty much medical care will determine where I end up living.
I've had a wandering foot nearly all my life but I need to be in one place now. Not looking forward to moving again.


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## ZorLence (7 mo ago)

It's comfortable for me. I like living in a small farmhouse because it's well worth the price of government services, for example. I'm used to this house and don't want to move.


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## ofanevening (9 mo ago)

I should say that even the places I like are becoming intolerable for different reasons. Where I am now is just dull.


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## ofanevening (9 mo ago)

TxMex said:


> I own another place in the US that I will probably fix up and sell


There are a lot of people here (including me) looking for affordable places to buy. Maybe if you posted the place here someone would buy and you wouldn't have to fix it up first?


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

ofanevening said:


> There are a lot of people here (including me) looking for affordable places to buy. Maybe if you posted the place here someone would buy and you wouldn't have to fix it up first?


I took your advice and posted it. It's near Springfield Missouri


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

I live in the town of my birth, though I did live away from it for 5 years.


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## ofanevening (9 mo ago)

TxMex said:


> It's near Springfield


Is that near Shelbyville?

(And I'll look at the ad.)


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## JOAT (10 mo ago)

I live where I am because there are no snakes, poisonous spiders, scorpions, lizards, alligators, poison ivy/oak, Democrats or any other such creepy-hiding things that can kill or injure you for no reason whatsoever. 

We have moose and bears, which are big and you can reason with them during an encounter. You can also use them for food. 

I fish wild salmon right out of the ocean just a few miles from my house. People from all over the world spend thousands of dollars to come here to visit for a few days. 

All that said, I used to live at the end of the road and had like 3 neighbors. A couple years ago, the descendants of one of the area's original homesteaders sold the last raw 80 acre parcel from that original homestead. It's across the street from me. I used to look out on raw forest. Now, I look out on a massive housing project with 4 new streets lined with around 70 cookie-cutter houses. First time I've actually entertained the idea of moving, if I didn't have so much sweat invested in making my own place uniquely mine. I'll probably just put up a fence and carry on.


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## JosephSeiss (May 3, 2017)

JOAT said:


> I live where I am because there are no snakes, poisonous spiders, scorpions, lizards, alligators, poison ivy/oak, Democrats or any other such creepy-hiding things that can kill or injure you for no reason whatsoever.
> 
> We have moose and bears, which are big and you can reason with them during an encounter. You can also use them for food.
> 
> ...


They‘re doing that nonsense in Alaska?


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## JOAT (10 mo ago)

JosephSeiss said:


> They‘re doing that nonsense in Alaska?


Oh yeah. They've been doing it for decades. There's one outfit in particular in my area that's well known for buying up 40 acre plots (typically old homestead acreage that has been left to the grandkids from the original homesteaders of the 1950s). They carve out a road in such a way as to let them subdivide a 40 into like 32 one-acre lots. They have to do the layouts in such a way as to achieve proper spacing between wells and septic leach fields of adjoining lots. Then they take about 3 or 4 different floor plans and start building houses. They'll flip the floor plans over on every other house so it looks like there are 6 or 8 different types of house. And they'll do something a little different on the appearance of the street side of each house. Might use a different type of siding or a different type of window or dress up the eve differently, and obviously use different paint colors on each house. They're always low-end builds (single-story stick-frame with monolithic slab foundations) but they'll sell them for premium prices and use internal financing. The buyers are predominantly first-time home owners and usually at the lower end of the income spectrum. The mortgage default rates are typically high, so the company often gets to sell some of the houses a couple different times. It's quite a scam. 

When they started building houses in the area across from me, I was taking the dogs for a walk through there many evenings after the constructions guys went home for the night. Based on my informal inspections of their foundations and building techniques, I'm giving most of those houses about 3-4 years before they start having serious structural issues. They did not put any kind of a deep frost footer around the foundations. Around here, you have to go down 4 feet if you want to get below frost line. Fail to do that and you risk having the ground under your foundation footer freeze. When that happens, the expanding ice will lift the foundation. In the Spring, it will thaw and drop. At that point, you'll have huge cracks in your foundation. And because these guys are using monolithic cement slabs, that means your subfloor is going to crack and it's going to make your floor unlevel and bumpy. And then your going to have doors that don't line up with their frames anymore. Everything literally rests on having a solid foundation and these guys shortcut the heck out of it. 

Being outside of any kind of municipality, there's no permit or inspection process, so they can shortcut everything with zero repercussions or oversight. While I hate having government sticking their nose into what I build on my own land, it really sucks for these new homeowners to be buying what appears to be a nice, brand-new house, but it has all of these hidden issues lurking under the floors.


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## JosephSeiss (May 3, 2017)

JOAT said:


> Oh yeah. They've been doing it for decades. There's one outfit in particular in my area that's well known for buying up 40 acre plots (typically old homestead acreage that has been left to the grandkids from the original homesteaders of the 1950s). They carve out a road in such a way as to let them subdivide a 40 into like 32 one-acre lots. They have to do the layouts in such a way as to achieve proper spacing between wells and septic leach fields of adjoining lots. Then they take about 3 or 4 different floor plans and start building houses. They'll flip the floor plans over on every other house so it looks like there are 6 or 8 different types of house. And they'll do something a little different on the appearance of the street side of each house. Might use a different type of siding or a different type of window or dress up the eve differently, and obviously use different paint colors on each house. They're always low-end builds (single-story stick-frame with monolithic slab foundations) but they'll sell them for premium prices and use internal financing. The buyers are predominantly first-time home owners and usually at the lower end of the income spectrum. The mortgage default rates are typically high, so the company often gets to sell some of the houses a couple different times. It's quite a scam.
> 
> When they started building houses in the area across from me, I was taking the dogs for a walk through there many evenings after the constructions guys went home for the night. Based on my informal inspections of their foundations and building techniques, I'm giving most of those houses about 3-4 years before they start having serious structural issues. They did not put any kind of a deep frost footer around the foundations. Around here, you have to go down 4 feet if you want to get below frost line. Fail to do that and you risk having the ground under your foundation footer freeze. When that happens, the expanding ice will lift the foundation. In the Spring, it will thaw and drop. At that point, you'll have huge cracks in your foundation. And because these guys are using monolithic cement slabs, that means your subfloor is going to crack and it's going to make your floor unlevel and bumpy. And then your going to have doors that don't line up with their frames anymore. Everything literally rests on having a solid foundation and these guys shortcut the heck out of it.
> 
> Being outside of any kind of municipality, there's no permit or inspection process, so they can shortcut everything with zero repercussions or oversight. While I hate having government sticking their nose into what I build on my own land, it really sucks for these new homeowners to be buying what appears to be a nice, brand-new house, but it has all of these hidden issues lurking under the floors.


Wow. I’d be inclined to tank people like that through social media. At least if a bad rep starts to circulate it might hurt their business. I’m with you, I hate government overreach, but some of my fellow conservatives dont believe there’s such a thing as “end stage capitalism.” My Scandinavian parents and grandparents who worked the trades would be ashamed to—and would refuse to—do work like that. There are things more important than the bottom line.


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## Valleyguy (Jan 5, 2011)

JOAT said:


> Being outside of any kind of municipality, there's no permit or inspection process, so they can shortcut everything with zero repercussions or oversight. While I hate having government sticking their nose into what I build on my own land, it really sucks for these new homeowners to be buying what appears to be a nice, brand-new house, but it has all of these hidden issues lurking under the floors.


Haha, I was one of those suckers in 1982, right at the end of the pipeline boom. We couldn't afford rent in Anchorage so bought a house in Palmer. New and nice looking houses, built like a cardboard box. 

I was a southern boy and didn't realize how crazy people can be during a big economic boom cycle. I used to wonder if the old fellow representing the company building the flimsy houses ever had remorse selling to two 22 yo kids with 2 young children. Ahhh, probably not. I fixed everything and it all worked out for the better, for me anyway.


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

Because, like today and the next few days, it gets to106. Yesterday108. through the end of the week 100f+. It really kicks bu77 on the wood ticks. they, like every other living thing seem to go dormant. We really dislike wood ticks.


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