Why do you live where you live?

[Morning Glory]

Just being curious. Lots of people end up where they are because of work. That applies to me. I probably wouldn't have chosen to move to Maidstone (Kent, UK) but I was offered a very well paid job here and didn't want a long commute. So I bought the house I am in now which was a 10 minute car to journey work. However I don't regret moving to Kent, which is a wonderful county. It's known as 'the garden of England. It has beautiful sandy beaches, native oysters and picturesque villages. The weather tends to be a little warmer than elsewhere in the UK.

How about you? What brought you to where you live now? And do you wish you could live somewhere else?
'.

 

[TastyReuben]

Same for us…my work.

In 2004, we were both working in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. I worked for a job recruitment facilitator (very interesting work) and MrsT was a gate agent for a regional airlines (a job she also loved).

I was downsized (which is a story in itself), and MrsT had of late been moaning that she wanted to be closer to family, and since hers was spread out, I agreed to look for another job in both Minnesota and Ohio, where all of my family lives.

It turned out that I found an acceptable job in Ohio first, so that’s why we’re here.

With daily flights between Minneapolis and Dayton, MrsT continued to work there for a few months after we moved - she usually worked four days on and three days off, so she’d fly up for free, work, stay with a coworker, then fly back four days later, but that got old after awhile because we live nearly an hour from the Dayton airport, and catching an early-morning flight…neither of us really liked getting up at 3AM so she could get to work (in Minneapolis) on time.

We both found pretty quickly that we’d really prefer to be somewhere else. She was looking for some big family thing, and my family aren’t like that - we all keep to ourselves until someone needs something, and she found that living here was a lot different than visiting here.

That was 20 years ago, though, and I’m close to retirement, and we’re currently making trips over to Pennsylvania, scouting retirement options there, and plan to move in the next 3 years or so.

 

[medtran49]

Craig was born in South Florida. My mother and I moved here so I could get Florida resident tuition at U of M.

We've been discussing moving north and inland the last couple of years due mainly to hurricanes, but haven't done anymore than talk so far.

 

[JAS_OH1]

I lived in NW Florida for most of my life until I met my DH. His cousin lives in Florida and introduced us 25 years ago, so here i am in Ohio. I like spring, summer and fall but hate winter here, it's just too cold! I'd like to move somewhere warmer but not Florida, mostly because I've become accustomed to milder summer temps here as opposed to sweltering heat in Florida but also as mentioned by medtran49 because of potential hurricanes. We traveled through Alabama recently and really liked Birmingham...it's a beautiful green city with lots of trees and it's laid out well. We'd like to go back again for more than just a night.

 

[CookieMonster]

for people still working, obviously 'the job' has a huge impact.
all of our moves have been due to jobs.
otoh, a near neighbor, worked at same company, got downsized. master degree in engineering.
I relayed several leads/dang decent opportunities,,,,, which he declined because his wife had a large local family and she refused to move away.
after the working is all done, then folks have the option of relocating.
I've thought about moving - and the question is: to where? . . . and whyfore?
this house is 'too big' for two, so to speak. but I have a nice woodshop setup in the basement, two car garage, fenced yard for the dog, "maintenance free," nice 'all-window office area' - convenient shopping - two major health providers, take your pick - it's paid for.
so,,, it's difficult to rationalize moving 'for no obvious/necessary reason' . . .

 

[karadekoolaid]

I'm here in Caracas for two reasons. First of all, I had a Venezuelan girlfriend in London, and we had a great time there. In 1980, she invited me to spend summer holidays in Caracas ( which I gladly accepted) and, during those holidays, I scouted about a bit for possible jobs ( I almost ended up in Daqing, China ) because I really wanted to work abroad.
Come January 1981, I got a call from the Venezuelan national petroleum company, offering me a spot in their language school. Jumped at the opportunity - especially since the salary was about twice what I was making. Resigned my job in London, left for Caracas in March , got married in July.
The climate here is magnificent - an average 25C (I hate the cold with a passion). The vegetation is astounding; if you've never been through a tropical rain forest, you don't know what you're missing. The people are incredibly friendly, helpful, kind and spontaneous. We've got the best chocolate (cacao) in the world, delicious coffee, extraordinary seafood, an incredible array of fruit and a cuisine which has an abundance of native dishes, but is also influenced by French, Spanish and Italian cooking.
Plus we have the most beautiful women in the world

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

The day before we went on holiday to Scotland for 2 weeks, my OH spotted a one line job advert on his company's digital "noticeboard".

It said so little that having looked up where Canberra was, he sent off an email asking for more information.

Coming home from our holiday, we made an offer on a house we were buying in Lancashire on a canal.

When my OH got to work the following day (Monday) he bumped into his boss's boss who congratulated him on the new job.

We'd never been to Australia, he'd had no formal interview and the decision was ours to make. We were unsure about the house (mid terrace) and decided to risk moving to Australia for 3 years on a 4 year visa.

When we stepped off the plane, that was literally the first time we saw the place. We moved out here not knowing what to expect.