Where were you born or raised?

[skeeter]

I'm so boring.....

Was born in Cincinnati - in the same hospital my mom was born in, and the same hospital my younger son would eventually be born in.

Live all my growing up years in Mason (at that time a small rural community) about 25 miles north of Cincinnati.

Went to a branch of the University of Cincinnati and graduated with a AS degree and got hired at P&G - but a facility about 20 miles away from my parents' house. So I moved close to there, to a part of the city of Cincinnati proper called College Hill (and about 3 miles away from where Susie grew up - was that St. Ann's you went to?). I've lived in this part of town since 1979.

However, with my recent job change, I am actually working less then 2 miles away from the house I grew up in (my mother no longer lives there - sold it over 20 years ago). In fact, the piece of property that our facility is located on was my bus driver's pig farm when I was growing up!!!!

 

[Rhonda]

Glad I saw this and that anyone is even interested..

I am a true GRITS girl.

Tupelo, MS. Born and raised.. farm girl who moved off to the big city...

Live in Pacific Grove, CA now.. (Monterey)..
Rhonda

 

[hearts and roses]

I love hearing about all the little seaside beach towns...Marg, yours sounds like a dream to me (and yes, my girls would probably hate the isolation, but I would love it!).

Skeeter, your post made me laugh so hard...pig farm! Haha.

I was born and grew up in North Shore suburb of Long Island, NY. It was a picture perfect place to raise a family back then. Many of the potato farms were plowed over and houses went up everywhere (including ours back in 1961, a year before I came along). My mom used to love telling people she became pregnant with me out of sheer boredom - they didn't have a tv till a few years later!

As a difficult child I was always trying to find something new and more exciting and different, so a couple of years after my parents retired out to Phoenix, I followed and stayed there for a few months, but eventually went back to LI, found my very own difficult child (exh), married, had two kiddos and then later divorced. Sort of bopped all over LI, north shore east end and eventually was offered a job up in CT in 1993 so I could support my girls and have been here ever since.

I long for the day when I can find my little beach house so I can watch the sunrises and sunsets every day. Like ML said, the mountains are gorgeous, but I miss the ocean.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

Chicago.

Go Bears
Go Sox
Go Bulls
Go Wildcats

Cubs...eeeh, not so much.

Born in Chicago, moved to Stickney when I was 2 (and the town is as nasty as it sounds) and moved to Lombard when I was 8. Grew up there. As an adult, I drove a semi over the road with my X and have probably been through or at least near most of your towns (well, maybe not you, Marg). I love different parts of the country for different reasons. But, like so many of you, I am back here...in Lombard. A mile away from my highschool.

 

[jbrain]

Hi,
I was born in Chicago but my family moved when I was a baby. We lived in Milwaukee, St. Paul, and then Kalamazoo, Michigan while I was growing up. I've moved around a lot since growing up--Dallas, Austin, Port Arthur,TX, Madison, Wahpeton, ND, Florence, SC, Daytona Beach, New Orleans and now Ithaca, NY. I didn't like living in the South very well so was glad to get back up north.

My parents are both from Alabama but they grew up on farms and couldn't wait to get out, they both hated the country. My mom was afraid of all the farm animals and my dad was real wild so he wanted to go to the city and live it up. I have lots of relatives in Alabama as they both came from large families but I don't really know them very well.

This is a fun thread!

OKAY--GO PITTSBURGH PANTHERS (my son went to Pitt), GO BUFFALO BILLS AND GO WOLVERINES!!!!

Jane

 

[Star*]

(passes salt shaker)

 

[DammitJanet]

Three Shadows...my dad was at Guadacanal too! I had an Uncle who was a Marine on Iwo when the flag went up. I also grew up singing the Hymn. My dad suffered hearing problems from being so close to the big guns on the ship. He was a gunner's mate. They shot down kamikaze planes that attacked the ships.

It was very interesting learning history from someone who was there.

 

[Hound dog]

I was born and raised in a small city in central Illiniois called Decatur. Married husband at 19, moved to Dayton at 20 and never looked back. It didn't take me long to fall in love with Ohio.......after that, Illinois was just too dang flat and drab. lol It's all my Mom can do to get me to go back to visit.

She doesn't do a good job of it. Last time I stepped foot in that place was over 10 yrs ago when my grandfather died.

 

[jbrain]

Hey Andy,
are you familiar with a lake in Minnesota called Lake Gladstone? Our family used to go there for vacations when we lived in St. Paul. We stayed in awful little cabins but caught lots of fish in that lake. I think we had to go through Hibbing and Brainerd to get there, in fact it may have been near Brainerd. The lakes in Minnesota are so beautiful!
Jane

 

[AnnieO]

Cool topic! I can't help but notice the number of people from the Midwest... THAT could explain something. Maybe it's the water...

Born in El Paso TX, where I lived till I was 14. Mom lost her job then Dad got transferred to Dayton OH (yeah cadydid... I know.) Moved a bit in Ohio, mostly within a 50-mile radius. Married an Air Force guy, he got out & we moved to Tulsa OK, where I lasted 7 months. Parents came and rescued me - back to Ohio. Lived with them for a bit then found my own place. Met husband at work of all places (he doesn't work here anymore, but I still do), and we're still in Ohio...

 

[totoro]

I love reading all of your travels!!! It is actually pretty cool that some people get to stay in one area for most of their lives. Not many get to experience this.
I think it can build on the sense of community and love for that ton or city. Make you want to protect it and give back.


Anywhooo-


I was born in Marin, CA. My wonderful Father was in Prison for Heroin dealing.
I moved quickly to South San Francisco, continued to move all around the South City. (Daly City,Colma, South City, San Bruno,Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, San Jose) Back and forth through most of these towns due to welfare and loss of rent etc.
We moved about every 6 months or so.
Mom married the guy who adopted us when I was 5.
We moved more then after he lost his job with Hughes Air West. He went to work for the Cemetery in Colma, the one where they filmed the Streets of San Francisco!
We lived behind a bar and across from the Cemetery with a sewer behind us for awhile then and this is where we played for a few years.
It was actually quite fun for kids!

Adopted Dad lost his job... Welfare again. Mom left.

I then on my own left and moved in with my Bio-Dad, (Long Story)
Moved to Marin, We moved a lot also, Dad was a drug dealer.
Moved from, Sausalito, Mill Valley, Tiburon... back and forth. We even lived in hiding for awhile in Hotels.

He left me while I was High School. I lived with one of his friends in Sausalito.
Went to Europe for 2 months. Bummed around.

Moved to Idaho for 2 years... struggled as my BiPolar (BP) got worse! Yeah
Moved to San Francisco for 2 or so years. BiPolar (BP) got worse!
Moved back to Idaho... for 10 years.
Moved to Valparaiso Indiana, then to Chesterton, IN for 3 years with husband
Moved back to Idaho for 2 years... K got severe and we had to move

Now we are in Arizona!!!
I hope we can stay for awhile. But our lease for our house here is coming up in June and we can't really afford it. We are trying to sell our home in Idaho so right now we are kind of in limbo.

That's it in a huge nutshell!!!

And Star* I would believe anything you write! Even being born with a family of Burro's.

 

[Lothlorien]

Totoro, sounds like you had some life! I wonder if you could write a book. I'm glad you found some stability.

 

[timer lady]

Let's see, born in Appleton, WI; have lived in Neenah, WI, back to Appleton, then onto Milwaukee while my parents built their home in Cedarburg. We moved there when I was in 2nd grade & I lived there until I moved out at 19. My dad still lives in that home.

I moved to Madison, back to Milwaukee. At 28 or so I moved out to Spokane spent a year or two there; headed up to Bellingham WA for a couple of years before I decided the place to find work was in Seattle. Headed down there where I met husband on New Year's Eve in the University District. Married in September of '88.

We lived in Seattle, then moved out to Woodinville WA, bought a condo in Bellevue, 6 blocks from the Microsoft Campus in one direction & 6 blocks from Nintendo in the other. (husband worked at both) After 9 years of marriage we moved back to the midwest & ended up in St. Paul MN. Here I sit for the past 11 years (husband accepted a job with a promising software entity here & we were closer to family). Not back to the land of my birth but darned close ~ okay 1775 miles closer than Bellevue, WA.

Andy, we have spent time up in your area on vacation though we tend to head toward northern Wisconsin (it's more affordable, sorry).

 

[jbrain]

Linda,
my easy child son and difficult child 1 dtr both live in Seattle now and seem to like it there. I hope my son can meet a girl on NY Eve and marry her! I lived in St. Paul from age 4-9 and have many great memories--we lived on Osceola Ave. and then Sargent Ave.--right off of St. Claire Ave. if that means anything to you. I remember playing in the streets and all the neighbors' yards til the streetlights came on at night. We had a store I could walk to and buy penny candy and the "hoods" hung out at the corner drugstore. My sister now lives in Minneapolis and so does my niece.

Jane

 

[Andy]

JBrain, I didn't spend a lot of time around Lake Gladstone, however, I do know where it is. So many cabins and resorts around the Nisswa area!

Hwy 371 from Brainerd into Nisswa has sure changed with businesses. Sad that Deer Forest is no longer there. Did you ever go to A & W from 1977 - 1981? I may have waited on you!


Timer, Northern WI is also more beautiful than where I live now. My mom grew up just blocks from the old bridge from Duluth into Superior. (My grandpa was on the crew that painted ariel lift bridge at Canal Park in Duluth). I am hoping to take the kids to the North Shore this Summer. I need to go visit my grandma for sure this Spring/Summer. She still lives in Superior, WI.

 

[1905]

I'm a Philly girl. Born and raised in the suburbs ouside of Northeast Philly. Go Eagles! I've lived at the Jersey shore for about 20 years. When I retire, I'm moving to Nova Scotia.-Alyssa

 

[DDD]

I was born and raised in Coral Gables Florida...home of the University of Miami 'Canes! Yep, we all went to school there although two ended up graduating from other U's. It was a wonderful place to live. When I married husband (my 2nd spouse) I hoped to live forever "at home" but GFGmom ran into problems and coincidentally my husband wanted to move to Central Fla.for business. Bad combo.

We have lived in Central Fla. for thirty years. "You can't go home again" is absolutely true. The home we sold for $100,00 soon moved up to 250 and now is closer to 750. Yikes. Our income, meanwhile, has gone down the scale proportionally.

I absolutely love my home town. I spent happy summers in Milwaukee and Minocqua Wisconsin where my Mom's family came from. I do not like where we have lived for three decades BUT I am a Floridian to the bone. DDD

 

[Estherfromjerusalem]

I was born in London, England to parents who fled Germany after Krystallnacht and found refuge in England. They were not even engaged then, just friends. They got married in England. I had no grandparents -- they were left behind in Germany and perished there before I was born. My parents were wonderful people and we are three very lucky sisters to have had them. My father worked for the Jewish Blind Society in England, and when he retired his wonderful work was recognized by his being awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace!!

My sisters preceded me to Israel, and married Israelis. I married in England, and by the time I came to live in Israel we had four children, but more important, my husband had his degree in computer science, so he could get a decent job. When I look back on it, I can't understand how we managed that enormous move, with four children, the oldest of whom was just 5 years old. But we did it.

Came to live in Isrel. The hardest thing was leaving my parents alone there, but we wanted to get settled before our oldest child started school. When my father retired, they came to live here too. They had three daughters, and 18 grandchildren, so we were all here and it was logical that they would come. When my first granddaughter was born, it was my parents' first great-grandchild, and we were a four-generation family. I can't describe to you what that meant and still means to me. I have a photo of my mother, myself, my daughter and my baby granddaughter -- four generations -- and each time I see that photo, tears come to my eyes. My parents started out all alone, then we were two generations, and . . . well, you see what I mean.

Today they are no longer alive. I have 20 grandchildren (no. 21 is on the way), one sister has 7 and one has 6. We are becoming better and better connected as time goes by, and the cousins know each other and get on well. We all live in different towns in Israel, I speak to both sisters almost every day. Jerusalem is a very special city and I adore it.

If any of you ever comes on a tour to the Holy Land, there is an open invitation to visit us, to stay with us -- I would love to see you.

It has been interesting to read about all the places in the USA. Lovely thread. Thanks.

Love, Esther

 

[gcvmom]

I have a photo of my mother, myself, my daughter and my baby granddaughter -- four generations -- and each time I see that photo, tears come to my eyes.ther

I have a photo like that as well -- except the baby in the picture is me on my first birthday! My mom is holding me, and my grandmother and great grandmother are standing next to her.

It's so wonderful that your family has grown so large and yet remained so close. You are blessed many times over to have such a family!

 

[mstang67chic]

My family has (on both sides), now that I think about it, a few different 4 generation photo ops. I hope those involved take the time to get pictures of it.

Esther, my husband and I have a list of places we would love to see sometime and Israel is on my list. I want to see the Wailing Wall among other things. If we ever get the chance to go, I will be sure to look you up!

The same goes to you too. If you ever make it to the States and are relatively close, let me know! Same for the rest of you!