Census Which region have you lived in the most, or identify with the most?

Grew up in Munich and Madrid as a child, at 12 moved to Jeddah with my family for 5 years, then back to Munich, in 1993 discovered China and met my future and now ex-wife. Moved to China long-term in 2001, but unfortunately back to Europe (Germany and Spain) in 2011. If given a choice, I would go back to Southern China to live and work there anytime. That culture interests me far more than Europe. Unfortunately the situation has changed, politically, financially, family-wise, health-wise etc., so I won't be living in China in the future. But those years there will always be the favorite ones in my life, when I grew most and gained most experience. Japan or Vietnam would possibly be alternatives, but Europe simply isn't for me. The food, people, culture, lifestyle, climate, mentality... nothing here really attracts me. I feel like I'm in exile, even though most of my family is in Europe.

 

I've lived in Illinois for 46 years, 26 of those in and around Chicago; spent a few years working in Austria. For the last 30 years I've spent a bit of every summer in Carinthia (Austria). As a child I spent my summers in Alabama.

 

I spent a few days in Salzburg back in 84. Austria is a beautiful country, and the cleanest one I ever saw.

 

Lived most of my life in various parts of Florida, with a few intervening years in the Midwest and other parts of the South. Florida definitely deeply resonates as "home" for me in terms of the flora and fauna (little things like palm fronds moving gently in a balmy evening breeze or the cry of a passing seagull overhead, even in an otherwise mundane parking lot, never fail to enchant and soothe me!), but most parts of it are way too culturally and politically conservative for me.

I would love to live in a major "lefty" city like Portland OR or San Francisco, but I doubt that would ever be feasible at this point. I have also made several trips to Europe over the years and have always wondered/fantasized* about somehow possibly moving somewhere over there permanently, but again, for a combination of reasons, I don't see that as likely anytime soon.

(*meaning that I fully realize that my deep passion for European cultural history has always made me see it in a highly idealized/romanticized way)

 

Anyone else want to share?

 

I always felt kind of an identity crisis growing up because my family moved every 6-ish years or so (not military or anything, just job changes and such), but living in Europe has taught me to just grumble "Texas" when people ask for specifics beyond "American" and move on with my life.

 

I still refuse to participate because this map marks Missouri as the south.

 

Was born in what is now Zimbabwe but Texas has been home for most of my life.

 

This poll is too bias towards the US.

Never knew @Ghost has become the nationalist. I've been away for far too long.

 

I did this a couple years ago and it was hard to differentiate, there's just a lot of Americans here.

 

25 years in California in two blocks, with a five year interlude in Texas in between years 9-14. Lived in Utah for the last 16 months.

 

I’ve lived in Oregon all my life, with brief trips to California, Washington, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia sprinkled in there.

 

"Well, Bob, I'm not really missing it."

 

Anyone else want to share?

 

Wow I literally never left

 

Now what is your mother’s maiden name?

And what is the name of your first pet?

 

OK, I'll bite...

Born above a shop in North London to Irish parents in 1965.
Grew up in a hole called Houghton Regis, near Luton until my dad died, then moved to South London from the age of 2 to the age of 22.
Moved to rural Kent to study Environmental Science in '88 and haven't lived in London since.
Spent time part-living in France in the early 90s due to having a French partner.
Lived in Spain for a while in the early noughties teaching English.
Returned each time to rural Kent.
Trained as a nurse between '03 and '06.
Emirated to Australia in '07 to tropical north Queensland for 15 years as a nurse.
Moved back to the UK - this time the Isles of Scilly - at the beginning of this year.

My accent has been described as a car crash of different influences.

I have passports for the UK, Australia and Ireland. I can legally reside in over 30 different countries. I wanted a Canadian passport as well, but was too lazy to move there.

Scilly is a weird place full of drunks, but easily the best place I have ever lived. It is also surprisingly diverse, with a small but thriving international community from all over the world, and a large LGBT community as well. So, right now, I identify with tiny windswept islands out in the Atlantic that have a unique identity. We should declare independence; I need another passport. I might start learning Cornish (I heard it being spoken the other day for the first time - we even have Cornish language radio here).

My Irish cultural background matters to me a great deal, but I have also had a strong affiliation with many African cultures for a long time, having grown up surrounded by people from said continent. I nearly moved to Kenya in the early 90s having done my first degree thesis there, and on another occasion was offered a teaching job in Simon's Town, South Africa. As I get older, I wonder what could have been.

 

- Childhood spent in Argyll on Scotland’s west coast.
- Moved to Glasgow area before high school and lived in that area most of my life.
- I’ve spent periods of time elsewhere for work and study. Norway and New Zealand are two countries that I felt very comfortable in and I could happily live in either.