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."