Have lived whole life in 50-mile radius or less for 80% or more of your life…

I've lived outside of my hometown for ~30% of my life.

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Compare and contrast your experience with those people you know who have never left their sliver of life their entire life.

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I don't think about things that way.

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How has this experience shaped you?

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The people in those places shaped me the most.

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Your personal growth and development?

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Moving to a new place forces you out of your comfort zone, and that promotes personal growth/development - you have to adapt.

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Opened your eyes?

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100%. The America in which I was raised is not the real America. There are a lot of poor places. Makes you grateful.

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Confirmed your convictions?

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What I've found is that no matter where you live people are just people - there's good people and bad people.

I moved 1,600 miles from home after college, which was 90 miles from my hometown. I’ve since lived in 3 states and settled ~800 miles from home. I’ve been to 44 states and 10 foreign countries on ~25 international trips. Most of that, including all the international travel, has happened after college. I can’t imagine how awful sticking around home would have been.

Lived in several states as a kid, couple more states and the Caribbean as an adult and moved several times within those states. Probably a dozen or so places overall.

Wife lived in SE Louisiana her entire life went to LSU but never further than hour from home, it’s great to visit, huge family, know everyone, but at the same time most of them are far too wrapped up in their small town small minded drama and bullshite.

It’s good to get out a bit see the world and live a little, I moved to Tennessee almost 10 years ago first time away from the coast since I was in middle school. That part has been a bit tough but there’s a lot to like about it here.

Staggering differences. One is they find it hard to relate to anyone outside their bubble.

Being able to move around ended up being a huge advantage.

Military brat. Went to 16 different schools before finishing HS.

I have not

Luckily I didn't have to live in the Melph past 1994. But the 80s and early 90s were unique


Taught me to never relax in life, you're never safe and anything can happen to anyone.

I've actually lived in BR my entire life. I love being around friends and family too much.

But I make up for it by traveling a lot and seeing the world. 40 states, 3 foreign countries, and most of the islands in the Caribbean. It's a good balance for me.

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Have lived whole life in 50-mile radius or less for 80% or more of your life…

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Raise your hand if this is NOT you.

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I feel sorry for anyone that has stayed in their home town. I moved 1200 miles away at 20 from Beaumont TX to Phoenix AZ in 2002. Then I moved 2100 miles from Phoenix to Charlotte in 2006. Moved to Baton Rouge in 2011 and now Spring Texas in 2024.

I have enjoyed my time in all places but couldn’t see myself living in Arizona again unless I went North of Phoenix.

I am 52 years old in September. Counting the house I grew up in and the 4 I have owned, none of the 5 houses I have lived in were more than 30 miles away from each other. Three were in Shreveport, fourth in Haughton and most recent and likely last one in North Bossier.

However I have traveled a great deal domestically and some over seas. My paternal grandparents lived in Key West and we went pretty much every summer for two weeks at a time to visit. My father was a truck driver and went on trips with him all over the country during the summers. I took my family on trips all over the country as my kids were growing up.

We hiked and camped in Sedona, Arizona. Saw Grand Canyon and rafted the Colorado River. Went to Wyoming and saw Yellowstone. Canoed the Buffalo River and pretty much every state park in Arkansa. Spent a week in the Smoky Mountains. Beaches in Gulf Coast. Disney a couple times. Toured everything in Washington DC. Too many trips to Dallas to count. Took them to see the Alamo and NASA. Spent a week at Resort in Playa Del Carmen but traveled around and did the ruins and some senotes. Visited an Uncle who was stationed in England and toured England and did a weekend in the Netherlands.

My wife’s family is all from Crowley and Mamou. She grew up in Scott. So we have spent a great deal of time all over south Louisiana as well. Couple trips to Nee Orleans for Jazzfest, tons of various LSU games.

I know there is a lot wrong with our state economically and politically but I honestly have never wanted to live anywhere else. With work I have been to LA, Detroit, Chicago, Miami, Cincinnati, and New York. You couldn’t pay me enough money to live in any of this major cities. While I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, I am very thankful that I have seen and been able to expose my children to so much of the beauty of our country.

Now that my kids are grown, married, and have children of their own, they both bought homes within 5 miles of my house. So I guess despite everything they saw growing up, the need to be close to family is one of their priorities as well.