Where are you from, and what did you like most about living there?

[Common Sense Party]

Perhaps not necessarily "where were you born," since you may have only lived there a brief time as an infant and don't remember it at all...

But when someone asks you, "Where are you from?" or, more gramatically correct (?), "From whence are you?" what do YOU consider to be your "hometown"?

And what did you like about living there? Please try to find one specific positive thing--a particular school, restaurant, a certain friend, an activity you liked, something about the scenery or climate, etc.


I'll start. I'm from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I specifically liked, as a kid, running around in the woods at Bomhoffner's nursery (trespassing, I'm sure). There was a great little creek that ran through those woods, and a kid could spend all day in the woods, playing, pretending, running, a little climbing, etc. I also liked sledding down the hill behind the Islamic Center.

(I also liked the fact that the Cedar River never flooded the whole time I lived there.)

[Common Sense Party]

1. Nobody? Y'all must hate your hometowns!

:shrug:

[jobycom]

2. The beach in Mississippi. Favorite thing about it: the beach!

Well, actually, I spent more time on the rivers and the bays than the beach.

[Common Sense Party]

7. I've never been to the beach in Mississippi.

Only Gulf Coast beach I've ever been to was Naples, FL w/ its white sand.

Oh, and Padre Island, too.

[MonkeyFunk]

3. From Long Island

and I didn't like anything about living there. That's why I moved far, far away.

[Common Sense Party]

5. Not a single thing? Not even one person?

[Broken_Hero]

4. SE Alaska,

I miss the ocean/beach...

I liked the scenery, the cool summers, the cold winters...actually catching fish that are around 30lbs, I'm so sick of catching 3lb bass. I enjoyed the creek behind my parents house the most(except in August, a lot of dead fish in August).

[Common Sense Party]

6. I'd love to visit Alaska sometime. It sounds beautiful.

[Blue_In_AK]

24. We miss you, Petersond. Come on home. :-)

[Lil Missy]

8. Small town Iowa

My back yard was miles of woods, and the the other neighbor kids and I spent many hours playing spy with walkie talkies. We also played out Bonanza, and the kid who played "Little Joe" was my first crush. We were an "item" at 6 or 7 years old, LOL! We even built a tree house together.

The other really fun thing was that there were many mulberry trees in the woods, and we loved eating them. And always came home looking purple!

We always got absolutely filthy sliding down dirt hills, flying between trees with ropes playing Bonanza, and one time I got hurt. My dear "Little Joe" flew across a bank on a rope to rescue me, and the rope caught me in the neck, threw me several feet away, and caused a nasty rope burn and bloody neck, and a laceration to my head. I had to go to the hospital.

Ahh, those were the days. I had so much fun!

[frog92969]

9. The shit house side of Maryland.

And here I've always been.
I like the trees and rivers, there isn't much else here.

[kentauros]

10. I'm kind of tied up in the *Fun* thread right now

:P

But, I'm from Houston, Texas, still here and love the heat, humidity and definite lack of seasons :D

[Fox Mulder]

11. I'm from a shitty town in west-central MN.

I hate everything about it and I hope I can leave soon.

[Common Sense Party]

20. Which one?

I've been to several. We lived in Glencoe, MN a few years ago.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

12. I will play your reindeer game

I was born
In a shack
My Mama died & Daddy got drunk,
Left me here to die or grow

In the middle of Tobacco Road

Grew up in a dusty shack
And all I had was a'hangin' on my back
Only you know how I loathe
This place called Tobacco Road

But it's home
The only life I've ever known
Only you know how I loathe
Tobacco Road

I'm gonna leave and get a job
With the help and the grace from above
Save some money, get rich I know
Bring it back to Tobacco Road

Bring Dynamite and a crane
Blow you up, start all over again
Build a town be proud to show
Give the name Tobacco Road

Cause it's home
The only life I've ever known
Oh I despise and disapprove you
But I love ya, 'cause it's home

-------

I was born in East L.A. (serious)
But I left there when my Dad moved us to San Diego in 1968.
I have lived all over the world but keep coming back here. I love San Diego. I love my home. I love the view from my back door. I love this place.
My kids are 7 and 8 - they have it pretty good. Nothing at all like Tobacco Road.

------

Gilligan

[bridgit]

13. Right here!!

http://www.deltaking.com The delta has always been multi-cultural, it's getting bigger all the time but was considered a small town when I was a kid. The ride along the levees is cool, the orchards, crops and rice patties evidence the area is lush and productive. Off to the southern tip of Mexico after high school hitchhiking, University @ UCLA, traveled through Europe, lived in France for a time, all around the U.S. as a music promoter...but I've always come home :thumbsup:

[YankeyMCC]

14. Arlington, MA

Very close to Boston.

I like early morning walks through the small conservation area woods across the street. I'll miss that as I'm moving to the center of town next month, but that'll just put me closer to the Minuteman Bike Trail (a converted old rail line) which is a very nice bike trail that takes me in minutes to the Lexington Green where "the shot was heard round the world"

More generally I love the Boston area as a place to live, the seasons (as much joking I do about 'mud' season and long winters), I love the 'walkable' big/little city character of Boston and all its history. And I love the fact that I'm just a couple hours away from the White Mountains of NH.

[bixente]

15. I'm from a small beachside suburb south of Melbourne, Australia

What comes to mind first is that we don't have to suffer with the heat quite so badly as our neighbours up north. I'm grateful for this, can't stand the heat.

[hobbit709]

16. Where I was born was Austria, lived there and Germany.

I was 9 before I came to the US. Never lived in one place longer than 3 years after that in Virginia and Ohio until I came to Austin-been here 34+ years.

[terrya]

17. I'm from Decatur, Illinois

Give me a week and I might think of something I liked.

[ccharles000]

18. Greensboro NC.

Greensboro is getting more progressive every year and is the third biggest city in North Carolina. I don't really know what is all that great about it.

[Inchworm]

19. Of the many homes I've had...

I call Lansing, NC home.

A very small town in the NW corner of North Carolina. It has changed very little in my lifetime. The town was a stop for the train until the train stopped coming. It is pure country and such a beautiful place to be "from."

:hi:

[loveable liberal]

21. Stillwater Minnesota

Fishing, pond hockey, the way cigarettes taste when its -3 outside. Used to taste anyway. damn cigarettes.

[NewEnglandGirl]

22. CT

I like living near the water and near NYC. And I have a lot of family and friends here. :) I have always lived here.

[Arugula Latte]

23. Ohio in young childhood; then California through adolescence

Ohio: I loved loved the trees, playing in the snow with my friends, the woods at the end of our road, and the friendliness and community on our cul de sac (so many kids; so many backyards to run through).

California: I loved all the swimming pools, riding horses in the golden hills, the big twisted live oaks, and Berkeley and San Francisco. :loveya:

[Blue_In_AK]

25. I'm "from" Ohio

but we left there when I was eight, and I have bad memories of the place because my brother and mother died there. I then lived in Colorado Springs for seven years, which was okay, because I loved the mountains. Houston after that was horrible, and I don't miss anything at all about that place. Then back to Colorado for a year, then the Bay Area for six years in the late '60s, early '70s, which was wonderful, and that's my second favorite place to be.

But I've been in Alaska since 1975, and this is "HOME." I'm not going anywhere.

[begin_within]

26. Orange, California

What I liked most about living there was that it seemed like a classic example of the idyllic southern California suburban "good life." The backyards were fairly small, but many people had small swimming pools in their backyards anyway. Rural areas (the Santiago mountains area) were just a few minutes drive away. The beach was just 20 minutes away. Disneyland was just 10 minutes away. Big mountains with skiing were just 2 hours away. You could pretty much afford to do what you wanted to do. But that was in the 1960s when there still was a middle class.

[Faygo Kid]

27. Detroit. Loved most everything, especially the music.

Being a kid in the '50s and a teen in the '60s anywhere pretty much had it all beat.

[RushIsRot]

28. I am from Monroe, LA. A place I called Mediocrity Central.

I loved the chili dogs from South Second Street Coney Island and I loved Kiroli Park in WEST Monroe. Other than that, the place sucked and I'm glad I'm no longer there.

[blitzen]

30. At least you're not from Alexandria, LA....

the armpit of the world.

[u4ic]

29. A suburb of Toronto

Best thing about living there was that I could leave.

A suburban wasteland, it was.


edit: I used to like watching the Great Lakes Freighters sail by. There is one thing I could say I liked.

[femmocrat]

31. A depressing little mill town in Pennsylvania.

Best thing about living there was there were about a million kids in our neighborhood and we could play outside from dawn to dusk without getting kidnapped.

[noel711]

32. Chicago, the most amazing city...

Once a swamp, the 'onion patch,' (that's what it means in native american)
Settled by a black explorer, but then it exploded.

It has a reputation, but its all the more fun.
Railroad capital of the world,
city of the Broad Shoulders (oh yes they are!)
O'Hare is the airport hub of the continent..

It has everything:
The fabulous lakeshore.. imagine secretaries going to the beach
during lunch hour!

wonderful neighborhoods filled with ethnic restaurants,
and great little bars...

it has a growing theatre community, and its own little
'Broadway.'

The local jazz and blues tradition.

Museums, and The ARt Institute (My favorite art museum of them all!)

Lots of public transit to get around.

TWO baseball clubs!

The greatest sight in the world is flying west at night,
and you pass over the great darkness of Lake Michigan,
and you see a glimmer of light in the distance,
reflected in the lake waters..
and as you get closer, there's an explosion of lightning jewelry
against the sky, the lights, the skyscrapers, the bridges,
the neighborhoods.. all aglow.. Emerald City indeed!

Sigh..I miss you my dear city..

[littlebit]

33. West Texas

Didn't like it then and still don't. I moved to the other side of the country as fast as I could. My parents have to bribe me to get me to come visit.

[lizerdbits]

34. Hamilton VA

I liked the dirt road across from our house that went to Lincoln that I would walk part way down in the summers. And the peach man! Delicious peaches weekly (I think Tuesdays?) at the one little convenience store in town. Very quiet place, though now it's disgustingly overdeveloped like the rest of Loudoun County.

[Zuiderelle]

35. Wherever I hang my hat.

I've had a lot of homes, but my real home is wherever I am when the question is asked. I don't actually feel "from" anywhere.

[sniffa]

36. The People's Republic Of Cambridge

I miss the public education system there. I was only part of it for 4 years, but I recognize how great they are and still think my time there is what shaped me as a social person, and what expanded my studies. (It doesn't matter now, but if we have kids while living where we do, though I think it's not that bad)

I miss the wacky form of government.

I miss sign holding for a former candidate for City Council.

I miss being a resident of one of the only rent control places in the state (prior to its demise).

I miss being within so many bus routes, and within walking distance of several train stations (though I now live across the street from a very busy train/bus station).

I miss drinking 40's and smoking blunts on the bleachers at Fresh Pond.

I miss having sports matches (basketball and football mostly) between our crew/neighborhood and our rivals.

I miss being a late teen and working at the Harvard Coop.

I miss being a "rebel" and hanging out in the Pit.

I miss killing time watching street performers around Harvard Square.

I miss playing, at times, daily golf at the public course. I miss hunting for lost golf balls, and selling them to golfers for what used to be a fortune in those days.

and much more, I'm sure. I don't miss it that much, but I'm just recalling my time there.

[mia]

37. Washington D.C.

Born there, raised in Montgomery County - miss the creeks and woods and taking the bus downtown to visit the Smithsonian.

[Digit]

40. Arlington, Va and Alexandria, Va

I miss the many things to do up there, but I don't miss the traffic, crime, or weather.

[Awsi Dooger]

38. Miami

The weather is about a zillion times better than Las Vegas, where I live now. Summers in Miami are great variance with the thunderstorms. In Las Vegas it's nothing but intolerable furnace heat. You basically can't do anything. I honestly can't believe anyone would prefer 110-115 to 88 and humid.

Also, golf in Miami is 25-35 bucks all over the place, no traffic. Here the pathetic courses are at least twice that rate.

Did I mention all the interesting gambler-friendly casinos are gone, replaced by bloated corporate monstrosities? This town has really collapsed around me. No wonder almost all my friends have departed.

[mia]

39. I love Miami!

I've been living here for almost 30 years.

[yellowdogintexas]

41. Kentucky, lived there until I was 21, out in the country for a long time

then moved to "town" (big whoop, town has 200 people, but at least you could walk to the store for a Coke or an ice cream)

I liked that we basically had the run of the town, always felt safe, that I could walk to my grandmother's house whenever I wanted to or cut across the field to my aunt's house if I so desired. My school friends and I would sort of roam from house to house in the summer, either on foot or bikes.

My granny had the BEST porch swing and we would hang out on her porch at night a lot.

Everybody was your mother when you were in their territory, or your dad. If you did something stupid, your parents knew before you were finished with it, usually.

On my aunt and uncle's farm, there was a creek to wade in, and a spot of trees where the subsurface stream popped above ground, leaving a sort of blue hole, then dropped down again. Cool place to sit in the hot summer time.

We would all pile down to another creek on my other uncle's place and play in the river there.

In the summer, everybody went to everybody else's Vacation Bible School, kept us busy and out of our mothers' hair for the morning. Grape Kool-Aid in big galvanized tubs with lemon slices and hunks of ice floating in it.

I could catch the 'local bus' into Russellville in the morning, spend the day in the bigger town, visit with my other grandparents and catch the bus back in the afternoon, or spend the night with them and he would bring me home the next day.

Going out to Uncle Dewey's to get the Christmas Tree every year.

Trick or Treating when everybody still made home made stuff. We all raced for Miss WillieMae's to get the home made popcorn balls, and Miss Jessie always gave us two things of candy: one for us and one for our dad. When we would get home, Daddy always asked if we still had the candy from Miss Jessie, which we had to hand over immediately: (it was bourbon balls!!!)

Getting jumped at from the spooky hedges in front of Miss Jessie's old house by the high school boys (when I was 16 my parents bought that house and it ceased to be creepy)

Another Halloween story: my second grade teacher, her mom and sister lived in a very weatherbeaten old Victorian by the RR tracks, in the next town over. We had to go to her house because they all dressed as witches, and had a cauldron w/dry ice. Mama just sat in the rocking chair and rocked back and forth. Miss Martha the sister REALLY looked like the Wicked Witch of the West! It was a hoot .


Sweet corn, fresh Tomatoes and cucumbers and green beans from somebody's garden every day. with good corn bread and sweet tea and a great pie.

[Roon]

42. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado

been everywhere else though. I like Denver because it's an hour drive to our cabin.