Why do you live where you live?

[Boog]

I left the flat land side of the state for the foothills of the Ozark mountains. This little town is about big enough for us. Born and raised back there I never thought about leaving until our kids came along. This move was more for the kids sake than anything. We are 40 minutes from the state capital and all that big city life. Been here now for over 25 years. Guess we'll stay. All my family moved up here too.
When it comes time to head for the hills I think I'd like to be in Lead Hill, Ark. not far from other Larry.

[davischevy]

72supr"s post brings up a point. Have you ever looked a chart of how your family name migrated west when they left Ellis Island?

Mine and my wife's families on both sides moved slightly southwest as they came across the states.

I don't think any of them turned the wagon over because I think they were too poor to buy a wagon.

Actually I have a story about my GG grandfather buying a new wagon in the community where Silver Dollar City is now, but that goes in another thread.

[CG]

I like it here

[davischevy]

Boog, Lead Hill is a good choice. It's on Bull Shoals Lake, not too many people yet, and easy to go to Branson and Springfield.

[Boog]

Yeah I know. Kind of like undiscovered.
You may remember Norm Grabowski? He was an actor and hot rod guy. The Kookie T bucket? Some called him the father of the T bucket. Anyway he was born in New Jersey I think. Spent most of his life on the west coast. He retired in Lead Hill along with his sister and he died a couple of years ago.
More than a few have retired from the west coast and came back to the Arkansas hills.

[davischevy]

I knew Norm well.

[pritch]

Originally Posted by davischevy

72supr"s post brings up a point. Have you ever looked a chart of how your family name migrated west when they left Ellis Island?

Mine and my wife's families on both sides moved slightly southwest as they came across the states.

I never really knew any of my grandparents, so never got a chance to hear any of it from them, but as far as I know, my mom's people came to SoCal from Kentucky and by all accounts did fairly well. Gramps wrote a few screenplays for the early Hollywood silent movies but gave it up to concentrate on his real job at the post office, eventually retiring as either (can't quite remember) Inspector General or Postmaster of Long Beach. Mom grew up in and around Hollywood and knew many of the early stars.

My dad's family fled the dust bowl in '35, when he was 12. They finally found work around Isabella, CA. He never went back to school and struggled with reading and writing his whole life, but he was the smartest dude I've ever met.

How the heck those two ever hooked up never really has been made clear to me. I should ask ma if she remembers. She just turned 94 and is still holding it together for the most part.

[flashed]

I have actually considered selling my home and 40 acres and moving somewhere else but it would take me years to get all my crap moved .

[davischevy]

All the family I have researched on both sides came here from Southern Kentucky/Northern Tennessee.

Some went on to California after the Great Depression. The Brawley side landed around Fresno.

My dad always said he figured we didn't go because we couldn't afford it.

My dad spent his late teenage years, before WWII, in California and Idaho. He would have moved back to Meridian, ID but he visited there in the early nineties and didn't recognize anything so that dream was squelched.

The only rich uncle I ever had made some money in real estate in California after WWII, but there was too much family in line in front of me.

I don't think anybody in my family did anything worth noting historically.

[Cape Codder]

I don't hear many from New England so far. I live in the same town we moved to in 1958 when I was 6 years old. Parents went to NC for 30 years but are back here now. I love living near the ocean and have Cape Cod Bay 4 miles north of us and Nantucket sound 3 miles south. Sailing ,boating and fishing great fun. I sometimes wonder why I am here in the winter but couldn't imagine living anywhere else. I love the salt water but not what the winters do to cars. Being a body man I do get plenty of work from the rust though.

[Joseph2001]

Originally Posted by Cape Codder

I don't hear many from New England so far. I live in the same town we moved to in 1958 when I was 6 years old. Parents went to NC for 30 years but are back here now. I love living near the ocean and have Cape Cod Bay 4 miles north of us and Nantucket sound 3 miles south. Sailing ,boating and fishing great fun. I sometimes wonder why I am here in the winter but couldn't imagine living anywhere else. I love the salt water but not what the winters do to cars. Being a body man I do get plenty of work from the rust though.

I miss home sometimes, but I've come to love the South. New Englander by birth, southern by choice. Although I do get made fun of when I say I'm a Patriots fan.

[prairewolf]

since I am healthy enough and capable enough to move anywhere I will probably stay here. and I like south dakota so that helps a lot -----I went all rural recently and live on an acreage so life has full circled in a way.

[72supr]

Originally Posted by davischevy

72supr"s post brings up a point. Have you ever looked a chart of how your family name migrated west when they left Ellis Island?

Mine and my wife's families on both sides moved slightly southwest as they came across the states.

I don't think any of them turned the wagon over because I think they were too poor to buy a wagon.

Actually I have a story about my GG grandfather buying a new wagon in the community where Silver Dollar City is now, but that goes in another thread.

That wagon my ancestors turned over and bunked under might have been Ford,so they were poor too

[68C15]

Because if I was dead that would stop all fun for me

[davischevy]

Originally Posted by 68C15

Because if I was dead that would stop all fun for me

I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help myself.

[GOPAPA]

I lived in Western Oregon down the Columbia river from Portland just all my life until I and the wife moved here to Idaho close to Boise .. we moved for her medical reasons and me to get more sunshine and not so much rain .. I worked out in the weather my whole working career mostly and wanted to enjoy driving my 71 and I am doing just that ,,
Oh,,,,, the mud that used to pack up on the bottoms of my boots when building forms for them many school jobs I had still sticks in my mind as it did my boots.

Never did get a good answer why they always started the ground breaking in the biggest rain season we has out there..

[pritch]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

Oh,,,,, the mud that used to pack up on the bottoms of my boots when building forms for them many school jobs I had still sticks in my mind as it did my boots.

Never did get a good answer why they always started the ground breaking in the biggest rain season we has out there..

Schools, eh? The company I work for builds lots of them, too

But I got a ground-breaking coming right up, and I'm sure it will be snowing. The last one was. At least this one ain't a school. It's worse-an addition on a State of Utah building in the worst 'hood in Salt Lake

[davischevy]

We're doing the sitework and utilities on a school job now. We are supposed to finish this week but it will take a miracle.

[azle]

Well, because everything is bigger and better in Texas! Oh family, weather also!

Azle

I live in Azle Texas hence my handle....

[outfield]

I was born and raised in Portland, my parents too. Grandparents came over from Germany back in the 20's and were sponsored by a Presbyterian Church in Portland, so that started it for us here. My other Great grandparents farmed land west of Portland.
My wife is from the Oregon coast, when its time to retire, still have a few years, we want to move to a small town. Portland home prices are ridicules (we can't afford to down size) traffic is horrid, and the political climate of Portland now is awful. Homeless everywhere, Antifa, BLM, taxes etc ...

[GOPAPA]

I live here in Idaho for the same reason "outfield" wants to leave Oregon .. I too had a home with acreage west of Portland and still came to Idaho where all the crazy's mentioned above has not shown up here,, we live close to a more populated city that we came from ,, but anytime we want..we could move to a pick of many small towns here in this state to get away from Portand Oregon has..

There are lots of good places in other states like we have here in Idaho ,,just wanted to state that I didnt mean for anyone to take it that Idaho is the only place to get away from what you want to get away from..

[RDrancher]

I moved to Texas in '03 to get my freedom back. I was born and raised in southern California, then spent a few years in Iowa. My family moved back to SoCal in '71. I was a contractor there for a bunch of years, then packed up and moved to Texas to be closer to my eldest daughter and escape the housing crash which I could see coming. I was also sick of the state sticking their noses into every aspect of my life and business. My daughter moved to Nebraska several years ago, but I ended up starting a new family here and I'll spend the rest of my days in Texas. There's no place I'd rather be!

[davischevy]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Because picking cotton by hand is hot and dirty work.

K

I think one time I heard Mel Tillis say that's why he started writing songs.

[Knight72]

I grew up mostly in Alabama about 60miles south of Huntsville, but lived in Kansas, South Carolina, and Florida as well. We moved back to be closer to family and settled in this area. I like it. We are close to the smokies and base of the Appalachian. Kids still walk to and from school in our area, low crime rates, not crazy cost of living, and there's always something going on in town. I wouldn't mind living a bit farther out in the boonies, but we got a great deal on a nice home with a oversized detached garage and a double lot in an older subdivision with no hoa and nice neighbors.

[duke_lbz]

Born and raised here, friends and what little family I have left keeps me here. Plus its nice rural town that's not too far from big cities. Family business and family land also help. Moved off to Nashville for college and realized real quick big city life wasn't for me so moved back home after graduating and plan on staying as long as the paper industry stays going.