Do you live in the city you were born/raised in?
 

Do you live in the city that you were born and/or raised in? I did until I moved to the Killeen,Tx area last year.

technically, no.

but practically, yes.

i was born at a hospital in Evanston, grew up in neighboring Wilmette, and now live in Lincoln Square down in the city, ~7 miles due south of my childhood home in the burbs.



so if we're using "city" in the technical "City of Chicago" sense, then no.

but if we're using "city" in the more general "Chicagoland" sense, then yes.


And at this point, I don't imagine that I'll ever leave.

I was born in the city and brought home to the suburbs and now I'm back in the city, so yes

Similar story here, and a common one in North America I imagine. Parents live closer to work in the inner city in small place, have first child, move to house in suburbs and commute to work, kid moves back downtown after university.

I commend those parents who stick to their guns and have the means to raise kids in a rowhouse or other urban environment.

NO.

Born in London, England
Raised in London and Halifax, Nova Scotia
Live in Toronto

That was my parents back in the 70s. They were living in a 2-flat in Rogers Park with my older sister. then, right before I was born, they bought the house in the burbs that I grew up in. They eventually moved back into a flat building in Rogers Park after they became empty nesters.

When I became an adult I moved to the city. The difference being that my wife and I have decided to stay in the city and raise our two kids in a typical chicago 3-flat in a typical chicago neighborhood.

The societal pull to move out to the burbs to get the Holy Grail detached SFH was extremely strong, and we very much went house hunting in some inner ring burbs when we were looking for our forever home, but I'm oh so glad that we stayed in the city.

Not that inner ring pre-war Chicago sububia is a bad option or anything, but over the decades I've grown into a full-fledged "city" person.

I live where I was born, but not where I was raised.

^^ Were you raised in Wisconsin?

Why are you glad you stayed in the city? My parents had the same dilemma but opted for suburbia. I spent my first 11 years in a very dense city core (London) and the next 9 in a leafy Halifax suburb. I love my downtown Toronto neighbourhood but am glad I grew up in the suburbs. Not saying there's any right or wrong, but curious.

There are 2 schools down the street from me and feel like they're missing out on a lot of what I had when I was that age.

No. Originally from New York, lived in Texas for the past 20+ years.

No. I was born and raised in Grand Rapids. But moved to Austin (twice).

I no longer live in the city of my birth, Texarkana, Tx. Moved from there last year.

Was born in Queens, NY, raised mostly in South Florida, and now reside in Southern California for the foreseeable future.

Nope.

I've been fortunate enough to live in seven different cities in four different countries. While I wouldn't have any problem returning to where I grew up, the world is an amazing place with barely enough time to explore it as it is. If more opportunities to live elsewhere present themselves, I'm in.

oregon city to bend oregon, i want to move away some day. i like the cold so its a upgrade at least.

Well, for starters, we don't live in some small downtown highrise condo, we live in a city neighborhood in a large 2-floor condo unit in a Chicago 3-flat on a quiet tree-lined residential side street. We certainly don't live in the epicenter of the action, but our neighborhood still gives us plenty of stuff to walk to, and we live one block away from a brown line stop that gives us easy access to downtown and its myriad amenities.

Chicago has an absolute crapload of these types of family-friendly mid-range urban neighborhoods. Pop. density in the 20 - 35K ppsm range makes them pleasantly walkable, but because every block is bisected by an alley, car ownership is typically not egregiously onerous (but it's also not required). And best of all, because Chicago ain't coastal, you don't need a 7-figure net worth to purchase a family-sized home in a decent city neighborhood here.

The biggest compromise we had to make for choosing to stay in an urban city neighborhood was not having the "American Dream" detached SFH with the big back yard, but we were ultimately ok with that because our 2,300 SF 3 bed/3 bath condo is still very comfortable for our family of 4, we just have neighbors who live in the two units above us. And while our outdoor living space is certainly tighter than it would have been out in the burbs, we still have a decent sized deck off of the kitchen, a large shared patio in back of the building, and a small front yard with some actual grass that our kids make the best of. When we need actual large open space to kick a soccer ball around or fly a kite, the elementary school one block south of us has a large athletic field that is open to the public when it's not being used for PE classes. And within a ten minute walk we have access to 4 large city parks, and numerous city playgrounds and pocket parks.

All in all, I really couldn't be happier about where we ended up planting ourselves to raise our kids. I was born to be a city neighborhood person.

Born in Toronto, grew up in a small town on the edge of the metro area, moved back to Toronto for a while, and now live in Hamilton. Gives me the SFH dream while still being somewhere urban and interesting. Toronto is still nearby.

Born in London UK - US Army Dad and British Mom, raised in Boston MA and now live in Chicago

Nope.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio (technically Mariemont)

Moved to Phoenix when I was 13. Attended college in Orange County, CA, moved back to Phoenix. Lived in Flagstaff,AZ for the past decade.

No, I'm from Reston VA. It was too sterile/bland for me. Still is. :shrug:

Yes. I currently live in the same 2-family double in the city that I grew up in, and that my mother, uncle, and grandparents also lived in before she married my father.

After college I moved away for 30+ years, moved up the food chain in Houston, returned to escape the heat when I was able to, and have since updated the house accordingly. Everything I really need is within walking distance, I have a garage and small yard with vegetable garden, converted attic, full basement with a workshop, and right now we are sitting on the upstairs front porch enjoying coffee.

Although I lived in bigger and more expensive houses in Houston, city and suburbs (including 12 years in one of the "best" city neighborhoods), I felt that it was in Houston I made the compromises - job/salary versus climate/lifestyle. I would lose my mind if I was still in Houston and quarantined in the heat and humidity.