Hometown glory...

[Dan1089]

Growing up,we moved all across the country (even living in Malawi for 2 years) and thus I've never really had a "hometown".Cape Town is my adopted hometown.Just wanted to hear about you guys' hometowns.Do you still live there?Why did you leave?What's special about it?How often do you go back?Any special memories?I love it when my friends go back to their hometowns and they come back so positive and optimistic.I wish I had that too...

[princealbertofb]

Growing up,we moved all across the country (even living in Malawi for 2 years) and thus I've never really had a "hometown".Cape Town is my adopted hometown.Just wanted to hear about you guys' hometowns.Do you still live there?Why did you leave?What's special about it?How often do you go back?Any special memories?I love it when my friends go back to their hometowns and they come back so positive and optimistic.I wish I had that too...

I find that thread interesting Dan.... I was born and raised in Grenoble, capital of the Alps and of the winter olympics of 1968. I don't live there now but I occasionally go down to visit my family or do other things. I don't really miss it too much as a city. I've not always found it so attractive, as the ancient part of it is almost non existent (there is a fragment of a Roman wall, if you really care to know: the city once called Cularo in Gaulish times was renamed Gratianopolis by the Romans, hence the current deformed name of Grenoble) although people visiting it find it interesting too. Grenoble is very avant-garde & modern.
I did my studies there so I know it's a university town that rocks. Because it is enshrined in the mountains, it attracts many who are interested in winter sports or mountaineering or hiking. The Alps are really striking. But it's a city which gets rather extreme in temperatures (for France), very hot in summer, and pretty darn cold in winter. The pollution over the city is probably one of the most worrying aspects, as it is in a sort of basin, it can sit there hovering for a while (but the city is now known for high technology which produces less pollution so possibly the problem is getting better).
I had to move from Grenoble when I was a young teacher (a thing the French government practically made all young teachers do) and so settled in another range of mountains (the Vosges) for six years before being moved back down to my region. My ancestors (father's side) actually came from close by to where I am now living, in the Geneva area. There is a street name to my name in a couple of local places, haha.

[spotysocks]

Are we talking about the home towns we have grown up at or adopted home towns where it feels more like home?

I dont live where i was raised, i left looking to expand my horizons and experience life in different places. Always miss where i ve grown up and although it is home and i feel loved i also feel trapped and conditioned. An eagle in a cage sort of thing! Where it feels like home ..i d say Rome although i dont have anyone there. I think i cant stay long in one place i have to be moving. I ll stop doing it when i find a place somewhere that belongs to no country ,no religion and love grows in trees.

[452]

Technically, the town I live in right now, but I never considered it such. I always considered a hometown the town you "grew up" in. That will always be Nashville for me. Yes, Tennessee.... Despite the fact that it's known for being the Country Music capital of the world (Ew...) I still love the place dearly.

But if you want to consider my hometown where I "came of age" or something, lol, then it would be Des Moines. Nashville and Des Moines are very different, but I like them both. Nashville was an exciting part of my life, involving skateboarding under cars and leartning how to cuss and becoming one of the neighbor hood hooligans, then settling into suburbia and always being the most mature of the group. Des Moines, obviously different in weather, is when my parents divorced, we lived in a huge pink house from the 20s, awesome house. But obviously, if you're the oldest guy in the family and your mom steals you and places you in Hell, Illinois, you have to grow up and take care of things.

I will never consider the town I live in now my hometown, I hate it so much, people are so narrow-minded constricting and repulsive. I did NOT come from here, I was forced t live here.....

[marshlander]

I was born in London and lived just south of the River till I was 5.

I worked in London for a couple of years when I left school.

I feel absolutely no connection to the place at all. The best part about going to London (unless I count being en route to Albert ) is getting to Ely on the train back to the Fens where the land opens up to lots of water and sky and I feel like I can breathe again.

[wouldlikemuscle]

With the exception of college accommodation (lived in all 3 years) and brief spells in company leased houses (weeks to months), I've lived in the one house all my life! Never moved, but seen many changes over the years.

Surburban London... not really a rough or a well off area.. somewhere in between, the place has its faults eg... no bloody night buses (we're the only place in our borough not to be served by a night bus - important for nights out in London!!), there is a problem with chavs too but most places have that, and we're lucky enough to only have a slight problem with them!!

But its where I've called home for the past 24 years! The place where I've had my entire upbringing, it will be sad when I eventualy leave.. but also exciting... I think a change is most definitely needed after this amount of time! I intend to leave home before I'm 30! Not being able to afford anywhere keeps me rooted for now.

[Phil]

Ace thread! I live in my hometown ... again.... infact the exact same street i was born and reared here (rough as it is or was ) i've lived all over Northern Ireland some of the places i've been lucky enough to dwell in have been awesome but i've always returned here ....the people are kool,acceptin' and down right chilled, i got the best view ever from sittin at the pc and at the end of the day this is where i feel at home!

[fjp999]

yeah, great topic...

I was born in Florida when it was a swamp. Rare to be a native Floridian back then. Moved back to Pennsylvania after sis was born so memories of Florida come from old 8mm movies. The only unconscious memory is of a horrific car wreck where our car landed inside an alligator farm after rolling over and over... thus my fear of being in a car and NO drivers license...

New Castle, PA is my hometown. It is named after the hometown of joseph.

That whole area was my playground. Seems after I grew up current generations have a loss of innocence. Lucky me, I either hiked thru this weird forestry hill or went a little further to a huge park or even a little further to a large amusement park or cycled all over the place - sometimes not knowing where I was going just pedaling away.

Pennsylvania is pretty hilly country and I must have put a zillion miles on some crappy bicycle I had.

My first male crush turned out to be a world class pianist. Still have a few friends from Jr. High & High School.

Some of my most special memories are of my Italian grandparents. They lived across the street. Everyone would gather there for Sunday lunch. Half spoke Italian and going down into that basement was like entering a new world.

I use to perform as a magician so having my photo on the front page and then seeing my name in lights was pretty fun as a teenager.

I now live in the town my mother grew up in. Every Saturday we would drive about an hour one way to get to the other grandparents. Got to explore this town a lot too, usually on foot. Glad to be here now (well, really would feel more comfy in San Francisco) as New Castle has become a somewhat dangerous drug infested area.

[Dan1089]

Very interesting answers guys.We moved to Kaapstad when I started Grade 9.Before that,Dad got posted to East London and we couldn't come with so we spent the year with my Mom in a small town called Ceres.That had to be the best year of my childhood.We spent the day stealing pears,sitting in the sun,being teased for helping Ma at the florist,playing "stretch",going to swim at my friend's pool,my first kiss,breaking my arm,finding new trees to climb,fighting my fists off,our little garden,it was wonderful.During the school holidays, we'd go visit my dad.Then we moved AGAIN.