Would you ever consider retiring in the city/town/hamlet of your birth?

DaveA said:
And the funny part of this saying is that in our "new" community, as we move in, someone who's been living there for a while, passes us, heading out of town. It's a never ending cycle and always has been since we have the ability to be mobile.

It's only when things get out of balance with too many moving out - -or in, that it changes the complexion of the community. Anyone who previously lived in the "new" community will most likely not want to return.
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too much movement going on for me!! - My first move involved tearing myself away from extended families on both sides and they screamed about it - but we did it with a few other cuzzies too - I think I went back the most to visit cos I'm like that but I think in a way they resented it strangely enough but buttoned down - I even recall taking one aunt and uncle to the local boozer for a rip roaring singing night and much beer and they loved it - and in all my visits they never turned we away frrom the door and gave me a bed for the night - but heh I am getting ahead of myself here!!
 

My parents were quite transient when I was born, so Ewehurst in Surrey is nothing but a name to me, it's also on the wrong side of the world for me now. So no I wouldn't move there.
 
Rakaia said:
My parents were quite transient when I was born, so Ewehurst in Surrey is nothing but a name to me, it's also on the wrong side of the world for me now. So no I wouldn't move there.
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Ah transient parents! - are they a nusiance or a benefit?? hard to say!
 

@davey
My father stayed in the British Army until 1952, after enlisting in 1939. Mum enlisted in the New Zealand Army early in 1945. They met in the Army of Occupation in Germany. He died when I was young so I grew up in New Zealand and I'm grateful for that. It is what it is, neither a nuisance nor a benefit.
 
yes New Zealand has become mature - have some rellies there but never visited . Have rellies here too. Incidentally used to visit Joondalup occasionally during my travels with the WAADA now first step. Is it maturing and settling down ok? - I'm in the West Kimmberley now - son is too but 200 kms away but does drop in occasionally!!
 
Paco Dennis said:
Did you ride the roller coaster and hang out on the pier and boardwalk? I did. Not a lot but some...especially on summer vacation from school. How about surfing? I was never any good at it...I liked to skim board on the shore line. Wasn't there some kind of surfer vs. hippie kinda dislike thing going on for awhile. I was a hippie, and I do recall running into real surfer dudes who gave us some pooh. :)
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My socializing was limited but I was allowed to go to the boardwalk and beach at times. I went to school with someone who's family member worked at the boardwalk and we got free passes. Yes I sure took rides on the roller coaster, the awesome antique merry go round. The cars.

My one brother surfed some. There probably was rivalries going on between groups. I remember driving and this girl I hung out with said "don't signal here, it's a turn lane only, people will think we're from San Jose!" :rolleyes:
 
Remy said:
My socializing was limited but I was allowed to go to the boardwalk and beach at times. I went to school with someone who's family member worked at the boardwalk and we got free passes. Yes I sure took rides on the roller coaster, the awesome antique merry go round. The cars.

My one brother surfed some. There probably was rivalries going on between groups. I remember driving and this girl I hung out with said "don't signal here, it's a turn lane only, people will think we're from San Jose!" :rolleyes:
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Santa Cruz is located close to a beautiful redwood forest. I loved that forest. It was very rich with ferns also. We would party in the mountains there. Big Basin is located on a highway that connects "San Jose" to Santa Cruz. We often visited Big Basin National Park. I guess the town mainly relied on tourist business.? Don't you feel a little lucky being raised in such a cool place? :) Except for the horrible earthquake!
 
glad someone posted this topic ! been thinking about it long and hard. I have done several "walks" through my birth area on google map - always good fun [although new changes are a bit tricky] and the areas now look lovely - clean brick houses with small lawns and white wicket fences and car parking garages at the rear. Yes very smart - one problem ? - maybe more - I don't know anyone there anymore and they certainly won't know me?
 
davey said:
that's sad ElCastor - how did that happen fgs?
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As a very young child I lived with my parents in an Oakland Cul De Sac ( one block long ). Every family on the block was Jewish, except us. I visited it a few years ago. Jews were gone and it looked like Spanish was the primary language. At the risk of being accused of racism, half of the current Oakland population is Hispanic and Black.
https://statisticalatlas.com/place/California/Oakland/Race-and-Ethnicity

I went to high school in Oakland. A few memorable events. Some guys were robbing a museum in the Oakland hills. When caught, one of them gave my name. Wasn’t me, but I got called into the Principal’s office. He said he knew it wasn‘t me. Called in again after I walked by two guys in a serious fight. This time the police questioned me about the identity of the perp. I had no idea. A girl was dragged the length of the girl’s basement by her hair by another girl of a different race. I walked by as she was disenroling, accompanied by her brother, a uniformed Marine.

I now live in a considerably pricier area across the Bay from Oakland and San Francisco. Very little crime.
 
yep my final take is NO too ; not because I don't like it anymore or its too dangerous or whatever - but it has become a sorta stranger with all its changes and I would just be walking around with memories surging through my head
 
davey said:
yep my final take is NO too ; not because I don't like it anymore or its too dangerous or whatever - but it has become a sorta stranger with all its changes and I would just be walking around with memories surging through my head
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My final answer is NO also. Our place is by our kids and grandkids now we are old. Honestly the memories would hurt too much. All my family is gone, so nothing left there but memories.
 
The "Little Hamlet" where I was born (Clearwater, Florida) had a population of 15,000 in 1950 which is when I have my earliest memories of it. It now has a population of 117,000. Like Thomas Wolfe said. "You can't go home again".
 
davey said:
Just been doing a search and look at the city of my birth and it's lookin pretty cool atm and getting good ratings nationally. Which set me wondering - if I had a lottery win or sufficiently good savings - would I ever want to go back and have one last 'pitch' at living in the city of my birth? Ever crossed your mind in respect to your dreams? what are your thoughts? not saying much else until you've had your pitch??
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Indeed, Davey, a return to the city where I was raised crosses my mind frequently. Interstate construction took out my old neighborhood in the late 1960s, but never took away the memories. And enough of the old neighborhood remains that it is still recognizable.

Regrettably, short of a natural disaster taking all my possessions at my current residence, it's just too heavy a lift to consider. As a result, I live there in spirit if not in body. Good enough for now.
 


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