I live in a semi rural area about 20 miles outside of London... we're surrounded by many rural villages and hamlets, lots of farmland etc, About 20 years ago, I was in one of those nearby villages where I'd struck up a conversation with a man who then would have probably been in his 60's .. I mentioned that I was going into the city the following day and he said... Do you mean Lun'on .. when I confirmed that indeed I was going to the city, he said..''I don't go to Lun'on any more....been there once in 1954 and that was enough, no need to go again!! I stifled my laughter and tried with a straight face to explain that London is a very different place to how it was in 1954... but he wasn't to be swayed, once was enough!! (nowadays I don't blame him tbh) So, are any of you ''geographically challenged''...do you like to just stay in one area, dislike travelling or leaving your small town comfort zone for any reason, even if it's only a few miles away ...or any stories of people you know who do...
Will never go back to London, will remember it as it was I'm stuck where I am, can't travel now but that's OK
I have known several people who grew up in a city who never leave the city that they grew up in, and have no interest in leaving it. The people I know who live in rural areas regularly go into a larger city for shopping, movies, or other reasons, although I know a lot of people who have no interest in going to Boston or New York, except that anyone using a GPS is going to be routed through New York City whenever they are trying to go anywhere south. I also know a lot of people who have lived in Portland or elsewhere in southern Maine for all their lives who have never been north of Bangor, and some who have never seen a moose, although they are native Mainers Pretty much everyone I talk to from Portland, and even on radio shows, will refer to Bangor as "Northern Maine," although it's south of the center of the state.
same with me , I'd go stark raving round the bend if I remained in one small place all my life.. It's a little different for people who live in large cities, but small towns or remote areas..and never leave them to go further than a few miles down the road?...nope I couldn't do that!!
Only 30 years with breaks in between, London was great to me, loved the people especially - not many left now
These days for many young people it's less about being deeply rooted but more about finding a decent job the hunt for which keeps young people moving more than they would actually like to. What you can observe, though, is that once they have earned enough money and seen "the world", the majority of them tends to finally settle down at what they would consider to be their home country or region, provided they can possibly manage. Young people want to benefit from certain facilities and services, from an ambience that only a big city can offer. Older people like me have usually been there, seen that, done that. That's exactly the reason why I decided two years ago not to move into the city but to try and find a place on the outskirts of a bigger city (ca. 600,000). Now it takes me 20 minutes by car or city train to reach the centre. I regularly go there, once or twice a week, enjoy it, but then I feel a need to get back home where there is peace and tranquility. I don't need the city any more but I don't want to miss it either.
I am a natural nomad, but when I married, I had to rein it in. I moved every two years when I was single and travelled whenever I could. Once married, it changed to every 6 years. We lived in rural Alaska for three years before moving onto the road system. My wife finally declared, "That's enough!" and we have lived in this house since 1992. For me to wander, I would have to leave my partner--not about to do that. We do make several trips outside Alaska every year, however, but seldom to a major city. The last decent size cities we visited were Sacramento, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, neither of which approach London, New York or Los Angeles.
My last big city visits were Chicago and NYC about 2 years ago. That same year I went to Maui. I used to travel a lot more but now that I'm alone I only go with family.
I go to Washington, DC twice a year. On the way, as much as we try to avoid it, we end up crossing the George Washington Bridge in New York City.
I go to NYC when I visit my sister in NJ and I think the only way is the Tappan Zee bridge...I think that's it's name no it's a nightmare...think it's the only way to get to NYC.
I really dislike cities and visit them as little as possible. I don't mind traveling, in fact I enjoy it quite alot as long as I can go by car. Although I like it best when someone else drives, so I can gawk out the windows, gawking and driving aren't conducive. I always thought I should have been a trucker. I have no complaints about living out of a suitcase and eating out of a cooler. My sister on the other hand loves the city with it's noise and commotion. That always made me wonder how being raised by the same parents in the same place and we are so different. I like small towns and preferably near a body of water.