How deep are your roots?

[Keroin]

Guilty confession time.

After less than a year back in this most beautiful part of the world, I have to confess that my feet are once again itchy to roam. Realistically, this won’t be happening in the near future, (aside from short jaunts), but oh how I long to move.

I was reading an article this morning and it turns out my “what’s-around-the-next-corner-itis” might actually be genetic. Apparently, there is a special D4-7 allele gene, tagged as an exploratory and novelty seeking marker. People who wander tend to posses a higher percentage of this gene.

I’m lucky to have a partner who is similarly genetically challenged, (At the age of 15 he built a ten speed bike and pedaled, solo, from Vancouver Island to Arizona - where he ran out of money), as I’m sure I wouldn’t last long with someone who didn’t salivate over maps and use Rubbermaid storage containers as furniture.

So how are you wired up? How much D4-7 is in your genes? Do you suffer from chronic wanderlust or do you love having deep roots and a sense of “home”? Nomad or homebody, which are you?

 

[MisterSir]

Homebody. I like where I am, I want to stay where I am.

 

[Homburg]

Not sure. I've been stable here for almost twenty years and have no real desire to move, but it may just be a stark reaction to my childhood. I do travel and see new places regularly, so that may satisfy whatever urge I have to motivate on.

If I had to guess, I would say that I don't particularly have that urge. It's not really my thing. I am satisfied with visiting, and am fine coming home to the same bed.

 

[DVS]

I'm a bit of both. I'm sure, if I had someone to explore with, I could go on an adventure. I've done it before when I was playing music, but I had band members with me. Now, there's no band, and no significant other, so I feel secure staying close to family. Actually, I haven't seen that much of the country...just a bunch of off the beaten path bars that all looked OK in the dark. I don't know if I'd want to see some of them in the light of day.

If I had someone to tag along, I'd really like to see some more of this country and even the world. There's just something special about having someone with you to validate the experience. Of course, I'd have to have one large garage and house sale as well as win the lottery before I could cut myself loose. Over the years, my roots have grown pretty deep.

 

[ecstaticsub]

I lived in 4 different states as a kid, started a t one college in one state and moved to another to finish up. I then married a man who a year latter asked if I would mind if he joined the military. After over 20 years of moving every 2-3 years he retired and we have almost spent a full year in our "last" house.

With each military move it seemed around the 18 month time period I was getting itchy to find out where we were going and when. I'm not sure if that was because I wanted to move or that I just knew it was inevitable.

Ask me in about 6-12 months if I am feeling the urge to move. So far I like being settled finally.

 

[00Syd]

I love to travel and wish that I could travel more often, but I'm also perfectly happy being home. So maybe 50/50.

 

[Betticus]

Keroin, you're just weird.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Guilty confession time.

After less than a year back in this most beautiful part of the world, I have to confess that my feet are once again itchy to roam. Realistically, this won’t be happening in the near future, (aside from short jaunts), but oh how I long to move.

I was reading an article this morning and it turns out my “what’s-around-the-next-corner-itis” might actually be genetic. Apparently, there is a special D4-7 allele gene, tagged as an exploratory and novelty seeking marker. People who wander tend to posses a higher percentage of this gene.

I’m lucky to have a partner who is similarly genetically challenged, (At the age of 15 he built a ten speed bike and pedaled, solo, from Vancouver Island to Arizona - where he ran out of money), as I’m sure I wouldn’t last long with someone who didn’t salivate over maps and use Rubbermaid storage containers as furniture.

So how are you wired up? How much D4-7 is in your genes? Do you suffer from chronic wanderlust or do you love having deep roots and a sense of “home”? Nomad or homebody, which are you?

Really weird that you mention this, because I was just reading a book that claimed that human wanderlust and desire to explore were genetic and was thinking "bullshit!".

 

[wicked woman]

I just had my roots done a few days ago so they shouldn't be very deep at all.

Seriously though I've found a solution that works for me. When I was in my 20s my then husband and I took 6 months off to travel Europe. We were on a student budget so bought a used VW van and fit it with a bed, curtains and camping supplies. It was both our transportation and accommodation.

From that trip I learned that I had indeed inherited the travel bug from my parents. I loved experiencing new things. What I didn't like was our way of traveling. I need shorter periods of travel or a home base from which to take shorter excursions.

My home base has always been important to me. I made curtains for my dorm room in university and bought a bed spread, towels, rug, posters and even decorated the ceiling because I didn't want to live with the uniform decor. But I feel no need to move with any regularity. That's way too much work.

 

[ShyGuy68]

I'm lived in the same place for close to 20 years. so I'm quite stable when it comes to that. When I was a kid we often moved, and I think that's the reason I've been stuck in the same place for so long, but it's not that I don't like it here. I do like where I live, and I like the city I live in, it's not to big or too small.

But I do love to travel and experience new places and people, and that urge I usually get to fill about once a year, and if I'm lucky more. This year I'm lucky, and I'll be going to Barcelona in August, and Malaysia at the end of October.

 

[rida]

I can stay. I can move.
But I am gregarious and even though I have no problem living alone, I don't travel well by myself, unless I'm going to meet up with someone at destination. I love to go meet friends.

I don't really have any wanderlust per se, but I married someone that just loves to travel and to explore. Right now we have been living in the same place since meeting and getting married. He has been feeling the desire to move for a while, but work concerns and kids are what has kept us in place.

A possible compromise we will be doing is him traveling while I hold the fort. And I'm fine with that.

 

[Keroin]

Homebody. I like where I am, I want to stay where I am.

Have you traveled much?

Not sure. I've been stable here for almost twenty years and have no real desire to move, but it may just be a stark reaction to my childhood. I do travel and see new places regularly, so that may satisfy whatever urge I have to motivate on.

If I had to guess, I would say that I don't particularly have that urge. It's not really my thing. I am satisfied with visiting, and am fine coming home to the same bed.

I can see that. As a kid, I traveled as much as I could but I lived in the same house from age 5 to age 17, so life was pretty stable. The trips I took just wet my appetite, by the time I left home I was chomping at the bit to see more. Had it been the other way around, I might have been anxious to settle in one spot, hard to say.

I do like my current bed though, I must admit.

I'm a bit of both. I'm sure, if I had someone to explore with, I could go on an adventure. I've done it before when I was playing music, but I had band members with me. Now, there's no band, and no significant other, so I feel secure staying close to family. Actually, I haven't seen that much of the country...just a bunch of off the beaten path bars that all looked OK in the dark. I don't know if I'd want to see some of them in the light of day.

If I had someone to tag along, I'd really like to see some more of this country and even the world. There's just something special about having someone with you to validate the experience. Of course, I'd have to have one large garage and house sale as well as win the lottery before I could cut myself loose. Over the years, my roots have grown pretty deep.

I've traveled solo, with a partner and with a group. Each has something different to offer. Traveling with L, though, is my favourite because we are so similar in how we like to move around. I would like to do some solo trips, though, as I enjoy moving at my own pace from time to time. Also, I'd really like to do a cross country bike trip (pedal power not motor power) but I don't think L's knees could handle it. Maybe he could be the support van? LOL.

When we left the country in 2003, you should have seen the garage sale we had! Massive.

Ask me in about 6-12 months if I am feeling the urge to move. So far I like being settled finally.

*Makes note to check in with ES in 6-12 months.

I love to travel and wish that I could travel more often, but I'm also perfectly happy being home. So maybe 50/50.

That's a nice mix.

Keroin, you're just weird.

Thank you!

Really weird that you mention this, because I was just reading a book that claimed that human wanderlust and desire to explore were genetic and was thinking "bullshit!".

I can believe it. I feel a very strong, almost physical, urge to move and to see new places, and I always have. I live in one of the most amazing spots on earth, at the moment, and I still think about leaving.

I just had my roots done a few days ago so they shouldn't be very deep at all.

LOL.

But I feel no need to move with any regularity. That's way too much work.

It used to be work but once you've done it a few times, you begin to streamline. I really wasn't kidding about using Rubbermaid containers as furniture - our TV is sitting on top of one. I have them all labeled. I can pack and move everything I own in half a day.

This year I'm lucky, and I'll be going to Barcelona in August, and Malaysia at the end of October.

Nice! I've heard great things about both places. Have fun!!



So, I just counted, since I left home at 17, I have moved 24 times. Wow. My mom in law laughs at us, she says we're the only people in her address book whose address she keeps written in pencil.

 

[CutieMouse]

So, I just counted, since I left home at 17, I have moved 24 times. Wow. My mom in law laughs at us, she says we're the only people in her address book whose address she keeps written in pencil.

Between temporary housing while a property was being built, semi-homelessness during a rough patch my Senior High School year, a few more rough patches around the same time, dorms, apartments, and college in general I "moved" 17 times from age 15 to 20.

I currently live 2 blocks from the park where I got married almost 20 years ago, 3 blocks from what used to be the bookshop I wandered as a child, and within 10 minutes of everything I knew from age 8-20. At this point the only things preventing me from wandering more are obligations and finances, but once those are sorted out I want to travel.

 

[FloggingMolly]

I am 100% homebody through and through.

When going away (the furthest I regularly go is a 300 mile round trip to see my father in law), I can just about take 5 days before I really badly want to be home. I need my space, my privacy, my bed. I need stability. Moving house will give me nightmares for weeks in advance. I don't deal well with change.

 

[ShyGuy68]

Nice! I've heard great things about both places. Have fun!!

I've never been to Barcelona, either have my friend that I'm traveling with, and we are both excited about it since we both also have heard great things about it.

Malaysia I've been to before, and enjoyed it. If you feel like it, you can read about my first visit there here.

 

[ivantheterrible]

i no longer have the tendency to even want to go somewhere else.

i was born near here, and never lived in the same place for more than 4 years for a long time. due to my dad chased jobs, or parents got tired of living where they were at. then i joined the military. i have been all over america, and to germany.

before my divorce, i lived in the same place for 14 years. i liked it. i am tired of wandering. although no matter where i live from now on, it will be close to where i was born.

my roots go deep. my famiyl has lived in this general area for a loooong time. whether white black, or native.

 

[HoHoBomb]

none, i keep my natural color

 

[Seurat]

Between temporary housing while a property was being built, semi-homelessness during a rough patch my Senior High School year, a few more rough patches around the same time, dorms, apartments, and college in general I "moved" 17 times from age 15 to 20.

Wow.




When I went for my first bike ride of the season a few weeks ago, I was able to passfive of the nine places I have 'lived' in during my life. Two more are easily accessible. So, I like home.


But I also take every chance I get to go someplace else. It's just that I like to visit, then go home.

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

My roots are exceedingly deep...I have never LIVED anywhere but West Virginia or Maryland. I bounce back and forth as my family (on both sides) is located in both states.

I need the knowledge that I have people I grew up with near by...it's like a way of remembering those I have lost in the past. My memories (both good and bad) are encompassed by those places. I can't imagine moving far away. My home is probably 50 sq miles all told in Western MD and Eastern WV. I would be a very confused and lost person if I ever left.

 

[Keroin]

Malaysia I've been to before, and enjoyed it. If you feel like it, you can read about my first visit there here.

Thanks SG, I'll read it later today!


I am always slightly in awe of people with roots. Perhaps it comes from being adopted, with no real family history or ancestry, and no religion or belief system to ground me, but I have always felt as if the notion of "home" is sort of nebulous. 99% of the time, I love the freedom. That 1% kicks in now and then, usually at the end of a long journey or when I'm ill or something, when I wish I had a place to hang my hat that felt permanent.

I do love having my world view expanded, though, and nothing does that faster than living in a foreign country, especially one where no one looks like you or speaks your language.

But I also really enjoy visiting the homes of my deeply rooted friends. There's a real warmth to that kind of living. Interesting.

 

[BiBunny]

I don't know. I've moved around a lot, and it usually doesn't take long for the desire to move to kick in again. Like, I love where I am right now, but I haven't even been here a month yet. In six months, I'll probably be ready to go elsewhere.

On the other hand, I've only lived in Alabama, and I don't think I'd want to live anywhere but the South, even if my financial situation would allow for it. I also think if I had some big farm in the middle of nowhere, I'd be more likely to stay put. But, then again, who knows?

I don't know where I get it from because, for me, it's definitely not genetic. Nobody in my family has ever lived anywhere but basically where they are right now. I got out of there as fast as I could and never looked back, personally.

 

[rida]

I did not address the roots point.

On my father's side, roots are deep and local. Same on my mother's side. But my mother moved 1/3 around the globe, and I moved 1/3 and a little bit back. I grew up not knowing were I belonged, and now I know I belong to both places and to neither.

Hubby moved around much more than myself while growing up, something that seems much more common in the US than in either of my home countries. He does not actually feel as if he has roots in the US, and instead feels his roots deep down in Sicily, where is maternal family came from.

I often wonder what my kids will feel in term of roots. Hopefully they will be able to adapt and find home wherever they'll end up.

There is a Japanese saying: 住めば都 SUMEBA MIYAKO that means "home is wherever you live". I like to believe that it fits me. And I hope it will fit my kids.

 

[Homburg]

My home base has always been important to me. I made curtains for my dorm room in university and bought a bed spread, towels, rug, posters and even decorated the ceiling because I didn't want to live with the uniform decor. But I feel no need to move with any regularity. That's way too much work.

Never been my thing. I grew up in military quarters, and you can VERY little to quarters in the way of personalisation. As a result, my bedroom would have maybe a few posters (carefully) hung on the walls, and that was it. As an adult, I like the idea of decorations, but have no interest in doing it.

It's odd too, as I am always impressed with a nicely decorated house. Just not enough to fuss with it myself.

--

I am always slightly in awe of people with roots. Perhaps it comes from being adopted, with no real family history or ancestry, and no religion or belief system to ground me, but I have always felt as if the notion of "home" is sort of nebulous. 99% of the time, I love the freedom. That 1% kicks in now and then, usually at the end of a long journey or when I'm ill or something, when I wish I had a place to hang my hat that felt permanent.

I have no "home" aside from what I make. I feel no real kinship to my extended family in PA, nor to the area of PA they live in. I'm basically the same way about the NC side of my family, but I am happier with the region they're from. What can I say? It's pretty up there.

I have no sense of "home" here, nor real connection to this area. My god, it's a bland city with precious little character, as it is comprised of military, retirees, and those that support the military, so it is a melange of other places' cultures. Probably why I'm so comfortable here, but it does not lend itself to some sort of characteristically Virginia experience.

Home, to me, is where I lay my head at night. It's the place where my people live, and thus I live there too. It helps that I like the weather here. All that said, I don't feel like I've hung my metaphorical hat here permanently. There is no sense that I will die in this place, or even grow old. It just is, and I just am. It's probably a bit zen, but eh.

I live here largely because this is where we were when my dad retired. It's more "home" than anywhere else, and that's largely because I chose to stay here.

 

[ivantheterrible]

There is a Japanese saying: 住めば都 SUMEBA MIYAKO that means "home is wherever you live". I like to believe that it fits me. And I hope it will fit my kids.

i always wanted to believe that, but all in all, i always wanted to come back here. i love these mtns..

 

[FurryFury]

I love to travel but I also love to come home. I love that I feel that way and so do my kids!

What I don't like to do is live in different places, moving frequently. We did that a lot when I was a kid. My dad and mom took a job driving around to camp meetings and selling things for over a year. I have old film of it. Seems I've been to all the contiguous states. Sometimes we slept in the panel truck which didn't have two doors and sometimes in tents or cheap motels.

Then my dad moved us a lot in the South Eastern states.

Even when we lived in the same state and city, he bought various houses and fixed them up so we still moved far too often for my taste.

Additionally I've taken jobs that require me to be on the road almost all the time. That got old quick.

I really can do that, any of it, but I prefer not to.

As for roots, most of my family is gone now. I feel "close" emotionally to a few cities that they were at and which I visited them often growing up. Those places feel like "home" to me somewhat. It's always nice to have a place to go home. Now with most of my relatives gone and the home places sold, I feel a little sad about that. I can still enjoy the cities though to visit.