Have you stayed put?

I have traced my ancestors and found they moved around a lot more than I have. My maternal grandmother was born in Cumberland and then the family moved to Durham (the county). My grandmother moved to the Wirral as did one of her sisters, where they married and lived all their lives, whilst the remaining 4 sisters and brother stayed in the small village they had moved to from Cumberland. I was born on the Wirral and now live 10 miles from where I was born having only ever lived on the Wirral.

I have lived my life within two neighboring postcodes!

I was born in Swindon but moved with my family to South Africa. At 21 I returned to England and got a job in London, There I met a hansom young Indian man from Trinidad and we got married, We were happily together for 54 years until he passed away. We had 2 children who are married to English men and they have 4 children between them. The eldest has an Irish girlfriend.

Both my parents were born in 1911 from large working class families with six siblings each. My parents were the only ones to move away from home to work and they wouldn’t have met if they hadn’t. All their siblings stayed in the area where they were born. Because my father was in the police force we moved around a lot as he moved up the ranks, albeit in the same county. My DH and I have moved around a lot through his work; apart from three years in the army my brother has stayed in the county of his birth. My DH’s one sister lives within a few miles of her birthplace but his other sister moved to Canada for thirty years and has just moved back. Both our sons are married and live within four miles of us.

When I was a child and young adult I hated having to move house with my parents but each time I made friends with whom I have maintained important friendships and more importantly I wouldn’t have met my DH if my father hadn’t been promoted for the seventh time necessitating another house move. I did envy my one friend who had three brothers and two sisters who all stayed in the town where they were born, consequently she knew so many people and the crematorium had standing room only when she was cremated in October 2017. Her brother bought the house they all lived in when his mother died and still lives there.

So there are pros and cons to moving around but I am happy with the way my life has turned out. My DH and I often talk about the various differences that could have happened in our lives meaning we would have never met.

I forgot to say that I now live in Devon and so does my son and his children, but my daughter lived in Canada for about 14 years and has now returned to England and lives near Milton Keyes.

My ancestors all seem to have been from Leicestershire except for a few from Lincolnshire. I live in Leicester and my current house is within walking distance of the other 3 houses where I have lived. One daughter and family also in Leicester, the other far away in the USA.

I have returned close to my birthplace having lived all over the UK. I left at 18 seeking something different and less boring and returned in my 40's realising it was actually quite nice. Planning to be on the move again in the next few years. Not 'escaping to the country', I've done all that, but a nice interesting town with plenty of facilities and interesting events close by.

I transcribe for FreeBMD and have also researched both sides of our family

My mother's family lived in London for generations and had 4 generations at the same address in the Late 1800s. They were bombed out in WW2 and then moved out to Essex where most of them still live.

My father's family were immigrants from Amsterdam in the 1700's and mostly lived close together in London. The family they left in Holland were murdered in the concentration camps.

Mum was one of 6 children and Dad one of eight, on the whole families were much bigger years ago.

DH's family have moved from Suffolk to London and then to Essex. His family have the most common name in England which I thought would hamper me in researching his side of the family tree but it helped that the same unusual middle name was used for each oldest son.
Now DD lives 30min drive from us and DS is just around the corner.

p.s. We have moved 7 times in our 43 year marriage! From Essex to Scotland and back to London & Surrey!!

What a fascinating thread! I wonder if this is feature of life in the last couple of centuries, or did people always move
around?
I suppose i’m an “extreme mover” - born and raised in Germany in a German family. Married a British Army officer and moved to England, then Germany etc etc until
he left the Army. We had bought a house in Yorkshire, and to this it is where I feel most at home.
Mind you, didn’t stay there either! Following divorce, I moved to Wales and am now in France but hoping to return to lovely Richmond as soon as possible.
Not bad for a Taurus who is happiest in her garden or surrounded by friends and family.

I live in South Yorkshire, about 40 miles from where I was born.

Have lived in different parts of the UK and internationally. DH was RAF and I've worked in the UAE.

DH's family from Sussex on both sides from way back and didn't move much until his Dad joined the RAF 1931-1968. They moved all over UK and the world.

My parents were from Yorkshire and Scotland. Paternal GP's were Scottish from fairly close to each other. Maternal GP French, Irish American and Yorkshire :-)

Both girls born in Yorkshire but all over with us.

DD1 as an adult - first home in Cambridgeshire, Sheffield, New Zealand for nearly 8 years, now Derbyshire so about an hour away.

DD2 as an adult - Orkney, Dublin, Sottish Boarders now about a 5 mins away from us. She still travels a great deal both for work and pleasure.

GD now in Derbyshire but born in Christchurch Women's Hospital, New Zealand March 2011 while the earth was still moving. Then they moved to Waiheke before coming back to UK so who knows how far she will travel.

My brothers haven't moved out of the town we was born in, my sister has moved around the UK a bit and now also lives 5 mins from us.

Never really thought about it until this post, it's been really interesting reading this thread and having to think about it. Thanks for starting it. Have a good day all.

I have never lived in the same house for more than about 7 years. I always say that I must have gypsy blood in my veins ?! I was born in Aberdeen, which was the nearest main hospital to where we lived, then my mum uprooted us when I was about 5 or 6 years old and took us down to Leicester which was a big culture shock back the, going from a small fishing town in NE Scotland to a big multicultural city. And I have never settled in the one area since. Even now, at the age of 63 me and hubby are in Spain and still wandering about!

But I do recall when I was studying sociology our tutor said that folk would usually marry within their own class, meeting either at school, college, universities, work or through friends. It was very rare to marry someone outwith your class or the area you live in. This was because you both would know the right cues to particular behaviours that we’re familiar to you both, you would share the same local dialects and so on, so you both feel comfortable with each other and each other’s family/friends.

My maternal
grandparents were married and lived in a suburb of Merseyside, Nanna born in Spain and Pops in Cambridge. They actually had a Spanish cook/maid who had her own rooms. My parents were both born married and lived in the wider Liverpool area although for a while they lived on USAF bases in the South. I was born in Devon but we moved to Liverpool when I was a few months old. One brother still lives there, in the same house for 58 years.
I moved to Surrey when I married but have lived in the Isle of Man, Jersey, Fife, Kent, Hants, Cambridge and Yorkshire.
Being divorced gives me the freedom to up sticks whenever I feel like a change whilst still keeping friends in all those places.

I have always lived within seven miles of where I was born but half of my family live abroad.

My other half is Scottish, left at 15 and returned from living/working all over the world, (especially the Far East) on retirement.
I am also Scottish, moved to the Caribbean after marriage, lived and worked there and the USA for 14 years returning to Scotland when my mum wasn't coping after my dad's death. Moved to New Zealand after her death then returned home after 3 years, met my OH and intend to live out the rest of our days in Scotland. (Escaping to the sun very often)
I have noticed many people tend to move back closer to their roots on retirement, possibly to care for their family members.

I was born in Scotland, my father in Bradford, both his parents in Edinburgh, but they met in Paris. My mother was born in Copenhagen, her mother in a small Danish town, her parents both died in different places to their place of birth. My maternal grandfather was a Londoner by birth, spent most of his adult life in Russia, fled from St Peterburg during the revolution, married my grandmother in 1920 in Copenhagen and died there four years later.
My mother was born in Copenhagen, met my father at RAF Sylt, married him in Hamburg and they lived until 1980 in Scotland. Moved to Denmark, where my sister and I were settled then and lived, died and are buried here.
I myself moved to Denmark age 16, lived most of my adult life in Copenhagen, but now DH and I are living in a small town near the German border. My sister lived all her adult life in a small town outside Copenhagen.

I think some families move around a lot and probably always have, whereas others live for generations in the same area.

Born in Hertfordshire and live in Bedfordshire..... 30 mile difference. My kids still live here. But my parents were roamers...mum was born in Liverpool ...brought up in Manchester and moved to London before the war. Dad was from Aldershot (army family) and moved up to Hertfordshire after he came back from Spanish Civil War. We’ve all lived in the ‘soft south ‘ ever since.

Come from Hastings (As did my mother's family who all stayed put). When I got married moved to Bracknell. Moved to the US where we lived in NJ, FL & GA. Returned to Bracknell and have lived in Bristol for nearly 28 years

I'm 50 & live just round the corner from the house I was born in, where my parents still live.
I lived 3 miles away during my first marriage. My first hubby was a school friend's brother....lived about 2 miles from us. 2nd hubby lived 20 miles away. We lived in my current house while we were married. My bf lives 10 miles away but was born & brought up closer to where I live.
Both of my grown up daughters live within 2 miles of my house.
My sister went to Oxford uni & has stayed down south ever since. I'm obviously the unadventerous one!
I did have my first child at an extremely young age, which meant going to uni in my home town, & not till I was 26 & had 2 more children. Maybe that's why I've ended up staying put.

I now live just over five miles from where I was born; my parents and grandparents never moved from there. I left home at seventeen and, both as a servicewoman and a service wife, travelled around for twenty three years before settling back in South Yorkshire. My DH is Welsh and we could have settled there - there was no pressure on him to settle here, and I like Wales - but he liked Yorkshire, and my wider family, and the job opportunities were better. Both my children were born in different foreign countries; one now lives in the same town, one in the North of the county.

Hi what does this volunteer work involve please ?

I live in the same town I was born in. My husband too. Our fathers went to the same school in the town, as we did and our children and now our grandchildren. Having said this we have all travelled/back packed all over the world - but our homes are here.

My mother's family all originated from Wales and remained there all their lives until my GP moved to London in the 30s.

My father's family were Londoners and lived in and around London for generations never living more than a few miles from each other. I was brought up in London where I stayed until we moved to IoW a few years ago.

Since living here we have been amazed how many people we've met who have never left the island! Likewise some older people living on the west side of the island (more rural) have never been to the island capital of Newport, and would never dream of travelling the 24 miles to the east coast. The churchyards here are an insight into the numerous generations of families who have remained close to home. It's common to hear someone say ".... you can get that at so-and-so-store if you want to go that far" 'That far' being just 7 miles!!

My ancestors on my mother’s side were mainly agricultural workers, though some worked in the local jobs needed eg cordwainer ( shoemaker ). Then when coal mining developed, many moved north to the Yorkshire pits. Others moved to work on the railways. The females were in service and some of them ended up all over the country.
So they went where work could be found.
I am the same. I have lived in various places for work, including many years in Yorkshire, not knowing I had relatives there.
Now in retirement I have returned to be near my children which just happens to be not far from where I grew up , though it is not where I was born, as my parents had left that area for work reasons.

We live 5mls from where I was born on The Wirral and OHs family where from Ireland and Onchan in Isle of Man (some still live there)
We moved to Newquay when DD was small then came back to Wirral with OHs job.
When we both took early retirement in our early 50s we moved to Altea in Spain for nearly 9yrs.
Coming back to UK we now live just a few miles from where I was born close to our children & grandchildren.