[redwitch]

Frankly, I resent your comment about the "badge of honor" and your implications that those who moved a lot were somehow of a lesser character. You make it seem as loving to travel and move is wrong because it was not your choice. I think that those who stay in one area and are happy with that choice are to be admired -- they have a sense of community and a strong sense of who they are and where they are from. I also believe that those who traveled a lot, whether by choice or because of job requirements or because they were "run out of town" for some reason are also to be admired. Moving is not easy, not as a child nor as an adult. It takes courage and strength to move a lot, even if you have a very strong sense of wanderlust.

I hated leaving friends when I had to move. I also loved meeting new people, learning new cultures, growing in ways I never could have had my family stayed in one place as a child. I happily re-visited those places as an adult. I chose to raise my daughter in one area for her childhood. Her personality was not mine and I thought changing schools would have been far too difficult for her. Had she not entered my life, I'm sure I would have moved several times in my adult life.