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Connected to the world - how?

~Mary

~Mary

Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
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I love that we are all connected to the world by the internet. It totally fascinates me! So I've been thinking all day that I would love to know other ways you guys are connected to the rest of the world. Where you live, have lived, where you've traveled, where you wish you could travel, etc.

Here's me:
I was born and raised in north Alabama (Florence area), went to college in Tuscaloosa and lived in Birmingham and Anniston. I have lived in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, California, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Bermuda. I've always wanted to travel to New Zealand - one, because I'm a LOTR freak, and two, because one of my good friends teaches at Tawa College and lives on the beach and I really want to go stay with him. I almost got to go to Peru once but it fell through. I haven't traveled outside the US except for Mexico and Bermuda. Hubby is currently in Bulgaria and has been all over the world. (He's army/special operations.) He was an exchange student to Norway as a teen. I'm so jealous! He hasn't been all over the US like I have, though. I still want to go to Alaska and Hawaii someday. I don't have any family outside the US although my brother has lived in Germany a few times.

So how about you? How are you connected or wish you were connected?
 
Mary, I am kinda boring - I have lived in Louisville, Kentucky my entire life. So has my husband. But I love it here and wouldn't want to move anywhere else. I have 7 siblings and all but one lives in Louisville. I would like to visit London and Hawaii.
 
I was born in England but came out to New Zealand as a child. But I was always teased for my English accent and always had my nose buried in books set in England so I never felt I really belonged here. I left as soon as I was able, and lived in London but came back to New Zealand to do a postgrad course and met DH, who is a born and bred kiwi and no fan of England :-(. However, his career meant we lived and worked in Australia, London and Singapore before he insisted on returning to NZ. I am increasingly grateful in lots of ways - it's comparatively very safe here in an increasingly troubled world, and the internet has made the 'tyranny of distance' much less of a barrier. (That's a phrase from the days when living in NZ felt like living at the end of the earth, so remote from the rest of the world). We travel a lot though.
 
Mary, I've been around. LOL Born in PA, grew up in the Washington DC suburbs, was an exchange student in Canada, lived in West Texas when first married. Then it really started.

England, Thailand, Iran, Malwi, Bahrian. During those years of marriage, I also visited the rest of the United Kingdom except Wales, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Zambia, RSA, United Emirates & Sudan. eta: Forgot Bahamas, Jordan and Syria

After a divorce, and later remarriage, I've traveled with my current husband around the US and only need Idaho, Minnesota, Montana and the Dakotas to complete all 50 states. In addition to the above world countries, we've visited Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Mexico and Panama. There have also been 4 or so trips back to Italy, probably our favorite along with England.

I have a lot of old passports with a lot of stamps and a lot of memories.
 
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I was born in Minnesota and have lived in Iowa, Texas, Colorado and WA state. We have been in WA for 30 plus years and I'm a gypsy at heart so I'm ready for somewhere new. I've only been to Juaraz Mexico for a day. My big claim to an out of country connection is my Uncle lives in Panama and was in the military and traveled around. Oh and I took a trip by myself and traveled around North Carolina and Virginia last year.
 
Ah, Maureen @cookingmylife , how I would love that list! I love to travel and would love to see the entire world. Alas, I was born in Canada (Saskatchewan) and have lived here pretty much my whole life. As kids we travelled Canada and the US extensively by van. I have been to England, France, Monaco and Mexico but that list needs to gain length :) We went to Hawaii a couple years ago and are planning a big trip to the Eastern US/Florida this summer. The reality is that 8 of us as kids and now our family of 6 is expensive to travel - especially by air - so we will enjoy the area we're at.

Most of our family is nearby. I do have an aunt who used to live in Europe and my brother taught for a couple of years in the Middle East but that's about it. I do have one good friend who lives in New Zealand and I'd love to visit her one day, too.
 
I was born and raised right here in southern West Virginia. We did live in Atlanta for a couple of years while my dad was in Pharmacy school, and then in Virginia for a couple of years while he ran his own Pharmacy. I went away to college on the eastern side of Virginia for 4 years. I honestly haven't meant to be here this long lol. It's a beautiful place, but I really want to be farther south where it's a bit warmer and where there is a lot less snow. I might have moved earlier in life, but I divorced and had 2 children who I felt needed to stay close to family. Now that they are grown, I have too much time invested in where I work to leave until I can retire. I have three years until I can take full retirement and go if I want to go! I'm just trying to figure out what career path I want to take next and where! :) I have traveled all over most of the south eastern US, and several other states, as well as Mexico. My dream vacations are to Australia, New Zealand, and Greece.
 
Navy Brat here, I'm a bonafide PINK person, born in
San Juan, Puerto Rico!
then to Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Washington, Alaska (the Aleutian Island of ADAK), Japan, and then to California.
I joined the military, and went to San Antonio, Texas for boot camp, then to Denver, Colorado for Electronic school, more technical school in Biloxi, Mississippi and then sent to Alamogordo, NEW Mexico...
insert freaking out to live in desert!
I gave my life to Jesus Christ in 1988, and my heart changed to this town. I married my hubby in 1990, and he took to the call of Pastoring. We went to P'cola Florida for 2 years, then to Yuba City California for 3 years! I was able to go on a missionary trip to England and Scotland, and have gone numerous times to Mexico with our church events.

the top of my bucket list is Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands. Then to go and follow the Lewis and Clark route, from beginning to the end. I love love America and History, and would love to do a tour on Civil War sites too!
 
Anne, I live in Fredericksburg, Virginia, amongst lots of colonial and Civil War history. Specifically, I live in Chancellorville, right next to the battlefield.

I'm a third generation native of San Diego though. My young self would have been amazed to know I'd move across the country. My husband and I moved here for a job for him and cheaper housing.

I've also visited a few other places including 3 or 4 trips out of the country (depending on whether you count crossing the border from San Diego to Tiajuana, which I never did).

Here's my list.
1971 - born in San Diego, CA
1973 - moved to Lemon Grove, CA (county in San Diego; btw, parents still live in that house today!)
Late 70's and 1980's - traveled through several western states by car on several occasions, I only remember Nevada and Arizona but there were trips to Wyoming and others
1992 or 3 - day trip to Tiajuana, Mexico
1995 - moved to Studio City (Los Angeles) to live with my soon-to-be-husband; weekend in Seattle, WA and Xmas in New Jersey (and an evening game at Madison Square Garden during which I fell asleep so I really don't feel I've seen New York City)
1996 - moved to Glendale (Los Angeles)
1998 - Stockholm, Sweden for Xmas
1999 - Fredericksburg, VA for Xmas
2000 - Paris for a week, followed by a another week in Stockholm; then we moved across country to Fredericksburg, VA and have lived here in the same house ever since
2001 - visited Philadelphia by car
2006 - visited upstate New York by car
2007 - flew to Disney in Orlando, Florida
(We've also made several trips back to CA to visit my family since moving here; I was just listing new places).

I'm dreaming about driving cross country someday and would love to visit foreign countries too. I wish it weren't so expensive.
 
I did a fair bit of moving around from New York state to Erie PA, to university in Michigan (Go Spartans!), then married & living in a downriver Detroit burb. From there we did a 9 year stint in Memphis TN before moving to NE Wisconsin. It still amazes me that we've lived here for 28 years!

I've traveled through about 4/5 of the US and have been to Canada & Mexico, and a number of Caribbean locations. I've been to England once. I dream of traveling to so many countries; New Zealand is tops on my list (another LOTR fanatic).

Thanks to joining a non-store scrapbooking board back in 2005, I have hundreds of virtual friends across the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, England, Israel and have met quite a few in real life as well by going to scrap retreats around the US.
 
Here's mine....from birth to present. Been with hubby almost 18 years, 11 moves and 6 states. Colorado will be our 7th state and 12th move.
Hyde Park, MA – 4 years

Hemet, CA – 4 years

Jamaica Plain, MA - ? months

Easton, MA - 12 years

Randolph, MA – 3 months

Framingham, MA – 6 months

Stoughton, MA – 3 months

Danbury, CT – 9 months

Stoughton, MA – 6 months

Rio Rancho, NM – 7 months

San Bernardino, CA – 8 months

Lake Elsinore, CA – 2 years

Pace, FL – 4 years

Temecula, CA – 1 year

Livermore, CA – 1 year

Tracy, CA – 3 years

Silverdale, WA – 2 ½ years

Colorado – COMING SOON
 
Born in Perth, Western Australia and did little to no traveling until my eldest daughter turned eighteen and moved to the other side of the country! Spent a lot of time traveling backwards and forwards to Adelaide and then to Sydney to visit her over the next few years. Took my first overseas trip to the UK in 2010. Traveled to Sri Lanka on a work project in 2011 and returned to visit in 2012. I went back to London (love that city!) for a flying 1 week visit in 2013. I went to India for my nephew's wedding in Dec'14/Jan'15 - he lives in Bangalore, but we did a big tour while I was there. My daughter and her family have been in San Francisco on business for the last 6 months and I have visited twice in that time (First time I got to see Yosemite and second time I got to see Tahoe). One of my sons lives in the Philipines - and maybe I might get there one day.
So many places to see - so little time and money!!!
 
Born in Calcutta India and I thought I will stay there for the rest of my life:) how wrong I was ! I lived in Pune, India for a couple years . Met my husband in 2006 and things have been a whirlwind ever since :) have lived in CA for a year, Chicago and London for 3 years a piece and now in Mexico City since over a year. Everywhere we've been, we've taken the opportunity to travel and meet amazing people from different parts of the world. Internet and Whatsapp are the main mediums for being in touch with all and I'm very thankful for both technologies! :)
 
I was born in Michigan and spent about the first 18 months of my life in one house, then my parents bought their "dream home" for raising a family and that's where I spent the next 16 years of my life (until I moved for college).

DH went to U of Michigan for grad school... @bonnenuit forget your Spartans, LET'S GO BLUE! j/k I have no personal ties to either of those places lol, so we can life peacefully here rotfl ... I lived in 3 different places in about 5 years in Ann Arbor area, and then to Houston for about 5 years. Now we're in the East Coast area and this is probably where we'll be, unfortunately. My kids have lived in more places by the ages of 7 and 3 than I had lived until I was in my 20s. And I'd never lived outside of MI until then, either.

I went to college thinking I'd graduate and move to England. Meeting DH the first day we moved into our dorm ended that. And since we were "poor college students" we didn't go anywhere except when my parents took us to Mexico lol. Once he started grad school he didn't really have vacation time (he got paid a stipend but it was year-round school, not like he had the summers off) and kind of the same thing with his post doc in Houston.

Our honeymoon was 3 days in West MI cuz (1) we were poor college students and (2) we got married the Saturday before my senior year of college started. I missed the first 3 days of classes cuz I was on my honeymoon. :) We promised each other we'd travel, but again: grad school then post doc. We're only now at a place where we could save money to travel, but I'd rather buy a new sofa rotfl with that money! We've been doing little day trips and it's been nice, mostly cuz this area is new to us so we feel like we're getting to know our new home, the area where (apparently) our children will be raised--which really is important to us as parents, that they get to feel like they've got roots here. So maybe after DS stops napping we'll plan a big trip to Europe or something. I'd love to visit Australia and NZ, but I think we'd go to Europe and/or Asia for a bit and make our way to Australia. You know, to break up that 25 hours of plane riding!

Anyway, as far as traveling, I've been around the US but never more west than AZ. I've been to AZ, FL, MI, WI, MN, IL, OH, IN, WV, TN, LA, DE, PA, MD, NY, NJ (technically just through it on the way to New York lol), SD, IA, MO, KY, GA, and probably a few states I can't remember cuz I was young. :) Also I've been to the British Isles: Wales, England, Scotland, and Ireland (not Northern Ireland, though I'd love to visit Belfast one of these days). And as I said, I've been to Mexico, and I've been to Canada. When we lived in Houston I used to jokingly brag that I felt like the only Texan who'd been NORTH of the border! My dream vacay would be... basically anywhere lol simply cuz it's been a long time. My parents wanted to take us to Mexico this summer but I recently said "Thanks but no thanks." I'm just not ready to go to an all-inclusive resort with my 4 and 8 yos. If they were going to LEGOLand or something, then I'd be like YEAH! but alcohol and sun and water (my kids can't swim yet) with my kids and drunken parents and brother/SIL around seems like hell, not vacation. (I put it a little differently to my parents, and after they spent a few days here last month I asked my mom "Do you reeeeeally want to go to Cancun with these two?" and she looked at me and was like "Uhhhhhh" lol!) I'd love to go to Boston. Actually, I'd really love to go to Vermont and tour Ben and Jerry's! :drool (But I promise not to drool on anyone else's ice cream!)

@AnneofAlamo reading that Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands is on top of your Vacation Bucket List made me giggle. I absolutely hated that trip. I was 16 when we went and I made it very clear that I didn't want to go on a road trip to South Dakota. "Why would I want to see faces carved into rock?" is a quote my mom throws back at me when I'm being difficult. (I was a very good kid, but that trip, to a 16yo woman who hates the outdoors, seemed like torture.) I stood outside the entrance, arms crossed, and just glared at my parents. I ended up seeing it, and guess what? I still think it wasn't worth it. :evillaugh But I'm not trying to discourage you from going. If you want to go, then I think you'll enjoy it! That's what's so great about the big ol' USA: lots of things to do for everybody! The Badlands were stunning but my mom only planned like a 30 minute stop there, basically to get a pic to say "we've been here!" so that was a bummer simply cuz we didn't spend time at the only thing I liked.

@MrsPeel look look look, Cynthia! I wrote a lot! :giggle
 
@Tree City look at you type!! I think this is a double pager waiting to happen! and I went to New England at 16 with my parents, and was such a stick in the mud...bhhha We took our kids, my oldest was 16 to California, and into San Francisco (my favorite city) and he read a book the whole time! argh! lol
 
:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl

@Tree City Sara... I love you and have I said (maybe a million and 3 times???!!!!??? how happy I am top have you back here? I m posting a couple of pages I made but saw this and couldn't NOT say something... will come later if I get a rest to reply.... and read what you write of course!!!!!!!!!!

My story is quiet long so I need to clear my mind and concentrate for that, it will be when I take my meds next time :)
Love it that you posted this @~Mary ... wasn;'t it you that said quit smoking with vaping? e gigs? I wanted to know which ones you used....anyway, wont hack this thread, will be back later!! :)
 
I was born in South Carolina and would probably have lived all of my life in the tiny town I grew up in, but I went to college in the upstate and met my husband who is now a chaplain in the military. I went on mission trips during college to Nasheville, TN and Washington, DC. Since becoming an active duty chaplain, my husband and I have lived in Kentucky (Ft Campbell), Germany (Baumholder), Virginia (Ft. Lee near Richmond), South Carolina (Ft. Jackson), El Paso, TX (Ft Bliss) and now Kansas (Ft Leavenworth near Kansas City). While living in El Paso, we traveled to New Mexico, Arizona, and California. I would love to travel more outside the United States. My husband has been deployed to Iraq twice and will be stationed in Korea for a year beginning this summer. I'm excited to see where life takes us in the future. :)

Oh, and I LOVED reading all of your lists! So fun to see where everyone else has lived and traveled!!
 
I've lived in California my whole life. I was born in San Francisco, California because they had the only hospital for preemies back then. I grew up 27 miles south in Redwood City. I lived within two blocks of the maternal & paternal grandparents. My parents had grown up as neighbors. I spent a lot of time at my Aunt & Uncle's in Santa Cruz, CA. They had farm animals & I learned to drive a tractor at age 10. My older cousin Nathan was like my big brother. When I was 15 years old, I was a student ambassador in China. I took one course at the Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I spent time in China, Japan, and Hong Kong. All places I would love to visit again, with my family. As a teenager, I spent a lot of time in Oxnard, CA. My cousin Noemi is in a wheelchair & they would fly me in to keep her company. We were really close. At 16, my cousin and I went to Boston, MA to tour where the New Kids on the Block grew up. We met Mark Wahlberg on that trip! I was married in Reno, Nevada at 23 & we moved to Burlingame (closer to San Francisco). After 3 years, we moved to San Bruno, 3 miles north of Burlingame. My mom still lives in Redwood City and we both work at the same hospital in Redwood City. My dad's brother still lives in the house where they grew up in Redwood City. My favorite vacation spot is San Diego, CA. I usually go in February when the weather is dreamy. I want to take the kids to Boston for the Thomas the Tank Engine theme park. I think my husband & older son would love all the historical sites. So to recap, I've been in 3 states and visited 3 different countries.
 
It's fun to see where everyone has lived and travelled! I can't even imagine moving as many times as some of you have over the years!

As for me, I've travelled quite a bit (Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska, the US East Coast, etc.) but I've never lived anywhere other than New Jersey. Four places total - my parents house until college and then on-campus housing at Rutgers University. I moved back home for a year after school and then I bought my grandmother's house when she passed away. I was there for 12 years. My sister lived with me for a while and then my husband moved in. We bought our current house in 2011 and we love it here! My husband jokingly refers to it as his "feet first" house - meaning he's staying here until he dies and he's carried out "feet first". We also have a house on Cranberry Lake in the Adirondacks, which is where we spend a lot of time in the summer. And I have a long list of places in the states and abroad that I still want to visit someday!
 
I was born on an military base in Masset, which is on the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia, Canada. When I was 2 my dad was stationed in Bermuda and we lived there for 2 years. Moved back to Canada when I was 4, lived in Ottawa (the capital of Canada) for 2 years then my dad retired from the military. We moved to his home town, Vernon, BC. Lived there until I was 8 then we moved to Kamloops, BC where I live now. It's in the interior of BC and the only desert in Canada! Gets super crazy hot in the summer. I went to University in Victoria, (on the Vancouver Islands) for 4 years then came back to Kamloops where I have lived ever since. It's my home. We have around 120 thousand people so not a big city, but big enough to have all the amenities and we are surrounded by mountains, forests, desert, lakes and rivers and it's only a 3 hour drive to Vancouver and the Ocean. I would LOVE to travel, Europe, New Zealand and Australia are my destinations of choice but DH has zero interest in travelling so I'll have to wait until the kids are a bit older and go with friends. We are planning to ride across Canada to Ontario this summer on the harley for a wedding my DH's hometown (small French village in Northern Ontario) so that will be amazing. It's always been a dream of mine to go across Canada aside from in a plane. It will take us 3-4 days depending on how much we stop to get to Ontario. Cannot wait!

What an awesome post! I LOVE reading about where everyone is from and has been. Super cool!
 
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