I meet a lot of people – at work, yoga, in local or office buses and otherwise.
One thing that is a conversation starter for me is – ‘where do you come from?’ Like they say in the South of India, my intent is to know about their native. Their hometown.
Why so?
I love listening to people and the journeys that they have taken to reach where they are today. It’s inspirational to know that they started miles away from home many years ago, to study, make a career or it was just life playing games. Whatever may be the reason – it speaks to me on a different level when I meet people who had roots at one place and grew at another.
So whether you are a follower, reader or a lurker – share with me where did you start and where are you today in the comments below.
Writing for MicroblogMondays#132 and tagging the picture to MundaneMondays#99.
happiness and food 
Great idea, Parul! I grew up in Gloucester, Massachusetts (US), but currently live 90ish minutes away in Durham, New Hampshire. I seem to have two sets of roots – I feel such an attachment for my hometown, and at the same time for this area where I went to college (and my husband grew up – funnily enough, not how I met him!). We’ve lived in both locations at various times with our children, and if it were ever possible, I’d want to own houses in both places!
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Very interesting! It happens. Thank you dot sharing about your roots.
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A lot of people gets suspicious when questioned about their home town or native place. I prefer to look around for other safe topic, say arrival of train here in this case before throwing some other questions. Nice choice of topic to write on.
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You are right! That could be true. Train timing, weather, shows or movies are good conversation starters.
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Same with my case too , this is my favorite conversation starter . I love to know about people here in US. How they landed up here?
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Good to know. It’s fun. Thank you for stopping by.
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Hey i started in a small town called Dhanbad and today i live in a city called Gurgaon.!!! Thiugh its been 6 years in gurgaon still i feel lost out here as if i do not belong here!!!
AllThatsMom
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That’s a great conversation starter! I currently live in my hometown of Mesa, which is a bit unusual in Arizona. Lots of people move in and out, so people are surprised to find out I was born here.
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I grew up in England, but left for good at age 23 and have lived in a few countries before landing here in Dublin, ROI. I feel like I have no roots anywhere. It’s a strange feeling.
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It’s indeed. But that’s how life is. Isn’t it?
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This is something I always loved to talk about- Sorry in advance if I overdo
I started with this Beautiful city, Panchkula- sharing boundaries with Chandigarh- completed my Bachelors from land of Mahabharata (Kurukshetra), joined a Central government Job in Pilani (Rajasthan) but soon realized that its for me: It was a slow moving Job with mostly male Scientists who preferred to teach Males rather than us. I shifted my Domain to IT and joined MNC in Mumbai- which is the most memorable time of my Career. I loved everything about Mumbai. Then Marriage happened and I took transfer to Gurgaon.
3 months later, I decided to quit my Job to be with my Spouse here in Panchkula. My friends advised me not to resign but I did not budge. Here I am after 4 years, continuing with my IT job near my Home, living with my Family. I feel like I belong here. A line which I always hum “Jeena yahan marna yahan, iske siwa jana kahan”
Paycheck is less but the satisfaction is more. Lets see whats next in the ride.
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Wow! That’s full circle for you and so very interesting to know your story. VT is from kurukshetra and we visit once a year for Diwali. I’ve also lived in Mumbai for 6 months though unlike you, I did not enjoy my stay.
I think life makes us move, but we need to find happiness with each move and I see you have done a great job there. That’s for sharing. Means a lot 🙂
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Among my friends from school I was the only one who moved to a different place (within Kerala itself) for engineering. Later I moved to Bangalore for work and then Phoenix with hubby and to U.K. And now back in Phoenix. My school friends are still working in Trivandrum. I’m the lost sheep. But I kind of love this experience even though at times I feel lost. 😊 Such a simple question you got there, Parul, but it triggers a sea of memories. 😊
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I’m from DC and still live in the area. It’s a funny question here because so few people are actually from this area. Most people move here for a government job. Everyone assumes you’re not from here, therefore the question of this area is more “what do you do?” vs. “where are you from?”
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It all started in Silchar where I was born. Grew up in Shillong, moved to Gorakhpur for B.Tech & then came here to Banglore which has been home for almost 10 years now. What I am today is a sum total of my experiences in all these places.
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I have always been a Mumbaikar though the roots are in Kerala. Being in cosmopolitan Mumbai has exposed me to various cultures, languages, religions. I respect them all and always eager to own them too. I stay only an hour away from the place I was raised. So not much difference.
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Interesting topic, Parul. Yes, I do that to start a conversation too, a lot of the time. Amazing no how we start somewhere and end up in a totally different place. I’ve lived and grown up in so many places that I don’t have a place to call my native. However, I do have a sense of belonging to every city and town that I have lived in, so I can easily feel I belong to all those 9 different cities scattered all over the world. Amazing feeling, yes!
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I am an Army Brat so I am from all over the country. traveled to almost all states in India and Now in Gurgaon but moving soon 🙂 Secundrabad calls!!
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Despite being a Naval kid I didn’t travel as much as most Service Officers’ kids do and lived mainly in Pune ( where I was born) and Mumbai. I was briefly in Goa and have seen much of the world but at the end of the day, I am from Bombay which has been my home for the last 36 years!
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I am from Odisha- Bhubaneswar .. born and brought up in Bhubaneswar, schooling in three different cities in Odisha, learned culture and dialect of all of those towns… now in Bhubaneswar.. time will tell where i’ll move to next… 🙂
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I grew up in the same county where I’m living now – Berks County, Pennsylvania (USA). My parents still live in my childhood home on the farm where my dad grew up and where my grandmother moved with her family during the Great Depression when she was only 2 years old. I was the fourth generation of my family to live on the same farm. I shifted around a bit after high school, but eventually bought a house in the city about 30 minutes south of the farm. I have lived in my home for 10 years now. I’m pretty rooted in this area, I guess you could say. 🙂
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It is a good conversation starter 🙂 Where do I come from? Born in Mumbai, lived in Oman till I was 9, back to Mumbai till I was 21, then to Sydney, Australia and in the last five months, to the Central Coast in NSW, Australia 🙂 Where do you come from Parul?
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That’s super cool Sanch! Well, I have a post on that 🙂 From east of UP to now South of India – a couple of cities in between.
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You must be knowing that I am from Kerala and I am still in Kerala. 😉
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Ha ha! I do 🙂 thank you!
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What a terrific thing to ask – its a great icebreaker and also gets a person to open up.
My birth place is Jaipur (am a Marwari on dad’s side) where I spent a few formative years , then moved to Jammu (my mom’s native place) and then to Delhi for work, Bangalore as an experiment and now currently embedded in Gurgaon!!! How about you Parul??
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That’s a great way to connect with people and in fact, people love to tell their stories. I lived in different states while growing up, changed 9 schools (which I always brag about) 😋… Out of that spent most of the years in different places in Assam. Worked in Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata and now in Sydney 😀
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I’m totally like this as well. My wife thinks I’m being nosy when I ask this and I had some people tell me that they thought it was “racist” in some way. That nuts! Like you I like to hear the stories about people’s journeys and what it’s like where they came from. Also since I’ve traveled quite a bit, if I’ve been where they came from then it gives another conversation connection.
Currently I live in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, but in my life I’ve lived in and traveled to many places throughout North America.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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Hey, I love your conversation starter! I think it’s a great way to get to know someone – and I’m sure that the person you are asking is more than happy to share.
I was born in Missouri, USA, but moved to Minnesota within a year of my birth because my mother and father’s families both resided there. I have been in Minnesota ever since. My ancestors have been here since the late 1800’s when they emigrated from Sweden.
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Wow! Guess what? Last July I was in Minneapolis and the two weeks I spent there, I loved it. You will see a couple of blog posts from my work trip. 🙂
Nice to meet you!
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I am from a small town in the Irish midlands. I spent eight years in Galway, two in Essex a summer in the US and a summer in South America.
Now I am in a small townland in the Irish midlands- less than 10 km from where I started!
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Interesting to know. I’m over 2000 kms from where I started. Ireland is beautiful, isn’t it?
Thanks Fancy for stopping by!
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Born and brought up in Birmingham UK, to Kenyan born parents of Indian heritage! And currently living in Kent, UK after marriage. My brother and his family have settled in Finland!
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I too love to hear about people’s origins, where they come from and why they are now wherever they are.
I’m afraid my story is a little different. I am 33 and have always lived in the same house in a small town in Norfolk, England. Partly due to me liking the area and partly due to my disability making moving more of a challenge. I do love visiting places, but am also always happy to come home.
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I’ve heard England is beautiful. If I were there, I would not move too. I’m glad you stopped by! Hugs!
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This is an awesome idea! I love it. I come from the midwest in the USA. Michigan to be exact and I still live here even though I complain about the winters. I love the fact that we have all four seasons and I right now I don’t want to live anywhere else. However, I love to travel and visit new and exciting places.
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I wish I could say that for myself. Over a period of time, I have started loving the changes each city brings. I’ve lived in Bangalore, India now for 12 years and I would love to move 😉
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I love reading all these answers.
I grew up in a small village in Cambridgeshire, UK. I always thought it was boring until I lived in Japan for a few years. That made me appreciate the beauty of the architecture and countryside back home. Japan was an amaaaazing place to live, I especially loved the opportunities to get into the mountains. After Japan, I live in London for about 10 years, and now I am starting a new life in Canada. I love all of these places, but for different reasons and in different ways.
People often ask where I am from in Japan and Canada as I look or sound different. So, I can understand why some people are not keen on the question. I don’t mind it, but I can see why it can be alienating.
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