Native or Gone Native?

[jackfaire]

I was talking to a fellow city dweller yesterday and we were talking about how much we love the city we live in and around.

I have been in this area since I was 7 years old so I know it pretty well and when friends get lost or have to find some obscure address and can't figure out how the streets work they call me.

Now the person I was talking to said, "It's nice to meet another Native"

Now to my mind I agreed with his assessment of me as a native because for the most part I grew up here. But what's your opinion think of your city, town etc.

What would make someone a native how young would they have to be when they move there to be a native or is there any way they can Go Native.

Let me know.

EDIT :

Since I already post my location I am referring to Portland, for those who live there, not Vancouver. As I work and play in the area and will live there again ASAP.

[HYHYBT]

Well, of course it's a matter of degree, and it also depends on where you are. Where I live is my home town because I've lived here since about the age of 1... but I consider myself native because Mom was from here. (So was Grandma, and so were her parents... but I'd say one parent is enough to qualify.)

Though it's not a difference I've particularly thought about before.

[bhskittykatt]

I consider myself pretty native to the area, even though I was born on the other side of the country (moved here when I was 2), and spent five years (ages 5-10) about an hour south of here.

I don't know how to really define "native". For me, this is the only place I really know. If you take me back to my birth town, I'd be a fish out of water. I know nothing about it, really I only have a vague idea of where it is located geographically (it's in North Carolina...somewhere...). Where I'm at now is where I was raised (mostly), and it's the place I know.

On the flip side, Hubs still considers himself "native" to SoCal where he was born and mostly raised, but he hasn't been there in at least a decade. If he were to go back now to his old hometown, it would probably be very different. He doesn't "know" the place, at least not in its current state. So is he still considered "native"?

I really have no clear answer.

(Or, maybe there's a difference between "native" and "local"?)

[Gravekeeper]

I've on the west coast for 21 years now. But locals still point at me and hiss "Witchcraft!" in the winters when I walk by in a t-shirt.

I can't help it, I was born in the middle of the god damn Atlantic. Being exothermic is all that kept me alive as a child. ;p

[jackfaire]

I've on the west coast for 21 years now. But locals still point at me and hiss "Witchcraft!" in the winters when I walk by in a t-shirt.

I lived in Montana until I was 7. I don't fit in very well in Montana but my cold tolerance means I can comfortably wear shorts most of the winter.

[Gravekeeper]

I lived in Montana until I was 7. I don't fit in very well in Montana but my cold tolerance means I can comfortably wear shorts most of the winter.

I grew up on an island in the Atlantic and then shipped over to the opposite coast to a city where they're surprised when it snows. >.>

[HYHYBT]

Ah, OK, that makes sense. It sounded for a moment like you were born at sea....

[telecom_goddess]

Ah, OK, that makes sense. It sounded for a moment like you were born at sea....

I know it did didn't it?

As for me I was born in the SF Bay Area, Oakland to be exact and I consider myself to be a native of the Bay Area, even though I've lived in Oregon now for over half my life. I don't consider myself a native to Oregon.

[BrenDAnn]

For me, my mother and father and their families all lived and worked here, in the town I'm in. In fact, I'm fairly certain my mother lived on this very property from birth to death, give or take a few moves around town...not in the same house, mind you...just the same property that the house I'm in is on now. I myself have lived in this same house my entire life. So, yes, I consider myself native to this particular town and area. I do agree though that it is perhaps up to each person's perception as to what native is, exactly.

[aurelemsrealm]

I've never thought about it in those terms. I think it's a matter of being where you are comfortable. I live a couple of states away from where I grew up. I like living in this area, but a lot of the locals complain about living here. A lot of the locals around my hometown complained about living there, but I really didn't mind it since it was all I knew before I moved out on my own. I've lived other places where I never felt at home, and often felt homesick while I was there. I've been here five years, and have never really felt that sense of homesickness. There are times I miss my family and friends, but I still feel at home here.