I was born in Texas while my dad was stationed in Beeville. I lived here a total of 18 months before we moved. We continued to move even after he left the Navy. At the age of 14, I became a resident of Las Vegas with a population of 250,000. Telling people you went to high school and college in Las Vegas always gets a response. No one can quite believe it. When I left Nevada in 1982, I felt Las Vegas was home.
Now after almost 30 years in Dallas, it is home but the funny thing is when I’m in Texas and I’m asked where is home, I say Las Vegas. But when I’m in Las Vegas, as I am now, I tell people home is Dallas. When does one move from being a transplant and truly feeling like you belong to a single place?
Having moved multiple times between ages 9 and 14, I feel like I lack the long term roots so many people have. So my question is what is home to you? Is it length of time in a place, family, birthplace, love of a place?
When do I move from feeling like a transplant to feeling like I’m home?