I assume that everybody on this board has been to at least two states, but there are some children on here who might not have. I can see if you lived in, say, LA, you might not have ever left California or if you lived in central Texas or Montana, or Alaska or Hawaii you might not have been to more than one state. Do you know anybody who has only been to one state? Foreign countries don't count.
Not a chance in our family. Our eldest son had been to or through nine US states and three Mexican states by the time he turned three. We moved from Illinois to Kansas when he was three weeks old. He'll be getting his second passport soon, and he's only seven years old.
We did wait a little longer with the youngest, I guess. He just left Kansas for the first time with us on Saturday, at five months old (downtown KCMO, not all that exotic).
I don't personally know anybody that has never traveled to another state, everyone here seems to have that 1 family member that lives multiple states away that can never seem to make it here so they go there to visit. Couple that with the large military presence here and there are many trips to the different recruit training centers for the different branches of service for Basic training/Boot Camp graduations as our kids all seem to want to join up.
It seems that the split is about 50/50 among my co-workers as to who is from here, and who moved here from somewhere else.
Around here, almost everyone has been to at least two states, with Wyoming being so close. People just have to travel more in this part of the world.
I never left New Jersey as far as living and working is concerned (since coming here from Russia that is), though I went to school and college in Philadelphia. I've lived and/or worked in Cherry Hill (Camden County), Clark (Union County), Woodbridge and Edison (Middlesex County), Morristown (Morris County), Evesham (Burlington County), and Egg Harbor Township (Atlantic County), but never in any other state.
Quote from: bzakharin on February 18, 2015, 10:15:00 AM
I never left New Jersey as far as living and working is concerned (since coming here from Russia that is), though I went to school and college in Philadelphia.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fphilly.barstoolsports.com%2Ffiles%2F2012%2F11%2Ffamily-feud-x2.png&hash=b99a2f6db7f655bc79586e15d5e4f508a2b134ca)
I can't say I know anybody who has never left their home state. Both places that I have called home are relatively close to state borders (Davenport is right on the Mississippi, Valpo is within an hour from both Illinois and Michigan).
Since I lived in Florida I can actually count all the times I have left the state. Living in New Jersey, I have visited New York and Pennsylvania so many times I could never count them.
In 2014 I never left Florida at all, because things were tight for me. Then in 2015, so far I have not left the state. My last time out of Florida was in 2013 when I visited my friend who used to live in Houma, LA.
In 2012, I left Florida twice. Went to Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas in a road trip landing at Hobby and stopping at ATL to switch flights (I guess you can add GA to the list as well), and traveled home to New Jersey another time visiting both PA and NY, flying into to PHL.
Previous years up until 2004, I only left the state once per year except in 2010 where I drove to NOLA (as my latest flickr updates have the photos) passing through AL and MS on the way, and and going for an overnight trip to Dothan, AL in March of 2010 only going into AL from Florida.
The thing also to note is that in Orlando, you are a day's drive from many places in Florida that you do not have to leave the state to take a short trip or vacation. Just to get to NOLA from Orlando, most of your drive there is in Florida alone. Then Key West which is seven to eight hours away from where I live, is all in one state. When I lived in NJ to go from Clark where I lived to Richmond, VA was the same as from Orlando to Key West, but 3 states lied in between the 4th one that Richmond is in. Five if I went through DC, as for sake of leaving the state the District of Columbia counts as a state, as many times I would use I-295 or use the NY Avenue and I-395 route to avoid circling around the infamous Capital Beltway
I bet I can find one of my Hillbilly relatives that has not but I'd have to ask. Since most live near Cincinnati I bet they have all been at least to KY or IN. In our big family most are road warriors.
When I taught school I was very surprised at how many had never left the state some not even the county. Even at the high school level.
My wife has a cousin in Texas who has NOT left Texas, save attending our wedding, and is now in his late 20s. Our wedding was the first time he left Texas. But as far as people who have never left a state, period? I can't think of anyone I know.
Granted, Texas encompasses a pretty large area, but still!
I would think it would be nearly impossible for a life-long New Jersey resident to have never left New Jersey. No matter where you are in the state, you are no more than 1.5 hours from either New York City or Philadelphia. As a kid many of our school class trips went to Philly, and a few even went to Baltimore. I'm sure kids north of Trenton would've taken a class trip to New York City. So even if an adult never leaves the state, as a kid they probably did.
On the other hand, I could understand if someone in New York City has never left New York City. Everything one would need would be no further than a subway ride away.
If you're poor enough, you can very easily not leave your state. You hear stories–I don't know how true–of people in South Boston back in the day turning this into a point of pride and frowning upon leaving the neighborhood ever.
I was out of the contest on the way home from the hospital. Born in Chattanooga, TN and lived in NE AL. Depending on my parent's route home, may also have picked up GA on the way.
I work with someone who, until he moved to Omaha, had never been outside Nebraska. He grew up in Grand Island and never had much reason to leave until his brother moved here. He liked it so much he stayed.
I don't know of anyone, personally, but since Indiana and Wisconsin are so close here, it makes it easy to go to at least one other state for most.
I worked with a girl who hadn't but she was only 16. I think she's 30 now. Funny part was living in Saint Paul and never making it to Wisconsin.
Betting there could be some here in Austin being so large and so far to any border
Quote from: clong on February 18, 2015, 01:03:24 PM
I was out of the contest on the way home from the hospital. Born in Chattanooga, TN and lived in NE AL. Depending on my parent's route home, may also have picked up GA on the way.
I'm in the same boat, born in DE but lived just across the line in MD.
Well, I was born in Orlando, so I've been to at least every state on the I-95 corridor from Florida to New Jersey - but past that, my only travels have mainly been to Pennsylvania (as of semi-recently) and New York City. The only exceptions I've had was my Holocaust Museum field trip in 11th grade where I got to experience more of Maryland and the District of Columbia.
I was born in the Bay Area of California, and my first out-of-state trip was when I was 5 to Reno, NV. When I turned 7, we made a trip to Victoria, B.C., so we hit up Oregon and Washington. When I was 8, we went to Yellowstone and ultimately the Badlands of South Dakota.
Has anybody never left their home state?
In NYC you meet a lot of people who claim to have never left the city.
Or even more unlikely, someone that has never been to a state.
Anybody growing up in DC that wants to take on that challenge?
Quote from: Ray_Stantz on February 18, 2015, 06:12:48 PM
Or even more unlikely, someone that has never been to a state.
Anybody growing up in DC that wants to take on that challenge?
I don't know if you read here before you posted, but there are a few overseas users here, and one of them will likely qualify.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on February 18, 2015, 06:21:46 PM
Quote from: Ray_Stantz on February 18, 2015, 06:12:48 PM
Or even more unlikely, someone that has never been to a state.
Anybody growing up in DC that wants to take on that challenge?
I don't know if you read here before you posted, but there are a few overseas users here, and one of them will likely qualify.
I know that, but I was following the OP: "Foreign countries don't count."
Quote from: GCrites80s on February 18, 2015, 05:41:48 PM
In NYC you meet a lot of people who claim to have never left the city.
Not even to walk up the Statue of Liberty once?
Quote from: GCrites80s on February 18, 2015, 05:41:48 PM
In NYC you meet a lot of people who claim to have never left the city.
I used to work with someone who grew up in Brooklyn and despite being in her mid-20s had only been to three states (NY, NJ, PA), and had been to the latter two only once on a trip to the Poconos. Close, but not quite.
Legitimately answering the original question, an old friend of mine had an ex who, when he met her (they were both 19) had never even left the county she grew up in, let alone the state. It was a rural county in Ohio and her family never traveled anywhere non-local because they lacked the means or the need. Then he took her to Chicago and her world kind of turned upside down. :-D
Quote from: kkt on February 18, 2015, 07:20:54 PM
Quote from: GCrites80s on February 18, 2015, 05:41:48 PM
In NYC you meet a lot of people who claim to have never left the city.
Not even to walk up the Statue of Liberty once?
A big high-five to you for that one!
Quote from: GCrites80s on February 18, 2015, 05:41:48 PM
In NYC you meet a lot of people who claim to have never left the city.
I can't remember the title, but I recall seeing an old movie where the protagonist gets into an argument with a crusty New York cop on the beat (something having to do with the South, I believe), and the officer grunts "I've never been south of the Battery."
I met someone once who never had left their county. But it was Maui county, Hawaii.
Since the thread seems to have drifted to "What was the second state you visited?"–well, I can't remember, because I was born in PA but we moved from the state before I formed any memories there. We moved to NY, but surprisingly that's not the earliest state I have memories from; I can distinctly recall some moments that happened during a visit to MA that took place before we moved out of PA. Such a visit was probably the first time I left my native state, and to get there the first state along the route was certainly NJ.
So, my second state was apparently NJ.
My parents took my on a trip backpacking in the Grand Tetons when I was about 6 months old. Not sure of the route we took to get there, so my second state might have been either Oregon or Nevada.
On the St. Louis meet, those of us who ventured across the ferry found a town where the locals never left that part of Illinois.
I've been living in Louisiana ever since I immigrated to the US in 1978 (Lafayette from 1978-1987 and Metairie since 1987).
If you mean I never left my home state to travel around, then no, I've been around the country.
http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/apjung.gif
http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/Canada/apjung.gif
Like everyone who responded, my answer to the OP is "no." Growing up in Muncie, IN, with relatives in Ohio, I'd presume my second state was Ohio.
Quote from: kkt on February 19, 2015, 12:35:48 PM
My parents took my on a trip backpacking in the Grand Tetons when I was about 6 months old. Not sure of the route we took to get there, so my second state might have been either Oregon or Nevada.
That makes me think of our first daughter, who was born in Mishawaka, IN. Her second state was Kentucky, which we visited on a short vacation to sites like Hodgenville (Lincoln's birthplace) and Mammoth Cave. Just about 12 weeks old, she was very happy in her Snuggly.
I grew up in a military family, which meant four different home states (NC, MN, VA, CA), plus passing through many others every time my father was transferred, before my 8th birthday.
Quote from: Ray_Stantz on February 18, 2015, 06:12:48 PM
Or even more unlikely, someone that has never been to a state.
Anybody growing up in DC that wants to take on that challenge?
Or anybody in NYC who has never been to Jersey?
Quote from: bugo on February 18, 2015, 08:26:19 AM
I assume that everybody on this board has been to at least two states, but there are some children on here who might not have. I can see if you lived in, say, LA, you might not have ever left California or if you lived in central Texas or Montana, or Alaska or Hawaii you might not have been to more than one state. Do you know anybody who has only been to one state? Foreign countries don't count.
Considering I was born in the United States, but not in a state, I suppose that makes things unique (I was born in the District of Columbia, but my family moved to Maryland when I was a little over 1 year old, so I have no memory of being a D.C. resident and I do not consider it my hometown).
I honestly don't know what my second state may have been. Has to be either Ohio, West Virginia or Tennessee. Indiana is an outside possibility.
Wonder what state has the highest percentage of residents who've never left their borders? My guesses would be Alaska or Hawaii.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 20, 2015, 10:43:14 PM
I honestly don't know what my second state may have been. Has to be either Ohio, West Virginia or Tennessee. Indiana is an outside possibility.
Wonder what state has the highest percentage of residents who've never left their borders? My guesses would be Alaska or Hawaii.
I bet not, those states both have lots of people who come from elsewhere or travel a lot. I bet one of the lower income states, probably in the southeast.
Having been born in Michigan, Ohio was my second state.
The first time my parents brought me back east to meet the rest of the family the first time in NJ/NY (mom says I was about 2 months old) we would have dropped down US-23 to Airport Hwy into Maumee to hit the Ohio Turnpike (we did that trip many times before we moved to the Chicago area when I was 10, so I remember the route).
Quote from: hbelkins on February 20, 2015, 10:43:14 PM
I honestly don't know what my second state may have been. Has to be either Ohio, West Virginia or Tennessee. Indiana is an outside possibility.
Wonder what state has the highest percentage of residents who've never left their borders? My guesses would be Alaska or Hawaii.
I'd be more interested in the other end, what state has the lowest percentage who have never left? My money is on Delaware.
Quote from: dfwmapper on February 21, 2015, 04:21:39 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on February 20, 2015, 10:43:14 PM
I honestly don't know what my second state may have been. Has to be either Ohio, West Virginia or Tennessee. Indiana is an outside possibility.
Wonder what state has the highest percentage of residents who've never left their borders? My guesses would be Alaska or Hawaii.
I'd be more interested in the other end, what state has the lowest percentage who have never left? My money is on Delaware.
Probably Rhode Island, I'd say.
Alaska and Hawaii probably have a large proportion of people born there who never left but a small proportion of those who currently live there who have never been elsewhere.
Quote from: thenetwork on February 20, 2015, 06:35:35 PM
Quote from: Ray_Stantz on February 18, 2015, 06:12:48 PM
Or even more unlikely, someone that has never been to a state.
Anybody growing up in DC that wants to take on that challenge?
Or anybody in NYC who has never been to Jersey?
I would think that a lot of people in NYC have never been to NJ. A lot of people in NYC don't have cars, so they would need to take a train or bus. And then what?
Quote from: kkt on February 21, 2015, 12:14:31 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on February 20, 2015, 10:43:14 PM
I honestly don't know what my second state may have been. Has to be either Ohio, West Virginia or Tennessee. Indiana is an outside possibility.
Wonder what state has the highest percentage of residents who've never left their borders? My guesses would be Alaska or Hawaii.
I bet not, those states both have lots of people who come from elsewhere or travel a lot. I bet one of the lower income states, probably in the southeast.
I'm thinking Texas would be up there.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 21, 2015, 08:51:59 AM
I would think that a lot of people in NYC have never been to NJ. A lot of people in NYC don't have cars, so they would need to take a train or bus. And then what?
Agreed. I run a gas station and convenience store. If I'm outside pumping gas I will often encounter a New Yorker who's never been to NJ and thus is not aware that they can't pump their own gas. I've also ever overheard New Yorkers saying something to whomever they're traveling with. "No, you have to wait for the man. They pump it for you in New Jersey."
Quote from: Thing 342 on February 21, 2015, 08:30:05 AM
Probably Rhode Island, I'd say.
Are you just basing that on size? Because I'm looking at factors that would enable people to remain in the state. Providence has far more in the way of cultural activities, sports, and other things you would expect a city the size of Providence to have. Delaware has beaches and other than that you're probably going to Philly or DC.
Quote from: empirestate on February 21, 2015, 08:53:31 AM
I'm thinking Texas would be up there.
Texas has one of the highest rates of inward migration of anywhere in the country. Would have to be somewhere that people aren't moving to. Ohio maybe.
Quote from: dfwmapper on February 21, 2015, 04:00:28 PM
Texas has one of the highest rates of inward migration of anywhere in the country. Would have to be somewhere that people aren't moving to. Ohio maybe.
It does, but it also has several very large metro areas, inhabited by a great many people without the resources to travel much, along with a great many small towns and rural areas that aren't within an easy distance of another state.
Has anybody looked for a study on this?
I was in 3 states the day I entered this country: Flew to NYC, then flew to Philadelphia (yes, really), then driven to NJ where we then lived. Don't recall when #4 happened. Probably on our drive to Boston 2 years later, which would mean it was Connecticut.
Either Indiana or West Virginia would have been my second state. We moved from Ohio to Illinois when I was nine months old and obviously drove through Indiana.
I'm not sure if we went down to see my Mom's family in Huntington WV prior to then after I was born or not- I'd guess yes, but not certain of it. There's also a chance that Kentucky was my second state- we sometimes went through Kentucky to get to Huntington from Columbus.
considering I was born in PA and while my parents lived in Ohio because it was the closest 'good' hospital, I'd have to say I never stood a chance to be in one state for long. Plus, I've lived within 30 miles of the PA/OH/WV borders my entire life.
I can't think of anyone I've met that I'm 100% certain hasn't been outside the state they started in. I knew one panhandler that said he was in prison for almost 20 years in Texas, and he's from Texas (Dallas), and had left Dallas after being released to go to Houston. Considering he was poor and 18 at the time of his crime, there's a good chance he never was in Oklahoma or Arkansas from Dallas. And without money or resources panhandling in Houston meant he probably hadn't made it out. Though, I'm not 100% certain where he was in prison. Was a nice guy, though.
I have a friend that never has left Southern California.
Quote from: empirestate on February 21, 2015, 07:31:51 PM
Quote from: dfwmapper on February 21, 2015, 04:00:28 PM
Texas has one of the highest rates of inward migration of anywhere in the country. Would have to be somewhere that people aren't moving to. Ohio maybe.
It does, but it also has several very large metro areas, inhabited by a great many people without the resources to travel much, along with a great many small towns and rural areas that aren't within an easy distance of another state.
Has anybody looked for a study on this?
But all but the absolutely poorest people in metro areas still have at least one car per household, because it's so impractical to live anywhere in Texas without a car. Even in areas that have transit, it's mostly geared toward commuters so the service levels in the evenings and on weekends are terrible. And if you have the car, getting somewhere else isn't that difficult. Of the 25 metro areas in Texas, 23 of them are within a 3 hour drive of either another state or Mexico (Bryan/College Station and Victoria being the only outliers, with San Angelo just barely making the cut). Those 23 areas account for over 80% of the population of Texas. Have to say that most of those people have probably been somewhere else. Have to think that somewhere in the northeast where people regularly live without cars would be more likely.
Quote from: dfwmapper on February 23, 2015, 02:57:01 AM
But all but the absolutely poorest people in metro areas still have at least one car per household, because it's so impractical to live anywhere in Texas without a car.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_with_most_households_without_a_car
Fort Worth just squeaks into #50.
Quote from: dfwmapper on February 23, 2015, 02:57:01 AM
Quote from: empirestate on February 21, 2015, 07:31:51 PM
Quote from: dfwmapper on February 21, 2015, 04:00:28 PM
Texas has one of the highest rates of inward migration of anywhere in the country. Would have to be somewhere that people aren't moving to. Ohio maybe.
It does, but it also has several very large metro areas, inhabited by a great many people without the resources to travel much, along with a great many small towns and rural areas that aren't within an easy distance of another state.
Has anybody looked for a study on this?
But all but the absolutely poorest people in metro areas still have at least one car per household, because it's so impractical to live anywhere in Texas without a car. Even in areas that have transit, it's mostly geared toward commuters so the service levels in the evenings and on weekends are terrible. And if you have the car, getting somewhere else isn't that difficult. Of the 25 metro areas in Texas, 23 of them are within a 3 hour drive of either another state or Mexico (Bryan/College Station and Victoria being the only outliers, with San Angelo just barely making the cut). Those 23 areas account for over 80% of the population of Texas. Have to say that most of those people have probably been somewhere else. Have to think that somewhere in the northeast where people regularly live without cars would be more likely.
It can certainly be more likely. I'm only saying Texas is "up there"; do you think it's not in the top ten or so?
Counting only my visit in the US I've been to three different states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, none of which are my non-existant home state. :-P Unless state = nationstate, and then I've obviously left Sweden a few times.
Same for me, with the bonus of having never been to the US :sombrero:.
I was born in Michigan, and my second jurisdiction visited as a baby or toddler was either Ontario or Wisconsin. I do remember visiting Ontario more frequently as a kid.
I'm guessing that the first state that I visited outside of my home state of New Jersey was either New York or Pennsylvania. I was born and raised in northern NJ, and I was never on a plane until I was 22. We did all of our traveling by automobile, so since NY and PA border NJ it seems plausible. I don't really have any recolections earlier than about 4. I do know that my parents didn't really travel much until I was 3 or 4 though. Once I began school, we took summer vacations every year. I visited many states, but by then I was certain that I had left NJ before.
Quote from: empirestate on February 23, 2015, 10:27:51 AM
It can certainly be more likely. I'm only saying Texas is "up there"; do you think it's not in the top ten or so?
Probably not. Too many people from somewhere else. If the question was limited to native-born residents of a state rather than just residents in general, that might be higher up the list.
When I lived in Texas, it was not uncommon to meet people that had never left the county they lived in.
Quote from: dfwmapper on February 24, 2015, 03:35:49 AM
Quote from: empirestate on February 23, 2015, 10:27:51 AM
It can certainly be more likely. I'm only saying Texas is "up there"; do you think it's not in the top ten or so?
Probably not. Too many people from somewhere else. If the question was limited to native-born residents of a state rather than just residents in general, that might be higher up the list.
Well now, that's a good point:
are we making such a limitation? Obviously, there'd be no point in asking a transplant if they'd left their home state, because they're already outside of it. But you'd then get a skewed picture of the "traveledness" of a state's residents. The result would be two subtly different questions, one being how easy is it to enter a state, and the other how difficult is it to leave.
The first state outside of Alabama that I visited when I was young was either Tennessee, Georgia, or Florida. I also remember staying in Virginia for about a year and visiting my dad when he was up in D.C. for about a year sometime later.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on February 18, 2015, 10:42:47 AM
Quote from: bzakharin on February 18, 2015, 10:15:00 AM
I never left New Jersey as far as living and working is concerned (since coming here from Russia that is), though I went to school and college in Philadelphia.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fphilly.barstoolsports.com%2Ffiles%2F2012%2F11%2Ffamily-feud-x2.png&hash=b99a2f6db7f655bc79586e15d5e4f508a2b134ca)
I have never left Maine (if you exclude the time period between age 18 and age 32...and other short time periods where I visited other places outside of the state.)
When my soon to be brother in law and I were both in our 20's, we were walking in South Lake Tahoe, CA and just before we got to Harrah's Club (casino) there was a sign saying" Nevada State Line ". He got real excited and said it was his first time out of his home state of California and it was a real big deal for him. I have met some other Californians who see no reason to ever leave their home state
Right now I could go into Illinois or Iowa pretty regularly being only 20 minutes from either. Younger year meant the UP (Michigan). For the half-year I lived in the LA area, yes technically I had no "second state" but I was in Arizona 3 times not counting the drives to and from CA from/to WI.