Has anybody never left their home state?

[corco]

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.

[Sykotyk]

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.

[KG909]

I have a friend that never has left Southern California.

[dfwmapper]

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.

[NE2]

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.

[empirestate]

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?

[riiga]

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.  Unless state = nationstate, and then I've obviously left Sweden a few times.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Same for me, with the bonus of having never been to the US .

[bulldog1979]

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.

[signalman]

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.

[dfwmapper]

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.

[DevalDragon]

When I lived in Texas, it was not uncommon to meet people that had never left the county they lived in.

[empirestate]

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.

[freebrickproductions]

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.

[xotoxi]

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 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.)

[sandiaman]

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

[SSOWorld]

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.