People who went out of state for college: Did you move back to your home state afterward?

25 comments

1. No. I live in California now and I’ll be damned if I ever have to move back to Missouri.

   Other people are happy there, but I never was, and every time I go back to visit I’m reminded of why I never will be.

2. You can move any where you want. It’s the beauty of America. If you you want to go home to practice go ahead.

3. No, but I knew pretty confidently that Idaho was not the place I wanted ever wanted to be again.

4. yes, that wasn’t my intention when I started college but I graduated into the great recession and didn’t really have anywhere else to go

5. I did, yeah. I missed Washington terribly the whole time I was gone, even though I have nothing but good things to say about my temporary home of Minnesota.

6. I did but moved back again

7. Technically, yes. When I started college, I was living in the state I was going to college. By the time I graduate, I was driving from Arkansas to the university.

8. Most people stay or go to a different city altogether for their first few years out of college. (Assuming that’s an option and they aren’t financially obligated to move back home.)

   After 4 years, people have made social ties to their new city. Also, your alma mater likely has local networking benefits to help with job hunting and placement – if you move away, you’ll be on your own with that.

9. I did move back home to California. Indiana was not for me… loved my little liberal arts college, but I missed the beach and the diversity. Being the only Asian in the room back in the 2000s was not fun.

10. I went to grad school in Georgia and planned on staying down south after graduation but I moved back up to Massachusetts two weeks after I got my diploma in hand.

    The cultural, religious, and political differences were just too much for me .

11. Only briefly. Didn’t have a job right out of graduation so I kind of had to.

    Going away to college 1500 miles away really opened my eyes to how small the world really is these days, so the second I found another opportunity to fuck off somewhere else I took it.

12. Yes, but I went from NYC to Boston for my BA then back to NYC for my JD. Not exactly a big move, region-wise.

13. Yep, I would’ve loved to stay in Connecticut, but I found a job near my hometown and I don’t plan on leaving. Most of my friends from school are from New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey so I always have an excuse to go back to CT

14. I grew up in Chicago area, went to college in Atlanta and stayed for a couple years after graduating, and then moved back to Chicago where I’ve remained for 20+ years

15. I grew up nearish DC, went to college in NC, stayed for about a year after graduation, then moved to DC. The field I was working in at the time had a lot more opportunities in DC, plus I had a lot of friends up there.

16. No. I fell in love with the state I went to school in.

17. Yeah, I did. I never really wanted to leave in the first place but I’m glad I did for the experiences. I think that’s important growing up rural so you “bring something back.” Between undergrad and grad and summer internships I think I was in four cities in four states in two distinct regions of the country. Plus lots of visits to other places on various trips.

    The fairly intact ecosystem I inhabit keeps rural, plus the lack of commute.

    Among my graduating class there a few people that never left, a lot that left and came back, and a lot that left for good.

18. I did. Truthfully, it’s just easier to be around your friends and family. I’m still in-state, mainly by chance, but by virtue of it being my home state, it had a higher chance of being my landing spot than anywhere else.

    That is to say, whenever I considered leaving or tried to leave, in the back of my head I always thought I could go home.

19. I did, for work and graduate school. Of course I went to school in Maine so it wasn’t a major move, but I didn’t end up in Portland or Boston like 90% of the people I graduated with.

20. I did. I only went to school in Rhode Island so it wasn’t a huge move, and I stuck around for a few years, but eventually the exponentially larger job market in Boston won out.

21. I went to the next state over. I moved back when I graduated. Later I moved to another state entirely.

    My sister went to school in 2 different states but moved back to our orignal state eventually.

22. I went to the east coast. I didn’t move back to Indianapolis but moved back to Chicago which isn’t too far.

23. Yes, and then I gtfo as soon as I could… realistically my flair should be NJ->NC->NJ->TX->FL

24. I did briefly sort of move back to my home state.

    I grew up in central Ohio, went to college in Michigan, and then lived in Toledo for a couple years after I graduated but was working in Michigan at the time and commuting 3 hours a day to and from work. I moved back to Michigan as soon as I was able to.

25. Yes. My husband was in my home state.