When are you considered to be a 'native' of a state? (medical, best)
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salbot, You're incorrect and a person can become a native if they move to a state as a young adult.
What are you talking about? A young adult being a native?
I moved to San Diego when I was 6 from Seattle and I’ve never called myself a San Diego or California native. I’ll say I’m from San Diego, because this is where I started 1st grade, and have lived my whole life except for my college years. But on the rare occasion when someone says that makes you a native I correct them.
You remind me of transplants I’d hear in my bar all the time in a very transient beach community. They’d ask each other “how long have you’ve been here”, and when someone would say anywhere from 5-10 years their response would be “well that just about makes you a native” WTF?
Native - Belonging to a particular place by birth
-Merriam-Webster dictionary
If you don’t have a birth certificate, you’re not a native. By definition.
There are places where even if you’re born there, you’re not considered to be a native by some people. Rural Vermont is like that. If your grandparents weren’t Vermonters, you’re not a “real” Vermonter. I imagine there is a lot of small town America that is like that.
Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn and moved down to North Carolina at age 5.
Yet he's universally recognized as being a native son of the Tar Heel state.
I know all the technicality stuff but in my opinion you can be a native of somewhere if you spend your early formative years there even if you're not actually born in that place.
The question simply is: when can you be considered to be "from a state"? Can you only say you are from the state where you grew up or upon moving to a state you can immediately say you are from that state? There's often a hazy line...do you have to be born in the state? or is growing up sufficient? what are your opinions?
Case Example: I grew up in NJ since age 2, and now am college student, studying out of state in PA. Of course my permanent residence is still in NJ (which I consider my homestate) and I spend same amount of time in NJ as in PA throughout the year. Am I considered now to be from PA or am I still from NJ? My future plans are to move back to NJ as I will graduate very soon.
In your case I would usually say “I’m from New Jersey but I live in Pennsylvania”
I have only lived in one state & still live there so I’m an easy one
What are you talking about? A young adult being a native?
I moved to San Diego when I was 6 from Seattle and I’ve never called myself a San Diego or California native. I’ll say I’m from San Diego, because this is where I started 1st grade, and have lived my whole life except for my college years. But on the rare occasion when someone says that makes you a native I correct them.
You remind me of transplants I’d hear in my bar all the time in a very transient beach community. They’d ask each other “how long have you’ve been here”, and when someone would say anywhere from 5-10 years their response would be “well that just about makes you a native” WTF?
I was born at Fort Benning Georgia, lived on several military posts & overseas as a youth, then moved to the Austin, Texas area as a high school kid 62 years ago.
I am a local, but not a native.
Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn and moved down to North Carolina at age 5.
Yet he's universally recognized as being a native son of the Tar Heel state.
I know all the technicality stuff but in my opinion you can be a native of somewhere if you spend your early formative years there even if you're not actually born in that place.
That's your opinion but it isn't the actual definition of "native".
I'm a native of Enid, Oklahoma although my birth certificate says my address is Norman OK. My parents happened to be in Enid, Ok visiting relatives when I got born. I grew up in a town that was Enid's arch rival in sports. So I hated Enid growing up. Nonetheless I am a native of Enid, OK despite never having lived there.
Michael Jordan is a native of Brooklyn, NY and grew up in Wilmington, NC.
"Native" is certainly not the only word that is commonly and routinely misused though.
While technically “native” means born there, few are that exacting.
My dad was born at Lee County General Hospital. But he was never a Lee County native by any reasonable definition, having lived his entire life in neighboring Chatham County. Without a hospital, the amount of Chatham natives would just be those born at home,and that’s obviously not a proposition hardly any would support. That’s of course an easy one to spot where the definition is fungible.
My mother was born in Florida, moved to NC at age 1, moved to NY at age 3, back to NC at age 5, then to CA at age 16 before back to NC at 19. Her older sister had more, being born in Mexico and moving to NC at 6 months before the Florida move. Ask either of them, they would say they were NC natives, specifically Lexington where they spent 8 years of their childhood in the longest consistent stretch in one place. It helps their grandparents and extended family lived in NC and they’d visit even when they lived elsewhere.
You could argue they were Florida and Mexican natives respectively, and you’d be correct on one hand. But the truth is more complicated, and the fact they themselves would identify as NC natives is something. For my own thoughts, I lean towards factoring in birth, family, earliest memories, formative years, self-identity, etc. There is no one-size fits all. That said, I do think there is a cutoff of first arrival to this. You can’t simply become a native through sheer longevity in a state.
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