I think we’ve found other ways of “traveling” while benefiting from staying put.

That what you are looking for is right under your nose.

I think that not moving assumes that the world is, in many ways, coming to me. It also assumes that what I truly need is available to me in whatever locality I am.

The globalized world is smaller, more accessible, and does not require a physical change of location to access it.

That moving is very expensive (as I am now discovering), and so staying put can save a lot of cash.

We can’t sell our houses.  We’re scared to transition in troubled times.

That there is something more important *here* than *other there*.

Oops - I meant “over” there. But “other” might be appropriate, too.

Not moving assumes that our Western world, in particular, should slow down and be still.

Stable.

If we owned our houses, versus renti…ahum…30-year mortgages then we might be more committed to our house and community.

Green grass - because you’re there long enough to care to tend it.

Not moving makes possible roots, connections, deep friendships, community. Knowing and being known can truly begin to occur, and trust can grow. Choosing to stay put can lead to contentment.

As someone who moved recently at the dictates of my career (and very much against my will, I might add,) I’m finding by negation that not moving allows you to experience the uniqueness of a place.  It seems one of our first inclinations, upon moving somewhere new, is to find touchstones of familiarity.  Unfortunately, if we don’t have the time to set down roots, neither do we have the time to grow beyond these touchstones and enjoy the differences of our new community, which are often far more interesting than its similarities. 

I recall being quite jaded following a three month European Odyssey, thinking that babysitting inebriated friends at two in the morning is about the same in Catania, Cadiz or Chania.  And while this was probably true, daytrips to Minoan ruins and Carthaginian ruins and Roman ruins all had a much more unique flavor.  In a day, all you saw was similarity; in a week, you began to enjoy the difference… perhaps it’s the same for living in community: in a year, you gather commonality around yourself; in a decade, you make the differences around you part of yourself as well.

Not moving makes relationships possible.  I live in St. Louis, which is perennially seen as a “stepping stone” city: Bigger than your suburb, but not quite where you want to be (Chicago, NY, LA, etc.).  We are a city of lonely people because we all use the city for the opportunities it provides us, rather than investing in it and it’s people.

Equity in one’s house.

Enculturation.

Fruit trees.

Get to know your neighbors.  Make a committment to getting more involved in the community.

In some cases, finding a job, or finding a better paying job.  Among academics, not moving will likely doom your chances of getting tenure. If you have a dream of becoming rich and famous, you’re not likely to “not move” in Burlington, KY (where I am currently neither rich nor famous).

In many cases, not moving makes face-to-face cross-cultural pollination difficult, if not impossible. Also, for me, not moving means Thai food is unavailable.

I agree with Tim, but will add that community with an unspoken expiration date makes deep, meaningful relationships unlikely and incredibly difficult.

Getting to know other parts of the country/world at a deeper level.

Service in the military.

The life of Abraham.

Lateral geographical moves to jockey for new positions in corporate America.

Technomadic!

A much better one…

I’m hoping it creates big discounts from moving companies desperate for work…

We actually develop a sense of place, purpose, belonging…community.