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Even a couple of generations ago things were very different. Maybe Americans don't see this so much because it's a country of migrants, but it was common over h
by nly 4y ago
Even a couple of generations ago things were very different. Maybe Americans don't see this so much because it's a country of migrants, but it was common over here in the UK, just a century ago, for people to spend their entire lives within a 10 mile radius of where they were born.
- beardyw 4y agoYou have hit on an issue which always seems to be overlooked. It is easy to talk about "extended family" as of it was one thing. It isn't and can't be. When a child marries, as a couple they belong to two families. When their children marry they belong to two families. And so it goes. [1] An older individual may see all descendents as "their family", but in reality they are all shared. Somebody here mentioned the Kennedys, but despite a powerful image, the same applies to them. The only way for a real extended family to survive is by all living in close proximity to everyone else so those structures interleave. Like, I assume, the Navajo. The bicycle was first to blame, then the car, then the plane. [1] "marry" used in a loose context here, any relationship in reality.
- spaceman_2020 4y agoMaybe its a cultural thing, but I've always been taught that even extended family is family, regardless of how often I see them, and if they come to me for help, I'm obligated to help them.
- balfirevic 4y agoDo you believe everything you've been taught?
- rufus_foreman 4y agoThe median American lives 18 miles from their mom. Americans are moving less than at any time in US history. For the most part, the idea of a nation in motion is over. The typical American isn't the typical Hacker News reader though, the typical Hacker News reader is going to go where the money is, not stay where the family is.