Evidently that key sense of place that seems to be slipping from the nation is alive and well here.

While living in Wisconsin I've run into people who were born here, raised here, go far away to college, and return to their hometowns as adults to build a career and to raise their families. Even if they choose to move around a bit, when it's time to settle down, they always come back to Wisconsin.

Despite the long winters, something even the heartiest people dread, Wisconsin obviously is attractive enough to keep people here.

There are plenty of year-round outdoor activities, and the entire state offers exceptional schools and ample cultural offerings, without the high prices, crazy traffic and excessive crime that burdens other places. Wisconsin truly is a great place to sink your roots - to live, work, go to school and raise a family.

But Wisconsin has something else too - a true sense of rootedness and sticking close together.

I was born in Ohio but grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee, moved out of state for four years during college and moved back to the city of Milwaukee right after. It's funny that I'd be considered an anomaly for hailing from another state, but I've lived almost my entire life here, leaving for a bit, but eventually coming back. Additionally, all of my immediate family lives in Milwaukee or at least in southeastern Wisconsin and have also stuck around simply because we love it here!

In an era of job transfers and the siren calls for opportunities in other cities, that's pretty amazing.

I find myself taking for granted the closeness I have to longtime friends and family here. Sharing meals with my parents and my adult siblings on a regular basis is something many would consider a luxury.  When looking at the figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, I realize I'm pretty fortunate.

Clearly, there are many reasons why I choose to live in Wisconsin, why I came back after college and why, even if I leave for a few years, I'll probably always be a Wisconsinite.