History Main / ReallyMovesAround

# Either the character or someone in the character's family has a job that requires them to move around a lot, with the most common/iconic example of this is having a character who works for the military--this is a very strong TruthInTelevision, as military families in RealLife do typically move around a lot.

# Either the character or someone in the character's family has a job that requires them to move around a lot, with the most common/iconic example of this is having a characters who works for the military--this is a very strong TruthInTelevision, as military families in RealLife do typically move around a lot.

A character, or family of characters, has/have lived in many different places (geographically) and is/are constantly moving. In fiction this is generally used to denote either one of three things:

# The character (or at least someone in the character's family) has a job that requires them to move around a lot, with the most common (as well as most iconic) example of this is having a character who works for the military--this is ''definitely'' TruthInTelevision, as military families in RealLife do tend to move around a lot.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Parthenogenesis}}'', Carmen and her daughter Maggie moved around a lot while Maggie was growing up. They rarely stayed in the same place for over a year. This is both because Carmen is adventurous and because she's a wanted, retired world-famous thief. In Maggie's late teens, they finally settle down in San Francisco so that Maggie can live her dream of having an ordinary life.

* ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'': Up until moving to East High School in Albuquerque and meeting Troy Bolton, Gabriella Montez and her family often moved to different places once the school year was over.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': The PlayerCharacter can own up to five houses (eight with ''Hearthfire'') in different locations, and nothing is really forcing them to make any one of them their permanent residence. They can impose this upon their family, as well.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': When Connie is introduced in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E7BubbleBuddies "Bubble Buddies"]], she says her family moves around a lot because of her dad's job as a private security guard. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness This is never referenced again]], doesn't really make sense once we find out her mother is a doctor, and over four in-series years later she's still living in the same house.

* In ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'', The Manaka family moves around a lot due to Ao's father's unspecified job. This is why it took Mira so many years to reunite with Ao. [[spoiler:This is also why Ao never fights back when her dad gets a job transfer, even though this time she's definitively not happy at all]].

# The character or someone in the character's family has a job that requires them to move around a lot--the most iconic/common example of this is having a character who's in the military (definitely TruthInTelevision, as military families in RealLife do typically move around a lot).

# Alternatively, and more PlayedForDrama, the moving around is not due to job demands, but is used to display that the character / family has psychological issues. Whether it is due to some sort of anxiety, a form of OCD, or just generally not fitting in with people / society - these characters just can't "root" anywhere, and barely having settled somewhere, already are off to the next place.

* ''Series/TheTorkelsons'': Riley moves to the small Oklahoma village in which the series takes place, mentioning to Dorothy Jane how his family is always moving around a lot due to his father being in the military.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'': Gus Grisswald's family moves often [[MilitaryBrat because his father is a general]]. He admits to attending 11 schools by the time he reached the fourth grade and has never been at a school long enough to be known for anything other than being the new kid.

* In [[ClashingCousins "Dissin' Cousins,"]] a first season episode of That's So Raven, the [[TitleCharacter Title Character's]] cousin, Andrea, is mentioned to move around a lot due to her dad (Raven's uncle) being in the military. While it has given Andrea the chance to all sorts of cool places (including living in at least three different European cities), she eventually confesses to Raven that she doesn't like having to move around so much, especially since she never really got to have a "normal" life like her cousin has (it's never revealed if Andrea knows about Raven's PsychicPowers).

# The character, or main breadwinner of the family, simply has a job that requires constantly moving. The most iconic example of this is a character who is in the military (TruthInTelevision, as military families in Real Life often ''do'' move around a lot).

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': When Connie is introduced in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E7BubbleBuddies "Bubble Buddies"]], she says her family moves around a lot because of her dad's job as a private security guard. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness This is never referenced again]], doesn't really make sense once we find out her mother is a doctor, and nearly two in-series years later she's still living in the same house.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': When Connie is introduced in "Bubble Buddies", she says her family moves around a lot because of her dad's job as a private security guard. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness This is never referenced again]], doesn't really make sense once we find out her mother is a doctor, and nearly two in-series years later she's still living in the same house.

* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' characters are constantly moving around from title to title. For example, in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' they lived either in or around Station Square but ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' moves them to the more suburban Emerald Town.

* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedghog'' characters are constantly moving around from title to title. For example, in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' they lived either in or around Station Square but ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' moves them to the more suburban Emerald Town.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': When Connie is introduced in "Bubble Buddies", she says her family moves around a lot because of her dad's job as a private security guard. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness This is never referenced again, doesn't really make sense once we find out her mother is a doctor, and nearly two in-series years later she's still living in the same house.]]

* In the ''Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Parthenogenesis}}'', Carmen and her daughter Maggie moved around a lot while Maggie was growing up. They rarely stayed in the same place for over a year. This is both because Carmen is adventurous and because she's a wanted, retired world-famous thief. In Maggie's late teens, they finally settle down in San Francisco so that Maggie can live her dream of having an ordinary life.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]

* In the ''Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Parthenogenesis}}'', Carmen and her daughter Maggie moved around a lot while Maggie was growing up. They rarely stayed in the same place for over a year. This is both because Carmen is adventurous and because she's a wanted former world-famous thief. In Maggie's late teens, they finally settle down in San Francisco so that Maggie can live her dream of having an ordinary life.

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[[folder: Film -- Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': The members of the titular family all have superpowers, and have to keep their identities secret because of a government ban on superheroes. It is stated that by the time of the movie's main plot, they have moved at least a few times in the past because of blowing their cover. And by the end of the movie, they have to do it again.

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

* In the ''Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Parthenogenesis}}'', Carmen and her daughter Maggie moved around a lot while Maggie was growing up. They rarely stayed in the same place for over a year. This is both because Carmen is adventurous and because she's a wanted former world-famous thief. In Maggie's late teens, they finally settle down in San Francisco so that Maggie can live her dream of having an ordinary life.

[[folder: Film -- Live-Action ]]

* ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'': Up until moving to East High School in Albuquerque and meeting Troy Bolton, Gabriella Montez and her family often moved to different places once the school year was over.
* ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'': Happens for drama with James Dean's character Jim Stark. Because his family is afraid of trouble for their son, they move around a lot.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* ''Literature/TheFamiliar'': The Ibrahim family is noted to have (prior to the start of the 1st book) lived in at least a dozen places/states in as many years. Since Astair is in college and the constant moving around of the family is explicitly mentioned to have delayed her graduating, and she isn't mentioned to have a job; and Anwar is a computer programmer - a job that is about the easiest to do long-distance, instead of moving around for - this really raises the question what on Earth the family were moving around for that much. This is never answered.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''Series/TheTorkelsons'': Riley moves to the small Oklahoma village in which the series takes place, mentioning to Dorothy Jane how his family is always moving around a lot due to his father being in the military.

[[folder: Manga ]]

* ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'': Taro Misaki, one of the best known characters of the series and [[HeterosexualLifePartners Heterosexual Life Partner]] of Tsubasa Ozora, moves to many different places, since his father is a painter. He played in several teams due to his father travelling around Japan all the time.
* ''Manga/NatsumesBookOfFriends'': Before being taken in by the Fujiwaras, Natsume was passed around between his father's relatives, never staying with any of them very long as they saw him as a trouble maker and taking care of him as an unwanted duty.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

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[[AC:FanWorks]]

[[AC:[[{{Film}} Film -- Live-Action]]]]

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* ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'': The titular family wanders around the wild in various countries as part of their nature documentary show.

* ''Manga/NatsumesBookOfFriends'': Before being taken in by the Fujiwaras, Natsume was passed around between his father's relatives never staying with any of them very long as they saw him as a trouble maker and taking care of him as an unwanted duty.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'': Gus Grisswald's family is type 1 as his father is a general. He admits to attending 11 schools by the time he reached the fourth grade and has never been at a school long enough to be known for anything other than being the new kid.

Compare AdventureTowns, where the characters move around as part of their quest and main plot. Compare NewJobAsThePlotDemands. Compare the sub-trope of MilitaryBrat. If the characters are kids or teens, it results in them being a serial NewTransferStudent, or sometimes HomeschooledKids.

->''I've been everywhere, man''
->''I've been everywhere, man''
->''I've crossed the deserts bare, man''
->''I've breathed the mountain air, man''
-->-- '''Music/JohnnyCash''', "I've Been Everywhere"

# The character, or main breadwinner of the family, simply has a job that requires constantly moving. The most iconic example of this, is a character who is in the military (TruthInTelevision, as military families in Real Life often ''do'' move around a lot).