To say dwell somewhere implies permanence. But at root "dwell" means to pause or delay. J. B. Jackson said that dwell is a speak of habits rather than years of a place becoming customary. Habits are acquired, and they form over time. With disuse they are forgotten. To dwell in a place rather than simply exist in it seems to allow adaptive habits to form an act of accommodation.
A home and its land were once widely understood as belonging to a family forever. Even today, most people in the world are born and die within a radius of a few miles. But 20 to 30 percent of Americans move…
