It really is a small world. I've spent nearly all my life in the USA, first living in Los Angeles, then abandoning the big city for a little hobby farm in small town, Idaho.
But my family hasn't been in the US terribly long. My grandparents immigrated from Germany. My grandfather's experience was particularly nasty, as he came to the US as a refugee, joined the US Army, and was wounded in World War II. My brother went back to Germany under infinitely better circumstances. He lives in Augsburg now, working and trying to secure dual citizenship.
Naturally, I've always had an interest in writing about World War II.