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I think that there are 2 difference ways to say I first lived in Hiroshima. using humble honorifics (謙譲語):
(1) 最初に、広島にお住み致しました。
(2) 最初に、広島に住まわせて頂きました。

Both are correct 謙譲語?
Is #2 more "powerful" and / or "語呂がいい"?

In my talking, I always say #2 because I like the "sound" and like the sense I am being forced to do something, thus humbling myself. I don't have the "power / authority" to walk into a great place like Hiroshima and live there just because I want to (even though I don't specify who is forcing me to live there).

What do native speakers recommend?

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最初に、広島にお住み致しました。

The form お-(verb)-しました/いたしました means "I humbly did something for your benefit" or "I (humbly) do something with respect to you" such as ask a question of you. So what you're saying if you use this form is "I lived in Hiroshima, and I did it for your (listener's) benefit", which sounds ridiculous.

最初に、広島に住まわせて頂きました。

The implication of this form is that you are doing something for someone else's benefit or with someone's permission. You might want to talk like this if you need to express gratitude or something like that, but it is very overblown for everyday speech.

You might also note that the "させていただきます" phrase is sometimes used sarcastically or ironically by people who are planning to do something without someone else's permission.

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  • 「お願いいたします」や「お聞きして良いですか」のような例があるので “for your benefit” とは必ずしも言えない気がしますが、如何でしょうか。
    – naruto
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 23:17
  • 聞き手の利益にとは限らずとしてもともかく聞き手に対する配慮が強い言い回しです。「お住みする」はなぜあり得ないかを説明したいと思います。もっと上手に説明できる方法はありますか。
    – user36788
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 23:30
  • Thanks so much for clearing-up "for your benefit". I had no idea. Actually, I always say "住まわせて頂けます" because of the famous film "魔女の宅急便". キキ says that to the パン屋 owner (or maybe ジジ the cat) when she first arrives at the village by the ocean where the story occurs. I've seen that film maybe 50 times, and can say "住まわせて頂けます" so quickly and cleanly, and probably sound just like キキ。Such fond memories.
    – user312440
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 3:09
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    I didn't mention in the answer but in some cases させていただきます can mean something like "I'm going to live here, and there's nothing you can do about it".
    – user36788
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 5:13
  • @Ben correct! I just checked the film. Flying over the village on her broom, she crash lands into a marketplace and knocks stuff over. In front of a crowd of bewildered people she says "あの、私、魔女のキキです。この町に住ませて頂きたいんです。きれいと、とても素敵です。」everyone shakes their heads disinterested and walks away. But, an お祖母さん says 「気に入れたら、よったは。」 and disdainfully walks away. I don't know why I started saying "住まう" instead of "住む". Anyway, thanks so much.
    – user312440
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 6:36
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As a matter of fact, お住み致す is not a thing. So, your only choice is #2.

Kenjougo that can respect places is limited to 参る (if you interpret it as secondary usage, there are none).

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  • I don't believe that's true. [伺]{うかが}う respects places as well.
    – istrasci
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 15:16
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    The underlying misunderstanding that the questioner has is about the meaning of the o-verb-suru form. You can just say "It's not a thing" but still the questioner will have no idea why it's not a thing. As I pointed out in my answer, the o-verb-suru means "I humbly did (verb) for your benefit", and it doesn't make sense to say that you lived somewhere for someone else's benefit.
    – user36788
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 22:50
  • @istrasci Thanks for pointing it out.
    – user4092
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 2:35
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    @Ben At first, I was thinking I might point out that kenjougo basically needs the object person to respect, but I'm not sure how to manage secondary usage, which is close to teineigo.
    – user4092
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 2:48

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