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Currently I live over 1000 miles away from my and my husband's family. We have a 2 year old daughter and live in an area with no family and basically few friends. I started a job opp. about a month ago, however an opportunity has become available back in my hometown (which has a terrible job market). I like my new job a lot and would be sad to leave.
Did anyone find that living near family with kids had a lot of advantages? One of my co-workers made the comment that she couldn't imagine raising her kids with no family around and I admit it is hard because we don't have reliable babysitters and we do miss out on pretty much everything except for Christmas. Any advice?
We also lived thosands of miles away and eventually moved back. ALthough they did nto always get on well with their cousin, We wished we had moved back much sooner. It owudl have been better if they had grown up together.
It is nto just babysitting, but more people to attend and support performances, awards, or sporting events. Someone around besides siblings who is kind of obligaed to like you. somone from antoher town to compare notes, play online computer games, share informationa nd perspectives. THere are a lto of advantages.
In my case, I love being 3000 miles away. My kids are great and well adjusted. More so, in my opinion, than if we were back home and I had to deal with forced time with family. YMMV.
We lived a couple thousand miles away before we had kids and moved near my family when we had our first. We have since moved 2 hours away by car due to my job. My wife is very happy that we did move near as we can get together for birthdays, special events, and sometimes my parents just come over. I always lost at least a week a year of vacation to be near my parents for the holidays, so I feel like I have more vacation. My wife had health issues during the 2nd pregnancy and it really helped having my parents around.
My kids have asked my parents to move to our city many times, as they love having them around. It is really nice to see. I believe it adds a lot of value to everyone's lives, but I have a pretty good family.
Currently I live over 1000 miles away from my and my husband's family. We have a 2 year old daughter and live in an area with no family and basically few friends. I started a job opp. about a month ago, however an opportunity has become available back in my hometown (which has a terrible job market). I like my new job a lot and would be sad to leave.
Did anyone find that living near family with kids had a lot of advantages? One of my co-workers made the comment that she couldn't imagine raising her kids with no family around and I admit it is hard because we don't have reliable babysitters and we do miss out on pretty much everything except for Christmas. Any advice?
Moving closer to family does not guarantee reliable babysitters either....
Just to add, me and my DH both have great relationships with our parents. When we go home there is always an issue over whose house our daughter will spend the night over, etc, who gets to babysit her because both grandparents are clamoring for her attention.
My husband and I are only children (his brother passed away a long time ago) and have lived away from our parents for a long time. Our relatives are scattered all over the country so there is really no central place with family. This makes me very sad. Kids see grandparents probably 1-3 times a year.
Aside from a few close friends, we really don't have people we can rely upon. I'm envious of my close friend since she has her two older sons (one is married) to help give them a hand with their younger kids. They are all in one place and I'm a bit jealous. They all help one another out.
I would go for family if all other things are equal. You do write as though you miss them, and it is wonderful to be able to share your young child w/ supportive family. Good luck on your choices.
I grew up in within an hour of all of my cousins and am not particularly close to any of them. You should do what is best for you and your immediate family. We moved 1000 miles from home to a place where we knew no one. For several reasons, the kids are better off where we are now, even without family around.
Currently I live over 1000 miles away from my and my husband's family. We have a 2 year old daughter and live in an area with no family and basically few friends. I started a job opp. about a month ago, however an opportunity has become available back in my hometown (which has a terrible job market). I like my new job a lot and would be sad to leave.
Did anyone find that living near family with kids had a lot of advantages? One of my co-workers made the comment that she couldn't imagine raising her kids with no family around and I admit it is hard because we don't have reliable babysitters and we do miss out on pretty much everything except for Christmas. Any advice?
We've been in both situations, and it is SO much easier to be near family! It depends on the family, of course, but it can be wonderful to have a built-in safety net of people who can watch your kid on short notice, pick them up at school or daycare in case of an emergency, and just being able to see grandparents more frequently. You can replicate some of those networks with a supportive group of friends in a new place, but it takes time. And when living far away we spent a lot of vacation time and money traveling back to see relatives, attend big family events, etc.
I think you can make it work either way, but I will just say that I am really appreciating living near grandparents and cousins these days. It really is a luxury.
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