moving kids cross country (houses, neighborhoods, best schools)

[ccv395]

I am planning to move across country. We visited AZ and loved it! I got an interview in Atahukee and we would live close to Laveen AZ. They say Laveen is not great but where my husbands parents live in Laveen it was gorgeous and quiet and houses were beautiful. Best schools I hear are glandale or chandler....even though Chavez is brand new and nice I hear its not the greatest.
My dilemma is that all my family lives here in WI and it is 26 hours away from AZ. Only people there are husbands mom and dad. We will be selling all household items and starting brand new there cuz it will cost way too much to get a uhaul.
Next my kids are going into 9th and 11th grade, both with ADD and my oldest has emotional/behavioral problems and he has been getting into trouble in school especially since he now has so many friends. My younger son has had a few minor problems and his grades are bad and he is pretty popular so i feel like that may be a problem. They are both real good kids with a heart of gold but when around friends they need to be "cool".husband wants have been in this small town school for almost all their life.
I get nervous to move cause my mom moved us every 3 years and eventually I just did bad things to make friends with the wrong crowds cuz I felt I needed friends and fast when I moved so I'm worried my kids will do this too but I guess their friends are not very good ones already....mainly the older kids friends. I want to move to be close to my husband family and to get away from snow. Also to get kids away from all these kids and their cousins that are in same town that are brining them down. Plus the school here has already labled my kids and I feel thy are harrasing them at times....always pin pointing every little teeny thing thy do like stood in hallway too long, shook hands with friends and don't like the way thy did it. The HS cop already told my middle schooler "I can see we r gonna have fun next year". I just need to know if anyone has kids with same type of issues that thy moved to a far away school and how it went. Open to opinion s good or bad but please don't be negative. Thanks for your help.. Need to make a desicion my husban wants to go, I have mixed moods and one day I'm ready the next idk! Thanks

[azdr0710]

what do your kids say about all this?.....

moving may not solve any of this school/friends stuff.....uprooting 9th and 11th graders could be messy...or not?....sounds like you have a tough couple years coming up with the kids, no matter where they are.....running away to Phx to "solve" all this may not turn out how you hope....

don't forget: when you move, you have to take yourself with you

[goolsbyjazz]

I hear your concern and it is well warranted. First, about schools in Laveen; Chavez is the older high school there. Betty Fairfax is the newer H.S. in the area although I heard that another school was recently built so you may want to inquire about that. I lived in Laveen and wished I lived south of baseline because, to me, that is where the nicer homes and neighborhoods were. As for moving your children, that is a tough decision because they are both in high school. Kids are pretty resilient, though. Of course, if you are moving for a better job that would benefit your family then I guess it's a no-brainer. However, if you are moving because you and your husband are simply tired of where you live I would seriously ask you to talk with the kids and consider how it might affect them. I know you mentioned there are problems at their current school so a change might be what they need. In any event, good luck with whatever decision you make.

[hawkbiz]

Kids are resilient and will adapt in my opinion. You need to move because you want to, though, because the same "issues" may continue.

[MRS215]

Originally Posted by ccv395

I am planning to move across country. We visited AZ and loved it! I got an interview in Atahukee and we would live close to Laveen AZ. They say Laveen is not great but where my husbands parents live in Laveen it was gorgeous and quiet and houses were beautiful. Best schools I hear are glandale or chandler....even though Chavez is brand new and nice I hear its not the greatest.
My dilemma is that all my family lives here in WI and it is 26 hours away from AZ. Only people there are husbands mom and dad. We will be selling all household items and starting brand new there cuz it will cost way too much to get a uhaul.
Next my kids are going into 9th and 11th grade, both with ADD and my oldest has emotional/behavioral problems and he has been getting into trouble in school especially since he now has so many friends. My younger son has had a few minor problems and his grades are bad and he is pretty popular so i feel like that may be a problem. They are both real good kids with a heart of gold but when around friends they need to be "cool".husband wants have been in this small town school for almost all their life.
I get nervous to move cause my mom moved us every 3 years and eventually I just did bad things to make friends with the wrong crowds cuz I felt I needed friends and fast when I moved so I'm worried my kids will do this too but I guess their friends are not very good ones already....mainly the older kids friends. I want to move to be close to my husband family and to get away from snow. Also to get kids away from all these kids and their cousins that are in same town that are brining them down. Plus the school here has already labled my kids and I feel thy are harrasing them at times....always pin pointing every little teeny thing thy do like stood in hallway too long, shook hands with friends and don't like the way thy did it. The HS cop already told my middle schooler "I can see we r gonna have fun next year". I just need to know if anyone has kids with same type of issues that thy moved to a far away school and how it went. Open to opinion s good or bad but please don't be negative. Thanks for your help.. Need to make a desicion my husban wants to go, I have mixed moods and one day I'm ready the next idk! Thanks

Hi! I can totally relate to what you're going through I relocated from back PA; I did end up moving into Laveen. I have children who ages range between 4-15 years old. We moved here about a month ago (I came for work) it's our second time moving here (long story). But the kids have been adjusting ok. I'm used to schools back east so all I can say is that... It's just... Different. I can probably have a better review of the schools probably later in the year I don't think it's fair to rate the school here after only being here a month. I will say that I think the teachers and staff at Betty Fairfax was great in helping with the transition. They reached out to the old school and was able to have everything work smoothly even though our old school was giving them a hard time.

When we moved here we did liquidate everything and just started completely over. Because your absolutely correct the cost to ship everything was ridiculous. I think we moved into a pretty nice neighborhood, it had a choice of supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, hardware store. It's culturally a nice mix. There are fast food restaurants, as well as dine in restaurants. If your a coffee junkie like me you will love that there is a plenty of starbucks close by. I originally wasn't super excited about the neighborhood, but I am actually pleasantly suprised. It's quiet but it has everything you could need at hand.

[Jkgourmet]

I can't comment on the kid related issues, but I don't think I read that either you or your husband already have a job in phoenix. If not, don't even think of moving until one of you gets a job!

I did read that you have an interview in Ahwatukee and plan to live in Laveen. That's not a commute that is reasonable.

[ccv395]

Thanks for all of your thoughts! I have a job interview in June and my husband can take his work with is anywhere. The reason we want to move is to be closer to his family as he has not been near his dad in a very long time and he feels his health is not the best so he'd like to be near. I'm leaving my close knit family behind though. I'm glad to know someone sold all and just moved because people think that is just crazy. How are the schools different? I have also considered it more because I wonder if my kids need a change. They know everyone in this small town and are popular....so I feel they should have a fresh start somewhere and while I know their behavior may not change I wonder if not knowing so many people and having new teachers that do not point them out all the time will help. Thanks for your responses!

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

I did read that you have an interview in Ahwatukee and plan to live in Laveen. That's not a commute that is reasonable.

I'm not an expert on these matters but wouldn't it be a straight shot across Baseline? About a half hour?