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I am looking for advice/feedback from families who have moved to area with children. My boys will be 9 and 11 when we move.
Husband and I are looking to move next year. A major concern is how to make the transition easiest for the kids, who are leaving their school and their friends in NY.
For those who have made the move, how did the kids handle it? How did they make friends? My younger son is shy and has trouble initiating making new friends.
We are looking for a large-ish community with kids, hoping that is one way they will meet kids. We'd also prefer to live in a neighborhood where the kids all go to the same school. With the craziness of the Wake Co schools and capping, we have settled on Johnston Co. Do you think that will give us a good chance of finding school friends? We have heard great things about the Cleveland schools and really like that area of Clayton/Garner. The plan is to move at the beginning of summer so the boys will know some classmates, who to ride the bus with, etc. These kinds of things are majors issues and worries for my son. He is terrified to go to a school without knowing anyone there
so we really need a way to meet the actual kids that will be in his class (4th grade then)
We are also looking into joining some sports teams. The boys are into swimming and soccer.
I am looking for advice/feedback from families who have moved to area with children. My boys will be 9 and 11 when we move.
Husband and I are looking to move next year. A major concern is how to make the transition easiest for the kids, who are leaving their school and their friends in NY.
For those who have made the move, how did the kids handle it? How did they make friends? My younger son is shy and has trouble initiating making new friends.
We are looking for a large-ish community with kids, hoping that is one way they will meet kids. We'd also prefer to live in a neighborhood where the kids all go to the same school. With the craziness of the Wake Co schools and capping, we have settled on Johnston Co. Do you think that will give us a good chance of finding school friends? We have heard great things about the Cleveland schools and really like that area of Clayton/Garner. The plan is to move at the beginning of summer so the boys will know some classmates, who to ride the bus with, etc. These kinds of things are majors issues and worries for my son. He is terrified to go to a school without knowing anyone there
so we really need a way to meet the actual kids that will be in his class (4th grade then)
We are also looking into joining some sports teams. The boys are into swimming and soccer.
Any other advice would be much appreciated!
I didn't move here from NY or anything, but I DID move all over Wake County (and surrounding counties) as a kid.
My advice is to keep your life as normal as possible for your boys. They will or will not make friends based on their personalities and the personalities of the kids they meet. The one thing kids need above all other things is a stable family. Kids are pretty resilient creatures. If their home life is stable, they'll be just fine.
Best to you!
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Honestly... the kids around here are so used to new kids moving in its not a big deal...they'll find their niche with many other kids that have gone through the same thing.
Put them in a extracurricular they want to do..... get them out in the area at events in the town you pick and it will be fine.
We moved here when my kids were almost 10 (going into 4th grade) and 6 (going into 1st). The 10 year olds were very upset to move. I think the advice to keep their lives as much the same as possible is good. In NY we went to the library all the time. As soon as we got here we got library cards. I signed them up for religious ed (ok they weren't happy about that LOL). We took them to the school and showed them around and let them play on the playground. Signed them up for the activities they usually do.
I will say that it's not that easy to meet kids outside of school. We moved here in August and no one goes to the pool once August rolls around. But once school started they all made friends the first day. Elementary school age kids in particular are open to new kids and like someone said the kids down here are SO used to new kids moving on that no one looks at them twice.
We are moving with our 9 year old son in Sept to NC from California. We are trying to figure out what activities he wants to take part in. We are also trying to make it really exciting for him...talking about the friends he will make etc. He is going to start later, but the schools have assured me that he will be just fine! I def understand your worry, because I am in the same boat.
We moved to NC 9 weeks ago from AZ and my children are 7 & 9. I grew up in the South and my husband is a native NYC-er. We made sure that we came out to visit each school break so we could get to know the general area (playgrounds, fields, museums, etc) and get them excited about the move. I have to say they absolutely love it in NC. Yes, it is TOTALLY different from Arizona but we love being able to get to the beach in 3 hours and we are enjoying all of the fun family activities here vs. AZ. It is much easier here, safer and we are excited to see 4 seasons again. If you really need something from NY, just order it online.
Honestly, there is SO much to do here, if you change your mindset and realize this is not NYC, Chicago, San Fran. (I lived in Chicago for 5 and then NYC for 12 yrs before moving to AZ). Just stay really positive (kids pick up on everything) and focus on them for a little while. And please don't do comparisons of your old city vs. the Triangle.....people here get annoyed.
We are renting in Chapel Hill until we find the best house for us. Having a good rental is important because if you are happy, the kids pick up on it. No need to get a dump (there are loads out there) and then you are miserable. Our rental is brand new (I've never lived in new construction) and it is across the street from a playground, so they have met tons of kids. They are going to the local public school, which is one of the best in the state and within walking distance. Everyone is our neighborhood goes there, which is a plus. There are tons of activities here between sports at the Y, great summer day camps, fantastic FREE museums in Raleigh, great outdoor adventures and parks. Your kids will be fine. Keep them busy, get them involved and stay up beat. People move here from all parts of the country and as other posters have said, the kids welcome new kids in their classes ALL the time.
Thank you NC for such a warm welcome. We are happy to be here and I'm happy to be back in the South
I am looking for advice/feedback from families who have moved to area with children. My boys will be 9 and 11 when we move.
Husband and I are looking to move next year. A major concern is how to make the transition easiest for the kids, who are leaving their school and their friends in NY.
For those who have made the move, how did the kids handle it? How did they make friends? My younger son is shy and has trouble initiating making new friends.
We are looking for a large-ish community with kids, hoping that is one way they will meet kids. We'd also prefer to live in a neighborhood where the kids all go to the same school. With the craziness of the Wake Co schools and capping, we have settled on Johnston Co. Do you think that will give us a good chance of finding school friends? We have heard great things about the Cleveland schools and really like that area of Clayton/Garner. The plan is to move at the beginning of summer so the boys will know some classmates, who to ride the bus with, etc. These kinds of things are majors issues and worries for my son. He is terrified to go to a school without knowing anyone there
so we really need a way to meet the actual kids that will be in his class (4th grade then)
We are also looking into joining some sports teams. The boys are into swimming and soccer.
Any other advice would be much appreciated!
I'm not sure this is so much a "local" thing as a general moving-to-anywhere issue, other than recommendations for specific activities. I don't think the schools will tell you who will be in a given class, because that changes. You might bring it up on the General Moving forum as far as what to do to help your kids adjust to a new place, wherever that place is.
Usually kids are more pliable than adults in adjusting to new things.
Kids are free! They take to each other easily unlike the adults.
You will be just fine :-)
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