Relocating to Raleigh - Concerned about raising kids without family nearby!

[poppydog]

This question doesn't have anything to do with Raleigh.

People all over the world successfully raise their kids without grandparents to provide childcare.

My spouse and I are both North Carolina natives. Our kids are doing just fine without having grandma down the street. It's great if that works out but I think for most people in the U.S., certainly, raising kids is not like that anymore. It wasn't even like that when I was a kid. My grandparents didn't live in the same town as my family nor did I know any friends who had grandma around the corner.

I can only think of a handful of families that I know who have grandparents nearby who help with childcare. I think I can name 5 total out if all the many hundreds of families I know. It's great if it works out that way but I really don't think that's the norm for most families in the country.

[DJKB]

We have raised our kids with no family around because both my parents and my husband's parents are dead. So we don't know any difference and we've always had great friends and a "support network" to help us with childcare. When my older two were super young, DH was on the road for 2 years so I hired a live in au pair which was a great option.
Anyway - I do know that for many people, when they start having children, they suddenly have that "pull" to be back near family and often move back closer to home. So it's definitely doable but you won't know how you feel until the kids are here