Starting a family away from family?

sweetyjenj

DH and I are strongly considering moving to Southern California (LA area) from Minneapolis in the Fall, but we'd be leaving our family behind.  Both of us are family oriented and have always been close to our families...but we really feel called to live out there, AND I was offered a very appealing job position in a time when I'm about to graduate and need it.  While this seems like a great idea, and might as well do it (sell them home and all), we're also going to be TTC in the Fall. 

I know there's many couples who raise their family away from their parents/siblings/extended family. Is there anything I should be considering or aware of? I know the free daycare is huge, and the fact that the children would get to know the other family members. Both of these make the decision very difficult, but are they a deal breaker? Help!

mylittlesunshine

We don't have any family nearby and it can sometimes be a struggle. I just stopped working to SAH, but my biggest challenge was finding someone to watch DD1 (and DD2 now that she is here) if we need backup daycare. We use in home and there are times wh

memali26

We started TTC while living on the West Coast and our family was all back in the Midwest. We did not know if or when we'd be able to move back near family and didn't want to put life on hold waiting on "what ifs." We did end up moving back when our old

Shayliz

Not a deal breaker. None of our family is local to us and we still manage to raise our daughter pretty well. The part that makes me sad are the grandparents not being able to just come over and visit anytime like mine could when I was growing up. However,

magdalina.h

I wouldn't be able to move away from my family. I day dream about it, but I know that we wouldn't be able to. I still get home sick (the farthest they used to live was 30 mins) and I haven't lived with my parents for 10 years.

sarenu1

You make it work.

We're only 2 1/2 hours away from our family.  But that still means we can't ask them to baby sit on a moments notice.

We have a couple people we know (friends, friends of friends, and kids of co-workers) we can ca

Maya+More

As a new grad in a sh!tty economy, FOLLOW THE JOB LEAD.  If it means relocating away from family temporarily, especially if it's in a HCOL area where you would basically be setting your earnings precedent with a high salary, I think it will be wor

starshineamator

I have a similar story. Spouse and I moved to SoCal (LA) almost 5 years ago, shortly after getting married. I was accepted into a great grad school and handed a job, a scholarship, a class of my own to teach, and a furnished apartment. It was a difficu

PunkyBooster

We live far away from our families. I don't mind it but there are times when it would be nice to have them a car ride away. I was working (from home) so that wasn't too bad, but when I go back to an office, it's going to be tough, I think. I wish I cou

limegreenlauren

Life is about choices. Figure out which one is more of a priority. And don't let anyone make you feel bad for your choice. You are not wrong for choosing a career move over being near family. You are also not wrong for choosing being near family over a ca