Possible Major Move - Just looking for thoughts

Re: Possible Major Move - Just looking for thoughts

• groovygrl member

  July 2012

  Hi there!

  Well, I have lived in 6 states and have been far from family for the last 6 years including when my kids were born & also when my father passed away so I know how hard it is to be away from family in good times & bad. It is hard esp if you are close with them & if you rely on them for help at home. With skype, phone, email, you can still communicate SO easily it is like you're still nearby sometimes but when it comes to hands on stuff like babysitting, holidays, celebrations (and unfortunately more difficult things that may arise at some point) it can be really hard. 

  That being said, I do not regret moving away at all, though I had already lived in a number of places prior to when we moved 10-12 hrs from them. We enjoy the adventure of new places and meeting new people and to be honest, it is way easier to meet people & get involved in things when you have kids (we recently moved again to a new state where we didn't know anyone and it was easier for me this time than last time but part of that is probably experience).  I think if you go into it with the idea that it is an adventure, that it is not necessarily forever (but not with the idea that you'll move back in X yrs or anything like that), and that it is a great move for your family from a career/financial/quality of life/new experiences/cultural/etc standpoint, you will enjoy it! 

  I can comment on all your locations also, I grew up in PA, have lived in Boston &also lived in Charlotte NC... I think both Boston & Greenville would have very different things to offer in both good (Boston is an awesome awesome city, so much to offer to the whole family, Greenville is great climate, near the beach, low COL, etc) & hard ways (COL being the big one in Boston, smaller town & possible big time cultural differences for you in Greenville) so I would try to go into it with an open mind!  Based on what you said about your home, however, I would really think about what may happen in moving to Boston b/c of the COL differences, depending on what kind of $ your H makes.

  I always think ppl should try living somewhere different at least for a little while, it broadens horizons, makes you realize you really 'can' do it and the reality is, you can very likely go back if you really hate it, plus your LO is young enough that while moving is more difficult than without kids, it is way easier to try out now than once school, etc starts.

  GL!
  

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• Netty_3 member

  July 2012

  We went the route of moving from the C'bus, OH area because we were nervous about stability at both of our jobs as well.  I really hated leaving our custom-built home as well.  We ended up moving to DFW. Our situation is a little different because we had our house on the market for over 2 years, and had to short sell to get it off our hands.  The whole thing was a fiasco, DH stayed in OH trying to sell our house for one of those years, then moved to DFW and transferred up because his job was going to be eliminated there. I ended up being laid off at my new "steady" job in DFW right after teh house sold.  We ended up moving to CO for a promotion for my husband. It set us back years, and I'm not sure when we'll be able to get another house because I'm still trying to pick up  the pieces from the way things went with our house, and being laid off for over a year.  So...all of this sounds bad right? Well, I am an optimist, and the silver lining is, we love CO, and are now closer to our families here, although we miss our friends in OH, and DFW had nothing but heartache...it gave my husband the opportunity to move up quickly in his career, and it made me realize I could rely on him when things get tough.  We also have our beautiful son now too.

  So, I guess, just look at everything before making a decision...and follow your gut, and don't be afraid to voice any concerns to your husband. These are big decisions. All the best!

  

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• groovygrl member

  July 2012

  Netty_3:

  We went the route of moving from the C'bus, OH area because we were nervous about stability at both of our jobs as well.  I really hated leaving our custom-built home as well.  We ended up moving to DFW. Our situation is a little different because we had our house on the market for over 2 years, and had to short sell to get it off our hands.  The whole thing was a fiasco, DH stayed in OH trying to sell our house for one of those years, then moved to DFW and transferred up because his job was going to be eliminated there.

  Ohhh I forgot to mention the house stuff, that part of it totally does suck. I stayed behind in the last move for 4 months w/ the kids before moving in order to get the house together & sold. We were VERY VERY lucky to have a relo package that was an enormous help & frankly I don't know if I'd do that kind of move unless it was a huge step up professionally if there was not some sort of relo package included. Many co's won't buy the house from you anymore (and if they do it is at a wicked low assessed value) but even if they don't offer that make sure you are comfortable with what they do offer  in terms of covering moving costs, closing costs in the destination, other expenditures, etc (if anything). We did sell our house thank god & didn't have to sell it to the co but we priced it to sell based purely on comps in our neighborhood to similar houses (it helped that the identical floor plan had sold a few months earlier so we had some basis for comparison) and took a 20% loss (we bought at the ultimate peak in our area in 2006) but we were happy to not have it sitting there forever & didn't have to make the decision to rent the house or rent here indefinitely etc. Every area is going to be different when it comes to how the market is going & not going....
  

  That is a big complicating factor to definitely take into consideration.
  

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• Netty_3 member

  August 2012

  Yeah, we got 20% raises, and some money to relocate...not enough apparently. They really wined and dined us too...I had a gut feelng we shouldn't leave, but started listening to family that wanted us closer, and the idea everything is bigger in TX...well if you don't have a house on the market that's a great idea...otherwise not so much.

  

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