Any single parents relocated for a fresh start?! Advice needed!!

[Katiejean76]

Hi,
I recently posted on here about a job offer in Exeter I have been offered. I am a single mum to a 10 yr old. But im freaking out.
I've been wanting a fresh start FOR YEARS and previous opportunities I have had I have bottled it and found every excuse not to move.
I am now at a point where its now or never as my son is due to start high school. I currently live in the midlands and have recently finished my degree. My siblings live elsewhere and I have a difficult relationship with my mum who is local although she provides child care. I have friends but more often than not, I am bored and demotivated. I live in a small town and long for cafes, theatres and more going on!
I am scared to move where I don't know anyone and worried ill mess up my son's schooling if I don't get it right. (I know which schools are good and which to avoid in my area).
Has anyone relocated and can anyone give me their positive/negative experiences?
THANKYOU!!

Personally I wouldn't uproot a child of that age. I moved when mine were 6 and 3 and quite honestly it took at least 3 years before I felt anything like settled and yearned to go back to familiarity every day. It was expensive and not the amazing adventure I imagined.

You'll be able to do this when your child is older, and hopefully have a blast. But the gamble is just too big imo, especially if your son has good friends, activities and is perfectly happy where you are.

Yes, I've done it. It took a deep breath and a bit of 'not looking down but it was absolutely the best thing for us.

DS was moving schools anyway so it was a natural breakpoint. It was a fresh start, with a new job and a new home. It got us out of the distinctly unadventurous rut we were in and my DS loved it. The new place was greener and cleaner and there was much more to do.

If you've wanted a fresh start for years, grab this chance. It's hard work for the first six months and you have to make a conscious effort to meet people, but it worked really well for us.

Why not start a thread about moving to Exeter- good schools, areas to live etc. Good luck!

Does your DS have contact with his DF?

How does your DS feel?

If he is OK then I say go for it.

I moved from Hampshire to Shropshire and it was definitely the right move. I've been here 3 years now and feel settled. Go for it!

I moved a few hundred miles away as a single parent.
My kids were 5 and 9, and they didn’t mind at all.
Settled into a school quickly and made friends. Much better for all 3 of us.

I did this . Perfect age as you want to be in catchment for secondary. I was so scared I barely ate or slept for months but it's absolutely been the best decision of my life (except for getting divorced).

OP I did it! My 2 kids were 10 and 5 when i relocated. I moved quite a long way and didn't know a soul in the new town. I'm so glad I did it. I wont lie, the first year was so bloody hard, sorting out after school care, getting kids settled, getting to grips with a new job and colleagues. The first house I rented was awful (hadn't done enough research!) Yes some nights I cried.
But I have never regretted it, because for the kids and I it did all turn out to be for the best. My career went from strength to strength, the kids enjoyed the better opportunities and lifestyle here, and after a few years I met my lovely dh.
Thank God I found the courage to do it.

If you want to move as a single parent, it's certainly a good choice, as Exeter's a really friendly city, with lots of incomers. I left four years ago after about five years there, and I think it's an easy place to settle in. Lots of people I knew were not from there either; I'd say DS's infant school class was half and half. I was a single parent too, but did have exH there, so not really the same as I had his support, but there were quite a lot of other single parents at DS' school.

Y7 is a good opportunity to move; thinking of my own family, I'm sure DS would be happy for us to move on somewhere else again at this stage (he's same age as yours), as he's perfectly happy to be going to a high school that his friendship group aren't, but it depends on your own son and how he feels about change and adapting.

The secondaries can be a bit hit and miss in Exeter so research your locations carefully if you do go for it.

Thankyou all so much for commenting. My son isn’t happy at school and doesn’t seem to I have any solid friends. He does, however, see his dad for 4 hours every other weekend but I think we could come
To an arrangement whereby we came back for visits. He’s very slack and not a good role model but I know contact is really important. The thought of moving where I don’t know anyone makes me feel so scared and anxious but I also feel where we are doesn’t have many opportunities for either of us. (Although we are in catchment for a good school). I appreciate all your comments. Thankyou x

Hi there I'm trying to move closer to my soon.
My oldest isnt with us anymore so that's why my youngest lives with his dad.
Iv spoke to my local council with no put one for over 2 years m eand my boy are sick of living so far away from each other
Thanks for taking the time to read.

Hey there, I read this post and it’s like reading about myself right now! I have a 10yo son, would like to move down South from the East. Curious to see if you made it!??

i know this thread was posted a while ago. However I’m thinking of relocating with my daughter she is 7 years old. Very confident and wants to move and her biological father knows. However I’m worried about childcare if I move I won’t know people and obviously it takes a while to settle. Any ideas or help would be appreciated thanks.