Adopting here or moving

[Lollipop86]

My husband and I would like to start the adoption process but we were also planning on relocating next summer to be closer to my siblings and parents. I'm desperate to start the adoption process knowing it could take over a year. What would you do? Start now and postpone moving or delay everything until we're moved? How would adoption agencies feel about you moving soon after an adoption placement or alternatively being new to an area and still settling in?

tia

Move and then start the process. its not a great idea to move soon after placement, or to be stressed out with the process of house hunting, selling and moving

To be honest a lot depends on the SW you get but it shoud be seen as an advantage if you are moving closer to your support network. The next few months needn't be dead time - use it to research, find out practical things about where you are moving to - schools, nurseries, facilities for children etc

thanks ted. I guess I am just so worried about the wait. it could even take up to a year to sell and find a new home, months for the adoption process and longer for a match. its so hard to shake that feeling of life being on hold for so long with no guarantee it could work out in the end. I wish we'd made this decision earlier in our life.

My LA would have stopped the process if they found out we were house selling / planning to move. Mind you it felt like they threatened to stop if one of us sneezed, too....

If you're staying relatively local then you may be ok to go through the approval process and then wait until you've moved before you start matching. If there are no agencies that cover your current location and where you are moving to then you'll have to wait. Now that a lot of the local agencies are joining up they do cover much larger areas, just depends how far you are moving.