Would you move 2 hours away from your family?

[Foreveraskingquestions]

found a lovely home near the seaside and much more affordable and lots more space but it’s 2 hours away. We are desperate to move as our housing situation is getting too much we are cramped in a small 2 bed new build and we are miserable. We would stay in area as we don’t mind living here and the kids are happy but we just can’t afford a bigger house here.

Kids are 6 4 and 1 I have suggested we at least try it for a year and just see it as an adventure if we hate it that much we can come back.

Of course this means we won’t have anyone nearby to lean on if we need them. And i guess the last thing is we will only have each other which I don’t mind DH may struggle with that though as he is more social than me.

now wwyd?

Sellsellseller · 15/02/2023 20:27
Depends if you don’t like your family“

Seriously? Like mine/husband’s but we wouldn’t limit our opportunities because of that. 2 hours away is nothing.

We moved 4 hours away from both sets of grandparents when our dc were 6 and 9, having previously lived 1 hour away. We love where we live and don't regret it, but it is a bit of a trek for visits. 2 hours I wouldn't consider a big deal tbh. It was partly a house price thing and partly a lifestyle / wanting a change thing for us. We get on really well with extended family, but you need to live where suits you! Needing help from family wasn't really an issue we were concerned about tbh.

I suppose it depends on the sort of support you need/ want. Personally I have zero support from family or friends we live at least two hours from all of our parents.

But I'm aware other families don't work like that. Two hours isn't much for visiting and, if upur close then you can always phone for emotional support. So what do they currently do? Can you afford eg babysitting if they do that and the move? Having good living conditions to me would totally outweigh the occasional coffee on my own as the kids were with someone else, but it might be more than that for you

A few things I’d consider. Do you know the area at all? A lot of seaside towns in the U.K. are really grim and very deprived which is why they housing stock is often very cheap. What are schools like.

Going for a year if you are buying/selling may not be at all straightforward if you decide to come back and it will be enourmously expensive.

I lived an 11 hour flight from home for a lot of years, I still had a wonderful relationship with my parents. I now live 5m away, but sister lives a 4h drive away, we are equally close.