Distant families

[OliveQuail]

How do people manage with no family close by? We don’t need babysitters, we miss the closeness of family. All our close family have moved thousands of miles away. Sometimes it’s hard.

It does put limitations on what you can do. I've got friends who talk about restaurants and nights out with their partners and it's like another life. It's also limited us in terms of what jobs we can do.

That said my own childhood was similar so this is quite normal to me.

It's fine, it's a stage as we only have two. I personally wouldn't recommend either a big family or for both parents to expect to keep up big careers or social lives in this scenario.

Yes, my career has taken a back seat. No emergency cover in any situation.

Yanbu. I find it hard the older I get. I never grew up with close family or get togethers anyway. The nearest Uncle and cousins were 100 miles away.
I'm last person standing in my county as even my sibling has moved away.

One thing my DP struggle with now is the lack of closeness between the cousins. I doubt that I could identify mine in a police line up. My parents seemed to think that this affinity would come naturally but it hasn't. I've nothing against them and I'd be open to getting to know them if they moved to my town but right now they are just strangers to me.

Yes, it’s difficult. My children have never been collected from school by anyone but me. Love to see grandparents collecting kids from school and spending time with them.