Those of you who have your sisters or brothers living nearby .... how do you like it?

[Spidermama]

I'm just wondering. My family is really far flung and sometimes I wonder how much easier it would be if we could all be nearer and help each other out with childcare, school runs, shopping etc.

However, some people I know who still have an extended family network seem to think it can also be cloying.

Well my first DC is not quite here yet and my brother and sis have no kids, so not sure how its going to work when the kids come along.

However right now I love it. My brother currently lives with us but is planning to move out after Xmas (funnily enough he doesn't want to live in the same house as a screaming baby ). He has been staying with us for just under a year and he is a pleasure to live with (most of the time ). My sis lives a 5 min walk away and I see her 2/3 times a week. My parents live about a 15 mins walk away and I see them weekly. We are all very close, my bro and sis are 2 of my closest friends and I get on well with my parents. My sister absolutely can't wait to be an auntie and my brother is a mixture of excited and scared in case he does something wrong! I am really hoping that the close bond we all have now will continue after little fraggle is born.

I left my home town when i was 18 leaving my family there. I moved 180 miles away and have lived that distance form my family ever since so havent had the support from my family. My sister took the big step 3 months agao to leave our home town and move to my village! Its been a brilliant move, i love having her and her 4 children close by, they all pop over to play with their cousins and i help out looking after them and my sister returns the favour, our DCs have become really close which is lovely and i see my sis 3-4 times a week. She lives 10 mins up the road (walking) and just knowing she is there is amazing but we also dont live in each others pockets which was really important to us!

My brother and mum live almost next door and my sister is walking distance, a few streets away. DH's family are on the other side of the city and we only se his sister regularly, which is not often.

I love being near to my family, not really for help but just to see them and I know that if there is an emergency I can call on them.
Eldest brother is abroad and I miss him.