If your family - at any point -

[JessReplanted]

packed everything up and made a major move,

AND it worked out well for you, I'd love to hear about it. :001_smile:

 

 

 

:bigear:

[Amira]

We've done that lots of times, by choice, and I've never regretted a move we've made. Well, I wasn't happy with one move (when we moved from Kyrgyzstan to the US about 6 years, but we didn't really have a choice that time), but all the rest have been good.

 

There was one move that was really hard on my kids, but I think they got a lot from it too. I wouldn't do it again, but I don't regret it.

 

We're gearing up for another overseas move in a few months and I'm looking forward to it in many ways. It's always difficult to move, but I love living in new places.

[elfgivas]

we moved from canada to germany and lived there for five years.

then we to canada for three years.

then we moved to england for a year.

then we moved to canada for seven years.

then we moved to the usa and here we are.

 

they were all Very Good.

the move to the usa has been the hardest.

 

if you are staying in country, that's easier if you like your country, even with regional differences.

 

what are you thinking of doing? :bigear::bigear:

ann

[Pam Wilhelm]

We did a move from GA to MN back in 2009....quite a change in many ways. We are still adjusting, but we do love MN...it's just....... different.

 

We rented the Uhaul...packed the kids and the dogs into the van and drove for 3 days up to MN. Quite an adventure.

 

It was the right thing for us to do....without a doubt. You can read about it here...... Three Years

[ChristineW]

How major? How far? We moved on very short notice from LA to SF (interviewed Jan 2 moved end of Feb). Its working out well. DH is so much happier in his work, and I've finally found a place where I want to put down roots.

 

I moved from St Louis to LA to be with my boyfriend of three months who was finishing law school. It was absolutely crazy but 9 years and three kids later we are still madly in love and have our happily ever after. I knew that he was my best chance at being happy, and he was absolutely trustworthy ( he got me through a life-threatening medical crisis and didn't run).

 

Change is hard, but sometimes you just have to do it. Trust God; trust your mate and trust yourself.

 

Christine

[Whereneverever]

We've done it multiple times and it's always worked well.

[Stayseeliz]

We didn't move that far away-3 1/2 hours but it was a leap of faith. DH had just lost his job and we just packed up all our stuff and moved back to his hometown to be with family and figured we'd find SOME type of job. It has been good. Hard at times but good. Glad we packed all that junk up and made that move.

[Xilka]

I moved myself and my 40-day-old son from the city to an extremely rural town, as a single mom.

We didn't have electricity for two years. It was totally different than what I was used to. But I was following my heart, and it was the best decision I ever made.

[CatMomof3]

This might not be what you want but ...

My dh and I lived in VA, 2 weeks after my oldest was born my dh went to Iraq (right before Iraqi Freedom). My dh was not confortable with me living at the apartment with a newborn and my family could not help me at the time (my sister was taking all their energy :glare:) so I moved 3000 miles to CA and moved in with my in laws - I had only met them 2 times before. Boy did I get a culture shock (and so did they :D). When my dh got back from Iraq I knew he would need some time to himself, so he worked with a construction company that traveled so he could workout some issues that he had. After 6 months of that he moved up in the company, and we haven't left CA, yet.

 

As hard as it was to live with complete strangers, know what I know now, I would do again in a heartbeat.

[PrincessMommy]

Perhaps this is a spin-off, but I'm wondering how long did it take to feel like it was the right decision? I'm dealing with serious regret with our recent move. People keep telling me to give it 6mo. to a year. Did any of you have that "What the heck did we just do?" feeling that later went away?

[DawnM]

It took a few YEARS for me and I still find times I miss our previous location terribly.

 

Perhaps this is a spin-off, but I'm wondering how long did it take to feel like it was the right decision? I'm dealing with serious regret with our recent move. People keep telling me to give it 6mo. to a year. Did any of you have that "What the heck did we just do?" feeling that later went away?

[DawnM]

Do you mean within the US or do you mean internationally? We have done both.

 

We moved from California to North Carolina 7 years ago. I told DH I would give it 2 years tops, but a variety of things have kept us here and now no one wants to move back other than me! I wouldn't do that to them as they love it here but it has never felt like "home" to me. I am better than I was, and homeschooling is much better for my kids here.

 

Dawn

[regentrude]

Perhaps this is a spin-off, but I'm wondering how long did it take to feel like it was the right decision? I'm dealing with serious regret with our recent move. People keep telling me to give it 6mo. to a year. Did any of you have that "What the heck did we just do?" feeling that later went away?

 

6 mo to 1 year is not nearly enough. Think 5+ years. I am still getting homesick; we immigrated to the US 10 years ago. But at some point you reconcile with the decision and live without questioning it.

[Denisemomof4]

Perhaps this is a spin-off, but I'm wondering how long did it take to feel like it was the right decision? I'm dealing with serious regret with our recent move. People keep telling me to give it 6mo. to a year. Did any of you have that "What the heck did we just do?" feeling that later went away?

 

I moved from CA to NH. It was a difficult move. I was saving my money to move back to CA when I met dh. It took me 16 years to call it home here. Niw you couldn't get me to leave. I feel so blessed to be here!

 

What made all the difference was moving from a town on the MA border, a town hily populated with a lot of transplants, to a small town in a more rural area yet close to everything. Now I love it here. The. People make all the difference.

[RegularMom]

We moved from CO to PA five years ago, and it was a good move. We moved to be closer to family, but what happened was that being close to family wasn't as good as we thought it would be.

 

But the job RegularDad got here turned out to be a great boost to his career, so we've been very fortunate that way, especially in this job market and economy.

 

I've moved quite a few times in my life, and I've always said it takes five years for me to Really Settle In to a new place. We're in our fifth year here, and I'm finally feeling settled. I'd prefer not to move again, but you never know what will happen.

[K&Rs Mom]

We're thinking about it. We really like where we are, and have an awesome house, but it would be much easier for dh's work if we moved, plus we'd be closer to my family. It's good to see that it's gone well for most people!

[TheReader]

We moved from Texas to Brazil, 4.5 yrs ago. Much of the ups & downs are chronicled in my blog (link in siggy).

 

So far, it's working out well.

 

We miss our family, of course. We do plan to return to Texas one day, but we're at the mercy of DH's employer, so not sure when that will be. We hope it will be within the next 3.5 yrs, so that our oldest son is back in TX for his senior year of high school. We'll see.

 

But, so far, in the 4.5 yrs we've been here, the good has outweighed the bad. It hasn't been easy, but it's been good for us.

[mumto2]

We moved to the UK on our own so no movers just luggage on the plane. Life really was different. I had visited many times and thought the transition would be easy. Its hard when you can't even find what you want in a grocery store. It started to tire me out. The compromises I almost made because I didn't really understand the choices.

 

If you haven't already made friends join some groups and be open to whatever friendship they offer. I ended up in a group of 90 year old women knitters! I am serious! It was pretty funny except for the fact they were all I could find. I eventually found a great group through them that is age appropriate:001_smile:

 

I still doubt our move frequently but then we visit the US and I am once again lost in the grocery store. I think it is really easy to remember the past through "rose coloured glasses". Things change quickly and you can't go back, it won't be what you remember.

 

I hope these stories help. I am packing to return to the UK today. It makes me sad but for the first time I am actually looking forward to our life and friends there. I totally understand how hard the change is. Take each day as it comes and try your best to enjoy it!

[mommaduck]

IL to PA...best move ever!

[SailorMom]

We've moved 10 times- zig-zagging across the US (military).

Not sure what parts of moving interest you, but I can generalize a bit...

I like it. I enjoy living different places - we've seen a lot of the US :) If the kids were still very young, I wouldn't mind still moving around as much. After they got to be about 7-ish, moving became torture for them. My older DS was almost 9 the last time we moved and we ended up having to put him in therapy for almost 3 years to help him get over all the moving. He is the type of kid that would stay in one place forever, have one friend from pre-school until he died, etc., and the stress of moving was just too much for him so many times (8 times in 5 years from the time he was 3).

So - the actual moving itself - logistically it's not that big of a deal. Traveling is fun, and meeting new people isn't hard at all as long as you get involved in the community (we're very active in Boy Scouts). It really just depends on how the members of your family deal with relocation/change.

[walkermamaof4]

On very short notice a week after the death of my mom we moved from NC to FL. Best thing we ever did. People had told us not to leave our friends and family at such a time. It worked out better than I could have imagined. I'd say it takes me at least 3 years or longer to settle in. I love changes and new places though. We met friends at church. I'd definitely recommend going somewhere to meet folks. And stretch yourself out of your comfort zone in who you will hang out with.

[Mrs Mungo]

Well, moving in the military is a little different than in civilian life. I think the thing to remember is that there are going to be good and bad aspects about *everywhere* you move. And there will be things you miss about nearly everywhere that you leave. I've learned there are only two kinds of military wives-those are happy pretty much everywhere and those who aren't happy anywhere. I think that is probably generally true. You have to plant yourself where you are, allow those roots to grow, even if it's only a short-term move. Make friends. Go see stuff like you are a tourist. Everywhere you live will have unique things to see and do.

[TheReader]

Well, moving in the military is a little different than in civilian life. I think the thing to remember is that there are going to be good and bad aspects about *everywhere* you move. And there will be things you miss about nearly everywhere that you leave. I've learned there are only two kinds of military wives-those are happy pretty much everywhere and those who aren't happy anywhere. I think that is probably generally true. You have to plant yourself where you are, allow those roots to grow, even if it's only a short-term move. Make friends. Go see stuff like you are a tourist. Everywhere you live will have unique things to see and do.

 

Not a military wife, but I've seen the same thing in ex-pat wives in general, too. Either you'll be happy, or you won't. And usually it has nothing (or little) to do with where you are at the time, more to do with how willing you are to adapt.

[Shellers]

Nope, we have never moved. I've lived in this house for 17 years.

 

It looks like my husband's job may be moved to Oklahoma. Or he may end up consulting long term in North Dakota. So we may have to move. I guess we would rent out our house. The thought of moving is frightening, we have way too much stuff and lots of animals. It would break my heart to sell my miniature donkeys, DD's goat, and the llama, the horse I could handle.

 

For some crazy reason, not living within a hour or so of the Pacific Ocean really scares me. :001_huh:

[TammyinTN]

Our family has made 14 moves in 25 years. Once to Korea and 3 moves in Germany. It's been a blast and I've learned so much. Moving is hardwork, but so worth it. :D

Edited March 24, 2012 by Tammy in Germany

[Laura Corin]

Let's see.... as a family:

 

London to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to China, China to Scotland.

 

The first move wasn't so good, because it was not our choice - Husband needed a job and we had a six month old baby. The others have been great! What do you want to know?

 

Laura

[GailV]

Starting at age 6 months, my family (both family of origin and now the family I've formed with dh) has done that about every 6 years on average. We've stuck to the midwest and the east coast.

 

The most memorable was when I was 7 months pregnant and moved halfway across the U.S. with dh, a 3yo, and 2 cats to a town where we knew no one. It took longer to settle in that time, what with being busy giving birth.

 

I've always considered it an adventure. Every place has had good things and bad things about it. We have fun discovering the good; we rejoice in leaving the bad behind when we make the next move.

[3Blessings]

Four years ago we packed up and followed God's call to Indonesia. It was HARD, but God has blessed us in so many ways.

 

One piece of advice to anyone moving somewhere new: be flexible and willing to try new things. Cultural issues, new expectations, etc. will assault you. I have done many things in my rigidity that I regret.

 

We are now looking forward to another move- back to the U.S. in June. I am trying to remember these things, too.

[Live2Ride]

We've done a few...only disliked one...only because I'm not a city girl and didn't like where we were, although had the job worked out we were scouting a home and land in an area I did like.

 

We've been where we are now for 10 years and love it. There are times that can be aggravating, but for the most part I don't think we will leave unless there is a job change.

 

To make it fairly successful though, one needs a little sense of adventure and the ability to just get out there and explore. :D

[SailorMom]

Nope, we have never moved. I've lived in this house for 17 years.

 

It looks like my husband's job may be moved to Oklahoma. Or he may end up consulting long term in North Dakota. So we may have to move. I guess we would rent out our house. The thought of moving is frightening, we have way too much stuff and lots of animals. It would break my heart to sell my miniature donkeys, DD's goat, and the llama, the horse I could handle.

 

For some crazy reason, not living within a hour or so of the Pacific Ocean really scares me. :001_huh:

 

 

We're from Northern California (Auburn and Tahoe area), and have lived in Oklahoma and South Dakota. We LOVED South Dakota.... but North Dakota is VERY different ;)

As for Oklahoma.... yeah. It is a big change. If you go, be prepared for a bit of culture shock, of course. I also hated being so land-locked. I much prefer living near the ocean... or at least some mountains... Oklahoma doesn't have much of either :) I will say that the Eastern part of the state has some beautiful forests. There is a lot to do in Oklahoma City, crime is generally low in smaller towns (we lived in Enid - no crime at all), my kids actually really liked it there because it was easy to make friends. There isn't a lot to do as far as touristy stuff - but people are very family oriented and are active in clubs and the community more so than I saw living in CA.

[YaelAldrich]

We've moved 12 (soon to be 13) times in about 12 years (some on purpose, some by G-d's plan [Hurr Katrina]). The actual month of the move and the month after are the WORST periods of time, but once the move-pack-buy new stuff money hustle is over, I can used to almost anything. I have found that some neighborhoods weren't good choices, but the moves overall are fine. The kids are used to it and seem to like finding new places to visit and new friends. I wish sometimes we would settle down and we might be after this next (international) move, just so I can paint the walls whatever color I want and buy a playset for the kids...

[Momof3littles]

Yes, quite a few times. We moved 9 hours out of state with our oldest when he was 15 months. We relocated so DH could pursue his PhD. It was a great move, a great time in our lives, and we look back on it fondly. The house, the location, the whole experience overall.

 

We had two more children while he was in graduate school. We relocated again for a job when he finished school, heading 9 hours away again almost to where we started from, LOL. Different company, different job, but close to the same area. We didn't put our house on the market until we moved out because we had a 6w old newborn at the time and I did not want to deal with showings :tongue_smilie:. We opted to move to a rental for almost a year, and then bought a house a few miles away from our rental. So we moved. Again.

 

We kept as much as possible packed up after we moved to the rental, because that move was paid for through a corporate relocation package. The 2nd move from the rental to the home we bought was on us, so we tried to keep a lot of things packed up from when the professionals packed and moved us.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

We moved from Mi to Wyoming 5 years ago and its been amazing! This is about a 24 hour drive from everything we knew. This was when every single night on Mi news you heard about the 50,000 jobs lost to another state or country 0r these 3 major companies relocating to this state or country and dh could not get a job for anything. He had one for 4 months before his position was eliminated in a span of 19 mo unemployment. This was before the unemployment extensions. Not that those would have helped. We got desperate and dh put his resume' online. It was funny because there is a city in Michigan-- Wyoming, Michigan and we lived there long ago when it was still a good city and when the company called they said to dh they found his resume and all and then asked if he ever thought about moving to Wyoming. Dh ofcourse thinks of Wyoming, Mi and says 'Yeah we used to live there' :lol: Guy on the phone gets excited and says "OH really?? Where about?" Dh told him the street we lived on :lol: Took them about 5 mins to get on the same page.

 

This move has been amazing for our family. Both my family and his family was VERY against it (except for BIL-- dh sisters husband) he saw it for what it was and so did our friends. This move has grown our family so close to each other. We knew nobody coming out here. It was scary but an amazing move! Its been 5 years and we love it. I don't know that we could go back to Mi-- though we live in the Wyoming side of the Black Hills and 45 mins from Mt Rushmore. Its GORGEOUS out here :D

[Josie]

We have made MANY major moves and lived to tell the tale! It is stressful, but it is not impossible. Just remember what Bob Seger said: "Those are the memories that make me a wealthy soul." (Yes, I know he was singing about women, but I think lots of memories make us have wealthy souls.)

 

Like some other posters have said...you will either love the place or not, but it really is all up to you. It is all in the mindset you adopt. I have adopted both positive and negative mindsets regarding moves and the locations. I can tell you that I have now promised myself that I WILL ALWAYS adopt a positive mindset from now on. It makes things go so much better. Just think of it as an adventure. Imagine what you would write about the adventure in your autobiography...do you want to say you were a negative and grumpy person or would you rather talk about the adventure of finding the grocery stores for the first month or the adventure of trying to find a house?

 

You CAN do this and you can make it a fun adventure.

[Puma Mom]

Since we've had kids, we've moved....

 

from NW Metro Atlanta area to Syracuse, NY. The boys were 6 and 3. It was a hard place to find friends at first, but we did. We are still in touch with a few families from there and the kids' babysitter. We made it a point to see as much as we could in the area and beyond while we lived there.

 

from Syracuse to Central NJ. The kids were 10, 7, and 3. I was not a big fan of the move, but it turned out to be a great 11 years. We had an amazing church and wonderful friends we still visit regularly. Again, we made it a point to enjoy the area: lots of trips into NYC, the beach, Philadelphia, etc.

 

from NJ to southwestern VA. The kids were 21, 18 and 14. It was very tough to make the decision to move away from our church and friends in NJ, but we do love it here. Both our boys go to college in town, so we get the blessing of seeing them on a regular basis. Well, older ds especially since he lives at home, but also younger ds who is the noise of the house.

 

Yeah, it's an adventure. I miss a few friends in NJ terribly, but I am making friends here. I do try to focus on the positive and remember how long it took in the last place to find friends. The boys were most upset about the move when they were 6 or 7. Younger ds was absolutely convinced he wouldn't have any friends in NJ, and of course he does. You'd have thought that dd, at 14yo, would have been digging her heels in about this last move, but she was all in favor of it because she loves this town. She does miss her bff in NJ, but she's breaking into some groups here. Also there's a wonderful community theater program here that she's involved in.

 

If it's going to happen anyway, you focus on the positive.

[nukeswife]

Well, moving in the military is a little different than in civilian life. I think the thing to remember is that there are going to be good and bad aspects about *everywhere* you move. And there will be things you miss about nearly everywhere that you leave. I've learned there are only two kinds of military wives-those are happy pretty much everywhere and those who aren't happy anywhere. I think that is probably generally true. You have to plant yourself where you are, allow those roots to grow, even if it's only a short-term move. Make friends. Go see stuff like you are a tourist. Everywhere you live will have unique things to see and do.

 

:hurray: This was so well said, I need not say more.

[Briartell]

We left Utah in 1999 to stay with my mom in CT and to find work. We thought we would be there for two years tops before we could move back to Utah. 13 years later and we live in TN. We love it here but we also would have loved Utah. If you love where you are living, then do what you can to stay.

 

Having said all that, our life in TN had been wonderful and I am glad we have ended up here.

[KidsHappen]

My hubby and I woke up one day and decided to move to Utah. We got a truck and boxes and packed up and left within a day or two. We were out west for about two years before one of his jobs took us to FL but we really enjoyed the experience and the freedom to do something crazy like that at leasst once in our lives. We had both moved tons of times before that so it wasn't like moving was a huge deal for us and we didn't have very much stuff or as many children then so it was a whole lot easier than it would be now. I don't think that you could pry me out of my house now. I plan to be here until all of the children are grown and gone and I am ready to downsize. I guess it just matters where you are in your life at the time.

[sassenach]

We've done state to state moves 3 times. And 1 interstate move on 10 days notice. Do you have any specific questions?

[Shellers]

We're from Northern California (Auburn and Tahoe area), and have lived in Oklahoma and South Dakota. We LOVED South Dakota.... but North Dakota is VERY different ;)

As for Oklahoma.... yeah. It is a big change. If you go, be prepared for a bit of culture shock, of course. I also hated being so land-locked. I much prefer living near the ocean... or at least some mountains... Oklahoma doesn't have much of either :) I will say that the Eastern part of the state has some beautiful forests. There is a lot to do in Oklahoma City, crime is generally low in smaller towns (we lived in Enid - no crime at all), my kids actually really liked it there because it was easy to make friends. There isn't a lot to do as far as touristy stuff - but people are very family oriented and are active in clubs and the community more so than I saw living in CA.

 

Thanks for the info! :)

[Alyeska]

Perhaps this is a spin-off, but I'm wondering how long did it take to feel like it was the right decision? I'm dealing with serious regret with our recent move. People keep telling me to give it 6mo. to a year. Did any of you have that "What the heck did we just do?" feeling that later went away?

 

Oh boy have I btdt! It took me nearly 2 years to come to the realization that we had made the right decision. We ended up living in that town for 13 years.

 

Regarding the OP, we have made 2 long distance moves (in the U.S.) in the last 2 years. It was tiring and we are SO glad to be settled permanently, Lord willing. What helped us the most was getting rid of lots of stuff and being very organized with what went into what boxes.

 

IMO the hardest part about moving is getting to know people, getting involved in church, discovering what to do in the community etc...

[besroma]

After living 10 years in the same house, we had to relocate for a job. We packed up the entire house and moved 6 hours away. It is very different here, but we have embraced it.

 

We are much farther away from family now, but we have grown in many ways. It has been a positive experience for us....and we were leaving a home and friends we loved (but we found that here too).

[fraidycat]

We've never really had a choice in the matter, but we've moved a LOT with the military in the past 11 years.

 

Arizona, North Carolina, Minnesota, North Dakota, California

 

There are always pros and cons to each and every move.

 

I'm tired of it, now. We will make at least one more move before we settle permanently, because we do not want to stay in CA when DH retires.

[Heather in Neverland]

Moving from the United States to Malaysia is one of the best things I have ever done!!!

[Juliegmom]

A year and a half ago we moved out of country to serve as missionaries. It's been difficult, but our kids (ages 6, 13 and 16) have all transitioned beautifully. We had always lived in the same town as our parents and enjoyed close relationships with family. We had never made a big move in our lives! Honestly, the transition was the most difficult for me and our oldest child. It takes time to build new relationships and literally start all over. There are days when I'm tired of being stretched, but that's how we grow. Even though our children had strong feelings about not wanting to move, they would tell you that they continue to see confirmation that this is where we are meant to be right now. It can be overwhelming, but the Lord is faithful. Keep talking and praying with your kids. Homeschooling was a first for us as well so we've had our share of bumps in the road. I agree with Jean who commented that one of the hardest things was getting to know people, getting involved and discovering what to do. I think this depends a lot on personality and may be more of a challenge for some than others. When we lived in the states my role and routines were established. This is somerthing that I'm still trying to sort out. I don't know how long our time will be here, but I know that our hearts and minds have been changed forever. Praying the Lord will guide and direct your steps.

Edited March 27, 2012 by Juliegmom

[nd293]

We moved from South Africa to Oman, and from Oman to Australia. My biggest advice is to avoid rushing to judge the decision to move, and the place you've moved to. The first move was the hardest. The second was much easier because I knew to be gentle with myself. It takes time to adjust. I think that it often takes 6 months just to get the basic logistics sorted out, and another 6 monts to really feel at home. I personally think that really getting to know the area helps a lot. It is when I can drive to new areas and still feel confident about where I am in relation to areas I know that I tend to feel "at home".