Me and my DH met in the military, four kids later and after many years of moving around we have finally settled down on the east coast in New England. His family is in TX and mine is in FL. Having grown up as a part of big family that met up at my grandaprents house almost every weekend, holiday or whatever special occasion not having family around is still something that is still hard for me to deal with to this day. I still think back to those days of running around on my grandparents farm with my cousins with fondness. The cost of hopping on traveling was a little bit easier to deal with when we only had one kid but with 4 we are lucky if we can visit our families once a year. And then to choose which family to go and see becomes even more of a challenge.

Massachusettes has been an "interesting" experience for both of us having grown up in the south. But we have come to love our community and our friends. We have looked for jobs and schools comparable to what we have here closer to family and there doesn’t seem to be any in our opinion that compare. My kids go to a charter school here that is #2 for state testing scores and it is free. It now has a waiting list of over 200 kids hoping to get into the school. Our jobs are stable and we have a guaranteed annual pay raise. There arent many people who can say that anymore..

After many years of mourning the loss of extended family I have had to change my way of thinking and realize that my immediate family is what is important. We do our best to make our own memories.. More staycations and less vacations.. It is still heart wrenching to see families together for the holidays or at my kids school events but I always keep in the back of my mind that I am doing the best I can do for my family.

When my son was born, we lived in a different state from all of our family and most of our friends. My husband and I also have crazy schedules (for example, he's a paramedic and works 24 hour shifts). It was REALLY hard. And that's why we decided to move closer to family before having a second. This past year since we moved has been hard for different reasons, mostly related to our jobs (his had a 6 month hiring process, mine is not really what I wanted or was led to believe either content-wise or financially), BUT I'm still glad we moved because everything else has been so much better. My son sees his cousin and his aunts/uncle all the time. My sister ended up getting pregnant shortly after I did this time and we're going to do a nanny-share for their first year or so. When I didn't have power at my house for 6 days last week in 90-100 degree weather, there was no question that I had somewhere to go. When I was placed on bedrest (stupid pre-eclampsia), there was again no question that I had people to help out with my son, who will also be able to take care of him while I'm in the hospital having the baby. In other words, it was hard being away from family for the first one. I think it would be impossible to be away from them now that we're having a second. I know plenty of people do it, but I don't think we could with the way the rest of our life/schedules work.

If you still refer to the place you came from as "back home" you never really moved.

Hi! I live in Massachusetts too and I love it! It’s so progressive. My family is back in Moscow. I have raised a daughter here and have an 8-month old boy. We visit Moscow every year. Sometimes, we meet somewhere in Europe for a vacation. For the last two years my daughter spent several weeks in Moscow without me. She even crossed the ocean alone and she loved it. With Facebook, YouTube, Skype and phone calls I don't feel the distance. In fact, you must have very good relationships with your parents to want them around all the time A very short time passes before I feel judged or criticized by mine. When that happens, I want those 3,000 miles between us. We have made so many good friends here that it is home now. My kids have many aunts and uncles, not by blood but by our soul connection. Those are the people you are not obligated to see on holidays but you crave their presence in your life.