Rich_by_the_Bay
Moderator Emeritus
After a great visit to our Missouri kids, albeit in crappy weather (the big ice storm), we are trying to figure this one out. Neither grandfamily lives in a town we would otherwise consider for our retirement location (one cause of the frigid weather, and the other cause it is a bit too small, remote, and conservative for our taste). But blood is thick.
The tradeoffs we talked about include being so close you become babysitters, possibility of the kids themselves moving for career reasons, how wonderful it would be to see them regularly, how annoying it could be to see them regularly if either or both entitites felt a little too much togetherness.
I'm leaning toward a 7-8 hour driving radius so we could get there in a reasonable day's drive, avoid airports, and still be in a place we choose for personal reasons. My DW wants the same town despite the limits above just to be a daily or at least weekly part of their lives. But I can see both perspectives. We agree that staying put in Tampa would be the choice if a day's drive was not the final decision. Let's ignore the snowbird thing for this poll, since we would do a bit of that wherever we chose - just talking about home base.
What have those of you who have done this think?
The tradeoffs we talked about include being so close you become babysitters, possibility of the kids themselves moving for career reasons, how wonderful it would be to see them regularly, how annoying it could be to see them regularly if either or both entitites felt a little too much togetherness.
I'm leaning toward a 7-8 hour driving radius so we could get there in a reasonable day's drive, avoid airports, and still be in a place we choose for personal reasons. My DW wants the same town despite the limits above just to be a daily or at least weekly part of their lives. But I can see both perspectives. We agree that staying put in Tampa would be the choice if a day's drive was not the final decision. Let's ignore the snowbird thing for this poll, since we would do a bit of that wherever we chose - just talking about home base.
What have those of you who have done this think?