Do you or family members live away from home?

I'm kind of bummed this morning........my neice just moved from Ohio to Florida. She graduated and got her teaching degree. Well, now my sister and brother in law are interviewing for a job for him in Pensacola, which obviously means they'll more than likely be moving away too. With my dad dying in 2003, and now Michelle is gone, soon Carol and Bob and I'm sure my mom will be spending at least the winter months down there, I feel very sad, like I"m losing my family, one by one. I hate this feeling.........

Awwww Sorry to hear you are feeling sad about this... but it happens.

I live close to my parents and sister, yet my grandmother, aunt, uncle, two cousins (all from mums side) live in Athens... I do miss them all but it's only a 4 and a 1/2 hour flight away so we all try and catch up at least once or twice a year

My sister is way on the opposite side of the Pacific in Canada

Poor you. I can imagine this must be hard for you.

My family consists of the huge number of 2, just my Dad and I. He lives about 15 minutes down the road, and that's as far as we both like it. I wouldn't move any further away from him, and he wouldn't move any further away from me. In an ideal world we'd live next door to each other! I like knowing I can pop in and see him anytime, and he's close enough that if I have any problems he can be there in under half an hour.

We all live within a 20 minute drive of each other. Before I moved at the end of December, I lived less than 2 miles away from my oldest brother. Now it is more like a 20 minute drive, but he and his family are taking it like I moved to the other side of the workd!

I know the feeling.. I am the ONLY ONE in the family who lives out EAST. Everyone else lives in Utah. Sis's family lives 2 houses away from my parents.. My brother's family lives about 15 min away so they live REAL CLOSE to each other. (That's a bit TOO close for me). All the aunts/uncles/cousins lives within 5 hours of each other...

EVeryone calls me the "black sheep of the family" since I am the only one living out East.

It can be real tough sometimes- especially when I need help. Luckily, I have some great friends and some church friends who can support me when I need help. Another thing that makes it tougher for me is the fact that my dad has a very RARE disease that is fatal so I am scared of missing too much time with him. Luckily, he seems to be doing good so far (crossing fingers) but if he does go downhill, I don't know what I will do. I did talk about moving back to Utah when we first found out he has this disease and my mom asked me a good question... She asked me if I'd still be happy in Utah AFTER Dad passes away.. She said she doesn't want me to move to Utah ONLY for Dad then be unhappy after he dies so that's one reason why I didn't move at that time.

Who knows what the future will bring... I MIGHT move back someday. Someday some of YOUR family might move back NEAR you..

Awww, Sis, how painful for you. You know you have family over here in Emerald Isle!

My sister whom I was very close to lives in Florida. It was 4 years since I seen her the last time I visited. I really get some lonely feelings sometimes but we talk often on the phone and that helps. It is hard to not get a hug now and then though......

My parents and younger brother live 20 minutes away, one uncle lives 3 hours south, the rest of my nearer family lives up in NoCal. More distant family lives on the east coast.

I actually like it because a lot of the family in NoCal is more conservative, and by living here I'm not forced to go to their ridiculously competitive (don't ask about easter) and formal holidays.

But I am sorry, it was a bummer when my older brother moved away.

My brother recently moved out and he and his girlfriend moved away to Lethbridge (a couple of hours away). They visit every now and then, but it just isn't the same.

THanks everyone for the support..........I just will miss her so much, and as much as I love to travel, it's expensive........

Hi, I can totaly relate to how you must be feeling.. I have been living in Italy for 5 years although I am American... my Dad passed away 5 years ago, and my Mom lives in California, I also have a big sister who lives there in California... I go back to visit once every 3 years because it is a big trip.. sometimes I feel very lonely without a family close by.. it can get very heavy at times. I also miss the U.S too even though Italy is very nice.
Mnay times at Christmas or easter I was alone, without my family and it was really sad.
I'm getting use to it..... When I was little I was always alone because my parents worked and my sister was in college. If you want, do send me a message when you are feeling sad... Wally meow

Originally Posted by kittylover4ever

THanks everyone for the support..........I just will miss her so much, and as much as I love to travel, it's expensive........

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I KNOW what u mean about travelling being expensive!

I normally will fly home twice a year- once in summer and once for Christmas. A couple years ago, I couldn't afford to fly home during the summertime so I only visited home once that year and let me tell you... My family were FURIOUS. They STILL bring that up now- they'd say things like "You will come home for Christmas too RIGHT and not skip a family visit like you did before??" and giving me guilt trips about it even after I explained about my financial situation at that time. Another time, I visited home for a SHORT time (3 days I think due to a mistake on my part-thought it'd be five days but forgot to include time for travelling so I lost 2 days for travelling and only got to be with family for 3 days) and they really gave me a hard time about that still to this day too.

I was hoping to buy an airline ticket NOW for Christmas to save money and it looks like the airfare is going up again! At this time, I am not sure if I can afford to fly home for Christmas but am not sure how to address that with my family because I KNOW they will freak out and act like I am "abandoning" them and start giving me guilt trips again...

It's very hard to be away from family...I moved a 2 day car drive away from all of my family..and it is very hard to be without them. What I find that helps is the microphone and webcam that we have so that we can see eachother all the time.

Joe's family is all in NY. We want to live closer, but are staying here until my two boys are older (I share custody with their dad). It's hard being so far away, especially for Braeden, who misses Grandma & Poppy.

My parents both live about 30 minutes away, and we rarely get together! My brother is in West Virginia, I haven't seen him for over 10 years. It's crazy. Never would have expected it while we were growing up!

I can't even imagine what it must be like for all of you with family living far away. My whole family lives within 10 minutes of each other with the exception of my uncle who recently moved about 3 hours away. My mom, other uncle, and grandma all live in the same neighborhood. One of my cousins lives in the neighborhood behind them. My other cousin and I both live in different apartments about 5 to 10 minutes away. I'm on the other end of the spectrum from you guys. I wish I could just up and move away sometimes and not be near anyone I know, lol.

Heather

My parents are both gone and we have 5 kids in the family that live in 5 different states. I just visited my sister a few weekends ago that I haven't seen for 3-1/2 years. I haven't seen my brother in 5 years. I'm trying to go visit the other 3 siblings next month (they are generally out west). It's hard to be separated, but somehow you make a family where ever you live. Hang in there!

My grandparents, uncle aunt and their twin boys all live in Australia. We haven't even met the twin boys!