How far do you live from your parents?

[Seravieve]

I live about 15 minutes from my mom, 25 min from my dad. J's mom is about 20 min away and her dad is... 2 days of driving.. MO to AZ. He would have been 5 seconds away before they moved to AZ.

I was 3 hours away from here when I went to college. It was nice, but then it wasn't. I'm really close to my mom, so wanting to come home for things didnt happen as often because 6 hours of driving total usually outweighed whatever was happening.

It's hard to decide to move away from the family... J and I were considering moving to CO about a year and half ago. It would have been really hard on me to not see my mom as much, I think. It's all up to you though. Don't stay for her... you'll regret it later. And if you do move, I'm sure she'd realize it's not because of her that you're moving. Even if it does take a while, I'm sure she'd figure it out.

[emily_the_spoiled]

We never had much choice but to move away when we finished high school. The closest university was 1.5 hours away from my parents, then when I graduated there were no jobs in either city, so I ended up moving 6 hours away. Since that time I have immigrated to a different country and we now measure our distance by time zones and not miles. To do the drive it is 12 hours a day for 3 days or you can fly but it still take a full day.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this, but I guess it depends on what you are looking for

[popcornbird]

I live just about a mile and a half from my parents. I love being close to them, and wouldn't 'choose' to live far unless I absolutely had to. My brother also lives nearby. I personally feel that being near the family is a huge blessing. My mom has completely gone out of her way to help me throughout my pregnancy, and it has been a huge help.

My husband's parents, on the other hand live on the other side of the world. Unfortunately, its hard to visit frequently because tickets to go that far are expensive, but luckily, they were able to come for our wedding nearly 4 years ago, and we were able to visit them two times since then. They're planning on coming to see us a few months after the baby is born, and will probably stay with us for a couple of months. It will be their chance to spend some time with their grandchild in his infancy, so it will be nice.

[Felicia's Mom]

My parents are no longer living.

[K9karen]

Oh Geesh. You're getting the same guilt trip stuff my mom gave me and my brother all the time and we were older than you.
My brother (4 yrs older) got a lovely studio in downtown Philly, to be closer to work, about 10 years ago, furnished it etc. He mentioned coming home to do wash and sometimes eat, because he can't boil water. Mom told him that once he's out, he's out for good and don't come back if he didn't like the way we live. Holy Cow! She did the same to me too many years ago. Fortunately for her, my dad started getting ill and it spazed her out, so we both gave up and stayed home.

In reality, though, we always had it good. No curfews, lots of freedom etc. Only when we both had great jobs did she ask for money, Before that, she refused it, wanting us to save for our futures. I admit we had a great time together. I always hate saying my mom was my best friend, but she was. The best shopper, so much fun and great to talk to. Not to take credit away from my awesome dad, but a girl's relationship with her mom is different. I don't think my dad cared if we stayed or went. He just hated for us to spend unneccessary money when we had it so good at home. Now it's my house anyway.

They're both gone now, but live within me. Can't get much closer than that. (and still no curfew!!! )

[KYS]

I think whether you live close or far away it has nothing to do with how
much you love your family. Sometimes for financial reason or others reasons it just not possible to live near your family.

I have a very close family. All of my sisters and I live no more than 6 miles from each-other.
When we married we all rented or bought homes as close to our parents as possible.
For us it works and we try to get together every Sunday for Brunch.
As for my neices and nephews, they live near school or closer to where their job is, but none of them live more than an hour away. (If they had to live further to get a job or go to school they would.)