Is anyone here in the same boat as I've recently boarded; being away from family especially around those important holidays and such?

On the one hand I am in a beautiful city with a fantastic climate and access to all the dog training I could ever want. On the other hand, I'm 2700 miles away from my family. I get to go home for THIS Christmas because it's pre-booked prior to my hire, but it's looking like taking off home for the holidays is not something I can count on for the long term, at least in my current job role.

I dunno... Sometimes it just gets to be pretty upsetting.

I've not moved to the other coast for that reason. My s.o. would love to live on the west coast. But my fam is on the east coast, and I've determined that family is an important part of my life, and that living close enough to them (within a day's drive) is more important than seeking out a different coast. Life is short, and we never know how short, so in my opinion, you've got to make the most of it. Decide what you value and go for it. He has tried to tell me "they'd be as close as a flight" but with the rising price of gas (and thus, airfare) and the time needed off, I decided personally it wasn't a good idea for me.

I've lived away from my family in St. Louis for a long time. Boarding school, college and early 20's in Chicago, then 8 years in France, and finally here in California.

I strongly believe when you're younger it's good to stretch your wings and strike out on your own. Even if it's only a temporary situation, it's a valuable experience. Often, it makes you realize what is important and valuable in your life.

A long time ago we didn't need a "village to raise a child"...we had our extended family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins all lived close by, saw each other often, and stayed connected. Family ties seemed stronger once-upon-a-time then they are now, in the so-called high tech age.

How sad is that?

I'm 42 now and after so many years of living away from my family, spending holidays without my family, and missing out on the simple day-to-day with my family...I'm ready and working toward getting outta here and returning there.

My family has always been very tight. To give some perspective, my Mom and her husband, my grandmother and my sister all lived together in the same house (that we all grew up in) until my grandmother died about ten years ago. Holidays were always spent in the same house, adding aunt, uncle and cousins (and assorted dogs) to the bunch. I was considered the rebel because I moved two hours' drive away. My grandmother bought me a car to make sure I could get back 'home' when I wanted, which was most weekends. Each family member was certainly able to sustain themselves financially (my mother and sister both have master's degrees) but everyone just wanted to be together.

After my grandmother's death, my mother (with her husband) and sister moved to my area so we were all close again. Holidays were ALWAYS spent together, plus birthdays, arbour day, any day we could find an excuse. Then, a couple of years ago my mom and her husband decided to live full-time at their house in Florida. it has been HARD on everybody. We've spent even holidays apart for the last two years. I've had a small farm here so traveling was very difficult to do. Finding help to get away for the holidays was impossible, so we'd visit at other times.

It's been so difficult to be away from family and apart on the holidays, that I closed up the farm and moved into town so that I would have less responsibility so I could travel more. Trying to find the time and money to get away was like pulling teeth, and leaving someone else in charge made me a nervous wreck. But it has been so difficult to be away from my family, that it's prompted me to change my whole way of life in order to see them more.

Life is so short, and it's so easy to let time slip away, that for me personally I don't regret any of the decisions I've made that enable me to spend more time with the people I love the most. I wish I could say I got used to the separation, but none of us ever did.

I think the worst part for me is that flights now are so expensive it's hard to just hop on a plane Friday afternoon and be home Monday morning. If need be, that's what I will do a few times a year... But it's just tough. It's almost a thousand bucks to fly from here (Vancouver, B.C.) to Toronto, Ontario.