<p>DD will be starting in sept at RPI, in Troy, NY.</p>
<p>I do not expect her to settle in the Capital District (albany-troy-schenectady)</p>
<p>RPI does feed into NYC to a considerable degree (esp, IIUC, in Arch, which is her degree). That would delight DW and me, as its relatively close, we have family there, and its a great town (not to mention strong jewish community) Its expensive of course.</p>
<p>However DD has been speaking more about seattle, places like that. When she doesn’t threaten making aliyah to Israel. Sigh.</p>
<p>My DD wants to have kids AND a career. Having family nearby would help. </p>
<p>I think there is a lot of wisdom to multigenerational families, etc. When I grew up I had only two grandparents alive, and one was in florida. I think having grandparents nearby is a good thing. People can still live happy productive lives without that (as they can without so much else) but it doesnt seem wrong to for that to factor into location decisions.</p>
<p>There are still regional differences in the US. I suspect this will slowly diminish given the various forms of modern communication. Our kids still have the opportubity to experince these regional differences. </p>
<p>My family has been in Northern CA since they came off the boat early last century. All my kids know is California. I believe it is important for my kids to experience another part of the country for an extended time. Its another facet of the education they will receive in college. </p>
<p>I hope they come back by the time grand kids come into play. If not, I hope they settle someplace I will enjoy visiting.</p>
<p>rhumbob, I was born in S. Cal, went to college and worked in Northern Cal, then moved right after I married to the east coast. It is really different here and it will open your kids eyes to literally the other side. I commend your encouragement that they discover that because Calif. can be kind of an island.</p>
<p>not to make this thread about california (lol), but i was born in southern cal and lived in northern cal for a little while as an adult. i found the two halves of california to be very, very different–not just geographically but culturally as well (almost like two separate states). </p>
<p>but yes, the east coast (new york, specifically) is nothing like california.</p>
<p>My parents and I are immigrants, so my extended family has never been easily accessible (13-hour flight is a bit of stretch ;)). I agree that effort is what matters–my mom’s side is much more interested in being involved than my dad’s side, and the advent of Skype has been a godsend. Live videoconferencing is so much closer to the in-person feeling than a phone call.</p>
<p>I applied to colleges all over the US, but ended up extremely close to home (40 minutes, private OOS but we live in a very small state so that doesn’t mean much). I am still seriously considering moving to Canada after grad school. Compared to the other side of the world, the “far north” really isn’t that far.</p>
<p>Much like Skyhook, I’m looking for my kids to create lives that work for them. I’d love it if they ended up living nearby, especially if/when they have kids. But, we’ll probably have another house in a different part of the country (we have one and share one in cold weather places and I’d like a warm place in the winter after the next empties). I will try to take them and then them and SO’s and then them and families on interesting vacations. My father-in-law did that and he kept the kids getting together in years in which they might otherwise have hung out with friends. </p>
<p>My son will likely go where his career interests take them. I suggested that he go to college in 5 hour driving radius of us because he had some health issues that might or might not be resolved before he left for school. He ended up 1.5 hours away, but with health issues basically resolved. My daughter has decided to go to school in Canada, either 7.5 or 10 hours drive. So, she’ll generally fly. I think the odds of her ending up living in Canada (where her mom grew up and we have a warm family) is significantly higher than if she were to go to school in the US, but I think it may fit her well.</p>
<p>In an ideal world, both of my kids would end up living in a place they not only love but would be ideal for their chosen careers. They would also be located close to one another and to me and H. The chances of that happening are probably very slim.</p>
<p>We live in an area which offers many opportunities, however D chose to attend college in another city which is without a doubt the place which offers the most in what she wants to do. We miss her and sometimes I wish she was closer, but I understand why she made that choice.</p>
<p>CA an island? I don’t know of any island that is dominated by so many cultures. As far as No. vs SoCal, they are completely different to the people of CA, with huge regional differences. My experience in the N. East is you can cross 3 state boarders in any direction and not have as much diversity of people, landscape or weather as 200 miles in any direction in CA. </p>
<p>To the point of the post- my family did restrict college selection to CA, and Northern CA specifically, for my sister and I. We both resent it to this day, although we are close with family, and kids are very close to Grandparents. Side note- as soon as I graduated from College I ran after a man to So Cal and married him and lived there for 12 years! </p>
<p>When S1 was looking at college, I guess I was living out MY dreams and pushed for East Coast- New England specifically. Red-eye to Boston and shot up to Middlebury. When surfer son woke up in Middlebury I knew I had made a mistake, you should have seen his face- Dartmouth didn’t save me and either did Brown. Sometimes you have moments when you wonder what you were thinking as a parent- this was one of mine. He was a very good sport, and approached the trip as a vacation.</p>
<p>Conclusion, don’t bother trying to control any of it!</p>
<p>Grew up in the rural Mountain states. 10 hours is not considered a super long drive That is a very doable drive. I drive one of these 2-3 times a year actually.</p>
<p>We consider our state one big town with a very long main street.</p>
<p>You should probably account for the fact that most young people will move around several times with today’s economy, and not put too much stock that they’ll end up settling down where they study. Where they end up living is one of those variables you won’t really be able to control, so probably not worth worrying about at this stage or putting strict limits on where they study. The more you try to fence them in during college, the more likely they’ll want to run away to a far off state once they’re financially able to do so. Better to let them naturally gravitate towards what’s right for them, and figure out the life stuff as it happens.</p>
<p>This is what’s happening with my son (only we haven’t sent money other than tuition, R&B). His major is such that he can live anywhere, but that local girl has too much influence. His new friends even have him hunting and fishing. I can still remember that phone call home, when he told us everyone was laughing at him because he didn’t know what a Carhartt jacket was.</p>
<p>toledo, your post made me laugh. When daughter first married the local boy she made him put all the mounted animal heads in his “study”, she called it the den of death. A few years later she was going to gun safety classes. This year we got homemade turkey jerky for Christmas.</p>
<p>I had lived in Tampa, FL for all eighteen years of my life before college. The only in-state college I applied to was New College of Florida, which is about an hour from me, but my parents were fully supportive of my move and knew it wasn’t because I was trying to run away from anything, as so many teenagers do. I currently attend college in Portland, OR. Every trip home involves 7 hours of flight time (10 hours later with the time change from west to east coast), but I couldn’t be happier and my parents are proud of me. It’s all just a plane ride away.</p>
That is a very doable drive. I drive one of these 2-3 times a year actually.</p>