Late to the thread, but I thought I’d give some thoughts. We moved, and it was because of work, so we really had no choice. (Theoretically, we did, but realistically, the new job offered so much more money it was a no brainer). I moved in February of D19’s freshman year, leaving the wife and D19 in AZ for a few months to finish school before they moved to TX with me for 10th through 12th grade.
Everyone adjusted well. She has a ton of friends at the new school, yet still keeps in contact with her old friends via social media and texting. We still go back to AZ twice a year, so she sees her closest friends when we return.
Biggest change was that we lived in an average school district. D19 was at the top of her class and only had a single B from 1st through 9th grade. We moved to one of the top school districts here. She’s not doing as well. She won’t even be in the top 10 percent. However, I think it was still a good decision. She’s learned study habits that she never had before (she literally never studied before starting 10th grade). And study habits and working hard will be more valuable in the future than graduating at or near the top of her school back in AZ.
Biggest negative for her is that a lot of her classmates here in TX have been friends for a long time. People have known each other since 1st grade. Or at least since junior high. She has friends, but I don’t think they are as close as the friends she had in AZ. But she’ll be going through that again when she leaves for college anyway, so I don’t think that’s a huge deal.