Will 'going' away to college likely lead to 'moving away' for life?

<p>I am an Indian, studied in my home town in Delhi, India, 1 hour away from home, commute every day for 4 yrs. Then moved to US after my graduation. Now, in CA, for 20+ yrs. My son accepted offer from Gatech and now moving to Atlanta for 4 yrs (atleast that’s what I am <em>thinking/hoping</em>). We have one of the best univ system in CA and he wants to study in opposite coast.</p>

<p>Too hard to predict! My daughter and both sons went to college OOS. My son moved home after College graduation. Be careful what you wish for! :)</p>

<p>Seriously, the way people move around has less to do where they went to college then it does with their career aspirations and their personality. I think going to college a distance from home can make the possibility of living in a new area after graduation seem like a reasonable idea instead of a big stretch, but that’s about it.</p>

<p>In my dream world, I want my kids to move to places that I would like to visit, often. However, when they start having grandkids, they all need to move within an hour of each other so we can relocate and be near the grandkids.</p>

<p>I lived at home near San Francisco for several years while working and attending community college. After that, I wanted to move away… since 2008, I’ve lived in Alaska and Idaho for college, moved back to Alaska for an internship after graduating and now trade off between Indiana for graduate school and Alaska for work.</p>

<p>There have been demographic studies showing that my generation is one of the most mobile and “rootless” in history - many more moves, much less home ownership. It’s part of modern life… you go where the opportunities are.</p>

<p>It could. Anytime an opportunitie arises for anyone to go elsewhere, there is that possibility. Otherwise, there has to be a self made reason to do so.</p>

<p>I wonder if this also has to do with the family history of moving. Only one of us in my husbands and my family has stayed in the state where we grew up. Our parents all moved out of their homestates when they married and so did all of us, with the exception of one sibling. Our kids (10 of them) are all going to college out of state with the exception of two who went far away in their home state. Our parents moved back to their home states when they retired. I have no idea what it’s like to live within an hour of a relative.</p>

<p>Probably. But isn’t that the whole point of parenting?
;)</p>

<p>I certainly hope so.</p>

<p>While we live in a geographically wonderful area, there are limited professional options. I hope their horizons will stretch beyond what is available locally.</p>

<p>I have made it clear to my kids that they are going out of state, and actually beyond the contiguous states, for college. They are/have been in full agreement.</p>

<p>My D moved away for college and did not return. I never expected her to, though. She wanted to move since she was little. On the other hand, she has friends who did not go OOS for school but moved away after graduation … and friends who went OOS for school but moved back after graduation.</p>

<p>Even if she’s there for undergrad, she might move away after to start her career. </p>

<p>Let her do what she wants. You’ve done your job, not let her make her own decisions. You can never predict what’s going to happen. </p>

<p>Good luck :). Everything will be OK.</p>

<p>OP … I also think you might be mixing correlation and causation. I would guess it is true that a higher % of of students who go far away to college move far from home when they graduate … however that does mean they moved away from home after college because they went to college far from home … for a lot of them I’d bet kids interested in going to college far from home are more likely open and/or interested in living far from home after college. (Says 3togo who had a serious case of wanderlust as a young adult … before moving back fairly close to my parents after 7 years away)</p>

<p>Almost everyone has given DH and me flack for <em>allowing</em> DD to apply to schools half way across the country, and then actually <em>permitting</em> her to attend one of this fall. We are older parents and she is an only child, and we are a close family that gets along well. But I encouraged her to apply OOS for financial aid reasons and because I thought it would be a wonderful growth opportunity to experience life outside the California bubble and to learn that the world is not made up of 99% liberal Democrats. Plus, without much in the way of extended family, she needs to learn how to be independent and I need to learn how to let go so that she CAN become independent. It will be more painful for me than her. </p>

<p>I hope she will come back; she has been working hard to get a multi-year summer internship that will bring her home every year. If she changes her mind later on and finds a better gig elsewhere (that pays just as well), then that is her right. I just want her to land in a place that is reasonably accessible by cheap airlines like Southwest! With her non-STEM interests, she really needs to be open to relocating to wherever.</p>

<p>Growing up near Phila, I wanted to go to UCLA. Back then, it was a lot easier to get into and pay for. But my mom wouldn’t let me go, for the same reason given here - she was afraid I’d stay out there. I vowed I’d never do that to my daughter. Unfortunately, the way tuition has gone up - and the fact that I very much doubt she’ll be able to get any merit aid, I suspect she will end up in state. But if I could afford it, I’d send her anywhere she wants to go.</p>

<p>I went to college in Boston, grad school in NY and have lived in California, Germany and NY since then. My oldest went to Pittsburgh for college and is now working in CA. You go where the jobs are, (or in my case where the boyfriend/husband is).</p>