Brave and crazy are often cozy bedfellows. I have certainly felt both. There are things I could have done differently to make it easier, but we live and learn, right?! Our transition was really pretty quick. We made a decision in summer 2014 and were down here by March 2015. We wrote a business plan and then moved. Our funding for that didn't work out, so we just had to make it up as we went along. My oldest decided to go back after a few months because of his girlfriend. He was 17, so I just let him go. He lived with family friends. My next one has really been fine because she's pretty happy to just draw and paint and bake and read. I'm pretty sure, though, that she's going to move back to the us in the fall and live with her dad. There's a democratic school up there, and her dad has a lot more money, so she'll be more comfortable there. The younger ones are 4 and 5. They were 3 and 18mos when we moved here, so it's pretty much all they know. When we went to visit, it was very foreign to them. I've thought about going back many times but never more than a few minutes. I just can't do the culture or the cold or the violence, none of it. It's such a shit show up there. It's so relaxed and slow and mellow here. It's not worth it to have fast internet and a few conveniences. It's not even a competition really. That said, a lot of people do go back. It's not for everyone. I'm always good with questions. Ask away!