I know from personal experience that moving far away from your relatives is a big shakeup in the family dynamic. All of a sudden, you go from seeing them in person whenever you want to needing to plan it weeks if not months in advance. Keeping in contact starts to look very different, and if you are very close with family or have certain relatives who rely on you a lot it can be a difficult adjustment.

Despite the difficulties, though, there are plenty of benefits to spreading your wings. If it goes right, it can give you numerous opportunities that you wouldn’t have had otherwise and by extension, allow you to develop as a person. The problem is if you have to deal with family members who aren’t so happy about that. Maintaining those important ties while also having your own life can become a real problem for some.