My entire family moved to the same small town in Indiana. I was finally able to buy a home, and it's great for my kids.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch McKenna Shamburg, 25, who moved from Utah to Indiana to beryllium person to her family to thief raise her children. The pursuing has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

I've lived successful 8 states now.

I was calved and raised mostly successful South Carolina. I near erstwhile I was 12 years aged to spell to Louisville, Kentucky, for 2 years. Then we moved to Austin for a year, and past we moved backmost to South Carolina erstwhile I was 15. That's wherever I met my hubby successful precocious school.

Then we moved to Norfolk, Virginia, and past to Hot Springs, North Carolina. Then I graduated from precocious school, joined the military, and went to Knoxville, Tennessee, for assemblage astatine the University of Tennessee. Then my hubby and I moved to Washington Terrace, Utah, which is astir 45 minutes northbound of Salt Lake City.

I was only applying to jobs successful Utah because of the nature. I'm an outdoorsy person, and I was ace excited astir the mountains.

Utah wasn't for us

We lived successful Utah for a small nether 2 years. We really tried to person a organization successful Utah, and it conscionable didn't activity out.

I for illustration to deliberation I'm a friends person. I for illustration to activity astatine group erstwhile I'm stepping aliases running. It's a mini thing, and I don't get butt-hurt astir if group activity backmost aliases not, but cipher would successful Utah. People weren't arsenic friends location arsenic they are retired East aliases successful the Midwest.

So erstwhile we had twins successful July 2025, it was conscionable really hard.

Also, there's a large drought successful Utah, and it's beautiful bad. A batch of the h2o Utah gets is from snowfall, and it hardly snowed.

The period we left, the metropolis had enacted h2o conservation rules wherever they were fining group for utilizing excessively overmuch water. With twins, I do 1 cardinal loads of laundry each the clip — and that's not including baths and each that jazz. So it was a bully point we were getting retired of there.

In this shape of life, being that acold from family and friends wasn't awesome for us.

Also, financially, buying a location successful Utah is conscionable a batch much expensive. And pinch the h2o situation, I wouldn't really want to put successful a spot — moreover if we had costs to do truthful — if there's nary water.

We missed surviving adjacent family, truthful we came up pinch a unsocial solution

One of the biggest reasons we wanted to move was that we had twins, and successful Utah, we didn't person immoderate family nearby. When everybody says it's difficult to do it connected your own, and it takes a village, they aren't lying.

I was locked successful my location successful Utah. Even though I would get extracurricular and we'd spell to the park, it was conscionable us. I was lonely.

My family and I person ever been close. We conscionable haven't been nearby.
My relative was surviving successful South Dakota, and he, similarly, wanted to beryllium person to family — aliases astatine slightest to the East.

My parents wanted to unfastened a pizza place, Vinyl Pies, and that's what brought america each together. We each decided to move to Vincennes, Indiana, astatine the aforesaid clip to collaborate connected the pizza place.

Now, we're each successful Indiana arsenic of 2 months ago.

Buying a location was decidedly the extremity for us, but it seemed unattainable successful Utah.

We moved to Indiana successful April 2026 and closed connected our location for $273,000. The location we person present would astir apt spell for 3 times arsenic overmuch successful Utah, which is benignant of crazy. And we want much kids, truthful trying to fresh them successful a smaller location than what we person present successful Indiana would beryllium a pain.

Getting the location was a spot of a roller coaster because we were still surviving successful Utah and we didn't person the clip aliases the money to alert out. The twins were possibly six aliases 7 months aged astatine the time, and it would person been a messiness to effort to bring them.

My parents had to travel look astatine it for us. Our existent property supplier besides did video tours.

Our existent property supplier sent an inducement programme to us. I besides heard astir it from different folks — group successful Vincennes were eager to stock it.

The metropolis gave america $5,000 — half of it upfront, and past half of it aft a twelvemonth — to move there. So we've received half truthful far.

One of the large perks — speech from them giving you a bundle of money, which you tin ever return arsenic a young mates buying a location — is that they besides gave america a twelvemonth rank to the YMCA, which has been astonishing because I tin spell activity retired and they watch the kids. I can't explicate really overmuch of a blessing that is.

As a existent stay-at-home mom, my sanity rides connected getting retired of the house.

Even though location are surely nary mountains here, the parks they person are really really nice.

And they do a batch of events present successful municipality — almost each weekend, moreover though it's a mini Midwestern town. I deliberation they do a really bully occupation keeping everybody occupied, particularly kids.

Having family adjacent to thief raise my kids is invaluable

It was bittersweet leaving Utah, but I was excited to person support again. It was a beautiful unsmooth 9 months location pinch conscionable me, the husband, and the kids.

Being adjacent to family has been truthful amazing. My relative hadn't met our kids until they were 9 months old. Not because he didn't want to, but because we were truthful acold away. And now he sees them almost each different day.

My relative has 2 kids, too, and different connected the way. So I've not been adjacent to my niece aliases nephew astatine all, but now I spot them almost each different day, too.

I emotion the mountains, and I was beautiful sad to time off Utah for that logic — Indiana is virtually 1 of the flattest states. But coming here, group person been truthful nice. There's a consciousness of pridefulness here, successful a bully way.