[Otter74]

I haven't been there as a parent, but I was there as a kid. I was born in Venezuela and lived in Caracas until we moved to Atlanta around the time I turned 8 and my sister turned 6. That was our one move during our childhood - my mom remained in Atlanta until this spring, and her sister is still there. (My mom moved a lot growing up in Missouri, whereas my dad and his family are all from the same city in Colombia going back generations) It was, obviously, difficult on me and presumably on my sister. One of my concrete memories of that time is the day that my mom told us that we were moving, and my feelings about leaving the only city I'd known, all my friends, etc. My sister was probably a lot like your youngest, whereas I was very introverted and shy and didn't make friends as easily. This was a good move for us as a family for a variety of reasons (including my dad's job), though I do wonder what my childhood would have been like if I had stayed there longer. If you're going to move, I think doing it now would be good for your son - his social milieu will change somewhat when he begins high school, and it will benefit him to spend all, or nearly all, of high school in the same school with the same friends. The younger ones will adjust more easily, I think. Without knowing the details of the social issues you suggest, it sounds to me like they are such that moving to a less insular community would be better for all of you in social terms.