Grandparents go the extra miles to live near their kids

The Christian Science Monitor reports on a new trend among the elderly: 

Like many couples, Mary Jane and Kevin Beebe did not know exactly where they wanted to spend their retirement. But one thing was certain: Grandchildren would be a priority. So when their granddaughter was born last year, they moved from Toms River, N.J., to Pasadena, Calif., to be near her.

“I wanted to be part of a grandchild’s life, just as my husband’s parents were to our children,” Mrs. Beebe says. One of her brothers and his wife moved from New Jersey to Oregon to live close to a granddaughter. Another brother and sister-in-law settled in Vermont, where they have two grandchildren.

“The trend we’re seeing definitely is that grandparents want to be close to their grandkids, even if it takes them from the sun and moves them back to wherever they came from or to wherever their grandchildren are,” says Allan Zullo, co-author of “A Boomer’s Guide to Grandparenting.”

Read the rest.
Then, get more info on kinship caregiving, and the increasing number of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.