I can answer a little differently. When I was 12 years old my parents retired to Florida leaving behind my much older siblings, nieces, nephews, close cousins, etc. I felt like an only child leaving behind a full big Italian/Greek family in New York moving to Florida. It started out great, summers in New York, Holidays, etc. As the years went by we saw my family less and less. Although some of my family followed my parents to Florida, many did not. Today—fast forward 50 years—I don’t know many of my nieces and nephews or great nieces and nephews. Then when my parents passed away, it was also a game changer. If you make an effort to stay connected and close, it helps. But life happens and we all go in different directions. I often wondered how things would have turned out if my parents didn’t leave New York. But they needed to live their own lives too….
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