I have moved 13 times and learned that the US is a small place by plane. I can leave in the morning and be with friends and family in the afternoon if I fly. My friends visit me and like to stay a week or so so we actually spend more time with some of them than we did when we were home.
With our move to Florida we seem to be getting a higher than average number of visitors as they view us as a vacation spot.
I have never believed in living my life for others. When you do that you tend not to have much of a life of your own. We have also discovered that you keep in touch with true friends and the friends of convenience tend to disappear real quickly. We still see our true friends and will always be so. We have no children so that is not an issue. Our friends tend to be mobile like we are and there are a few within two hours of here. I have a cousin in TV and another cousin and uncle in Wildwood. Add my wife's sister to the mix with my great twin nieces in Belleview and we feel right at home here. When we left we had neighbors crying; some whom hardly talked to us and none who ever invited us inside of their homes for a social visit. After so many moves we have friends all over the place and it is fun to meet up with them either where I currently live or at their place. So to answer you question, my advice is to leave and don't look back. The grandkids will be a few hours away by plane and you can visit them all you want. The same goes for friends although you will find that some will drop by the wayside over time.