What It’s Really Like to Move Your Family Nearly 2,000 Miles
Moving from Bend, Oregon to New Braunfels, Texas wasn’t something I ever imagined doing. But life has a funny way of unfolding in unexpected—and transformative—ways. Here’s what it looked like to relocate our blended family of six, 1,974.6 miles across the country
Outgrowing Our Space & Imagining More
As the kids got older and space got tighter, we hit a wall. There were few housing options in our budget, and growing our businesses in Bend was proving difficult. We weren’t just looking for more space—we wanted to dream bigger.
Enter: The Matrix.
John created a spreadsheet to compare potential places to move, factoring in cost of living, schools, housing availability, airports, and economic growth. New Braunfels, Texas checked all the boxes—plus, John’s entire family had relocated to the San Antonio area. I took a scouting trip and confirmed it: this move could really work.
Breaking the News
We made the decision in early 2017 and told close friends and family that spring. It felt surreal—everything lined up so easily, it was like we were meant to move. But sharing the news sparked some emotional responses. There were tears. Some shock. But we knew it was the right call for our family’s future.
The Road Trip (And All Its Chaos)
We left Bend over Labor Day weekend with two cars (one pulling a U-Haul), four kids, a dog named Bandit, and a loosely mapped plan. We bought a set of pink walkie talkies for the areas where there was no cell service. Every day of travel had its own mini-drama:
Salt Lake City: Arrived at 1 a.m., snuck the dog into a hotel, dealt with overtired kids fighting over beds.
Moab, Utah: Fell in love with this red rock town and had the best pizza lunch of the whole trip.
Albuquerque, NM: Stayed with family, where the political conversations were surprisingly pleasant, despite differing views.
Roswell, NM: Took the ultimate alien-themed family photo and had lunch in a UFO-shaped McDonald’s.
San Antonio, TX: Arrived in the middle of a hurricane at 1:30 a.m., with flood alerts blaring and nerves completely shot. We poured drinks the moment we walked through the door of our temporary home.
Settling In (Sort Of)
The hardest part? Transitioning the kids into new schools without permanent housing. We had to use borrowed addresses to register them, and I later learned this was technically illegal—but what are parents supposed to do in limbo?
John flew back to Oregon for six months to prep and sell our house. I stayed in Texas with all four kids, getting them ready for school and parenting them all alone. It was intense, exhausting, and the hardest stretch of our marriage so far. But we did it. Every line item on John’s planning spreadsheet was checked off.
One Year Later
Looking back, I’m amazed we pulled it off. The journey was messy, complicated, and emotional—but it was also filled with humor, teamwork, and resilience. We gave our family a fresh start, and it’s been worth every mile.
Oh, and yes—I did the trip all over again a few months later with John and his cat. That story includes a very expensive night in Vegas… but that’s a blog for another time.
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