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I get a similar question every year about this time…  Many buyers (and some sellers) worry that after school has started it must be too late to move their kids if there is a school change involved.  The feeling is that it is rough to move kids during the school year because the classes might not be in sync… students may be learning different things.

A few years ago, I ran across an article by a Child Psychologist.  (I wish I could locate the article again…).  In it, she stated that kids actually cope best with a move during the school year, and the best time during the school year to move is at the very beginning.  The theory behind that timing is that it puts the kids right into the situations that will most easily allow them to meet new friends.

Since I am NOT a Child Psychologist, I can’t comment on the psychological effects from a medical standpoint.  However, when I was a kid, we moved a few times, including cross-town moves and one from Michigan to Virginia.  All of our moves happened during the summer…  My Dad was a school teacher, so move coincided with his contract renewals…  And each time, I recall that I didn’t really begin making friends in earnest until school started.

Just this year, our family moved…  And we did it right after the end of the school year.  Had we been able to influence the timing of our move more, we might have tried to push it back to the beginning of the school year.  We did consider making the move shortly before the end of the school year, but it wasn’t practical for us.

The result was that my older son spent the majority of the summer not really knowing many kids in the new neighborhood.  He met a couple of them at the pool or riding bikes in front of the house…  but for the most part, he didn’t meet many new kids.  Granted, he had a VERY busy summer.  But by the end of the first day of school, he was much more integrated in the neighborhood.  In fact, after school, he was out riding his bike with all of his new friends…

So, don’t just assume that kids can’t effectively move during the school year.  It might actually be easier on them socially.  Educationally is a different matter.  In some cases, it might be very easy.  In others, it could be a tough transition for the child.  However, the same could be true in moving during the summer.  Moving into or out of a district that is very performance oriented can be a total shock for someone coming out of or going into a more laid back district or school.