The last time I moved, my kids were 2, 4, and 6. On our last day in the house (the day before closing day), the plan was simple: the kids would go off for their last day of school and daycare, and I'd finish the cleaning and load the last few things into the U-Haul. Instead, all three kids ended up home with fevers and hand, foot, and mouth [if you know, you know]. As a parent, you can plan everything - except who's going to wake up with a fever.
That's moving with kids. You're not just buying a house — you're picking a neighbourhood, a school, a routine, and a life for a handful of little people who didn't ask for any of it [and will absolutely let you know]. I've done more than my share of moves as both a kid and a parent, and now, I help families do it every year. Here are the five struggles I see come up again and again, and how to get ahead of them. [If you're still in the early stages of planning, Relocating to PEI: Everything You Need to Know About Buying a Home Here is a good place to start.]
1. The gap between houses
In a perfect world, you sell your house and buy the next one on the same day, and everyone sleeps in their new bedrooms that night. In real life, the dates rarely line up that neatly. Maybe you've found the right house but yours hasn't closed yet, or the timing on the new place means you'd need the money from your sale before you actually have it. Without kids, a few weeks in a rental or on a friend's couch is annoying. With kids, it's another move, another set of boxes, and another disruption to routines you're already trying to hold together.
This is where bridge financing can help. A bridge loan is a short-term loan that lets you use the equity in the home you're selling toward the purchase of your new one, so you can close on the new house before the sale on your current one closes. Most lenders will want to see a firm sale on your current home before they'll offer it, and it's meant for a short window — not as a long-term plan. It does come with a cost, so it's worth a conversation with your lender or mortgage broker early, before you're writing an offer, so you know whether it's an option for you.
2. Shopping for the family you're growing into
When you're touring homes, it's easy to shop for the family you have right now. Maybe you don't have any kids yet, so you don't really know what to look for. Or maybe the prospect of your little potato being a moody teenager is more than you can process right now. But kids grow, and what works for a baby doesn't always work for a busy seven-year-old or a well-adjusted teen. I look at homes with a parent's eye on the future, and I'll point out the things that might not be on your radar yet:
Layout. Are the kids' bedrooms on the same floor as yours? What does a middle of the night wake up mean for you and the kiddo? Can you see the backyard from the kitchen? Is there a spot for toys that isn't the middle of the living room, like a playroom with a door that shuts out the mess (and maybe some of the noise too)?
Stairs. A steep or open staircase is a very different thing with a toddler than it is with a teenager. Can you even install a baby gate on those stairs? Think about gates, railings, and how many trips up and down you'll be making with a laundry basket and a kid on your hip.
Pools and waterfrontage. On PEI, water is a big part of the draw, and I get it. But a pool, a pond, or a waterfront lot with little ones means thinking about fencing, supervision, and how much of your summer will be spent on lifeguard duty. It's not a dealbreaker, it's just something to go in with your eyes open on.
3. Knowing if an area is good for families
If you grew up here, you already know which neighbourhoods are full of kids on bikes and which ones are quieter. Then again, we have a lot of new neighbourhoods that have sprung up faster than the potato plants that used to be in these fields, so even locals can't always tell you what a street will feel like in a few years. If you're moving from away, you're trying to figure that out from listing photos and Google Maps, and that's tough. A street can look perfect online and turn out to be a busy cut-through, or a house can look out of the way and end up being a five-minute walk from the best playground in town.
This is a big part of what I do for relocation families. I'll talk through things like how close you are to schools and parks, whether there are other young families on the street, how busy the road is, and what the commute looks like from that area. [If you're still deciding which part of the greater Charlottetown area suits you, Should I Live in Charlottetown, Stratford, or Cornwall? walks through the differences.] [And if Charlottetown's on your list, Charlottetown Neighbourhoods: Where Should I Buy? breaks it down by area.]
4. House hunting with kids in tow
Showings with kids are a sport. You're trying to picture yourself in a home while someone is opening every cupboard, someone else needs a bathroom right now, and the baby is overdue for a nap. It's hard to make a big decision when half your brain is on crowd control.
A few things that help:
Plan showings around nap times and snack times, not the other way around.
Bring snacks. Always bring snacks.
Load the iPad with some extra shows to get through a few showings. There is nothing wrong with that.
If you can, leave the kids with a sitter or family for second showings, when you need to really look at a house.
Let the kids have a say, but not the final say. Everyone gets to pick a favourite. Not everyone gets a vote [the five-year-old who loved the house with the pink-tiled bathroom included].
And if you do need to bring them along, I'm always available to help distract the littles when needed. I have a good list of distractions in my back pocket (aka my phone) that can keep them busy while you take a proper look around. My go-to? The Would You Rather videos for kids on YouTube. They're good for a solid stretch of quiet. Also, Little Baby Bum (iykyk).
5. All the moving parts
Here's the one that sneaks up on people. A move with kids isn't one project, it's a dozen of them all happening at once: selling, buying, financing, inspections, insurance, lawyers, movers, utilities, new schools, and somewhere in there, actually packing. And through all of it, the kids still need to be fed, driven places, and put to bed. When your mental load is already maxed out, things slip — not because you're not paying attention, but because there's only so much one brain can hold.
That's where I come in. I can't stop the fevers from wrenching the plans [believe me, I wish I could], but I can be there for every step of it. From the first showing to the day you get the keys, I'm the one keeping track of the dates, the paperwork, and what's coming next, so it doesn't all have to live in your head.
When the condition deadlines are creeping up, I've got them. When you're lying awake wondering if you forgot something, chances are I've already thought of it. And I always say, send me the text when you think of the question. Trust me, I will sleep through the notification! Once the boxes are in and you're figuring out the new school, the new routine, and which grocery store is going to be "yours," I'm still here.
You've got enough on your plate. Let me carry as much of that load as I can.
Moving with kids is never going to be stress-free, but it doesn't have to be chaos. Plan for the gap, look at homes for the family you're growing into, get to know the area before you commit, and lean on me for the rest. You'll figure this out — and your kids will settle in faster than you think.
Got more questions about what island life is actually like? Your Questions Answered: Moving to Prince Edward Island rounds up the ones I get asked most.