The short answer is structure. Work hours need to be protected even when you are in a beautiful place. Kids need to understand when parents are available and when they are working. It is not always clean but families who do it long-term find rhythms that work for their specific setup.

Grounding in some ways and disorienting in others. Kids become adaptable, curious, and comfortable with uncertainty in a way that is hard to replicate in a more stable environment. They also miss things. Friends. Routines. The familiar. Both things are true at the same time.

Slow almost always. Moving every few days with kids is exhausting. Staying in one place for weeks or months gives kids time to actually feel somewhere rather than just pass through it. The depth of experience is entirely different and the family stress level drops significantly when you stop rushing.

Better than most parents expect, especially with video calls and social media. Young kids adapt quickly and form new friendships. Older kids feel the absence more but often develop a tolerance for distance in friendships that serves them well. Staying in one place long enough to form real friendships helps.

That it is slower than you expect to find your rhythm. That the hard days feel harder when there is no familiar home to return to. That the good days are extraordinary. And that the decision changes you in ways that are difficult to describe to people who have not done it.