It’s survivable. 
I have to say that, from my perspective, it can depend a lot on the cultural climate, We moved from the Bay Area to North Shore Chicago in 1968, and, on top of everything else, it was like going back 10 to 15 years in time (and attitudes). Pennsylvania might be okay. That’s where my brother & sister-in-law and younger niece & boyfriend live, and we’re all on pretty much page politically, etc.
Best to you and your family. ATS
FYI, big parts of PA are called “Pennsyltucky” (combo Pennsylvania and Kentucky) because some parts are so rural. If you are moving from city to rural area or vice-versa, it could be a big culture shock.
Oops. I may have spoken too soon.
@melvin123, she will take most AP classes. Apart from 1 year of Art, US govt/Economics, USH, all her classes are AP. Thank you for bringing it up!
All the wonderful people on this forum gives such important details which don’t even cross the mind.
She can graduate early as she has covered almost all of her UC’s A-G graduation requirements.
So far, she has completed 3 years English, 3 year Science, 1 year World History, Math- Precalc(H), 2 years Foreign Language, 1 year APCS.
The only remaining UC A-G requirements are : 1 year of Art, US govt/Economics, USH. 1 year of English. (if I am not missing on something)
Next year, she will take AP Eng, AP Phy 1, AP Calc, USH, Art, 1 year Foreign Language or US Govt/Economics.
Is it a better idea to let her graduate early while continue to live in CA (H will travel) for another year, send her to college here and then move?
Yep, H was working in a rural part of PA for some time. We stayed where we were at that time. He traveled. It is a better location this time. It is relatively a more stable opportunity.
Not at all @AboutTheSame …I really appreciated your insight!
Yes, if you can figure out a way for a senior in h.s. not to move, I think that’s preferable. Does she have any colleges in mind? In California? Much easier to apply from California with a California h.s. diploma.
Attending high school in California for at least 3 years and graduating may allow her to pay resident tuition under AB540, although she would still otherwise be a nonresident.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/tuition-and-cost/ab540/index.html
^ @ucbalumnus, D, will complete 4 years in 8th through 11th grade in this SD. She will be 16 after she starts school next year. If graduated early, she will turn 17 after she starts the college. Is early graduation a better idea? She can take up courses academically; socially, not very sure- she is a bit naive for her age as it is. We can continue here for another year while H will travel. Our residency will be CA when we will apply.
@twoinanddone, I am thinking of early graduation after junior year for D. This idea came up while typing her next year’s schedule. I realized that she has very few courses left from the required A-G list.
Questions to ask yourself:
I would have DH commute until after sr year. No way would I move your kid in your position. I cannot see the upside, the kid needs an upside to sell this package. I would move if the kid saw the adventure and the opportunities were obviously better, not the actual opposite.
One of the women in the law firm I worked at and her H moved to HI when her kids were in HS from CA. Her kids didn’t want to move, so were able to live with friends and finish our HS and go to college as CA residents back in the day, which is what they wanted to do. The friend and her H lived in HI, but their friends and their kids lived in CA.
Another person I know had a job in CA, which he accepted, so he moved from to CA where he works full-time but his wife and kids remained in HI (where the kids graduated from HS and the wife continue to work full time). Both kids ended up going to UC schools and living with their dad. It was tough on the family but it worked for them.
She mentioned about early graduation a couple of time before. We never discussed it seriously though thinking that she is quite young.
She has visited many UCs, CSUs for some reason or the other. She liked some of them, not so much the others. It is a known and acceptable option so far. PA colleges were not under our radar until now. Never really given any positive or negative thought until now. It is more about picking what you know now.
At the end of her sophomore year year, she will complete 3 years Eng, Bio, Chem, AP Chem,WH, Pre Calc, Foreign Lang -2 years, 2 years PE, Health, APCS,
For junior year, she will take AP Eng, USH, US govt/Eco- if she opts for early graduation, AP Phy1, AP Calc AB, Art.
Her academics will not be compromised. She will complete all 3 sciences with 2 APs, Calculus, AP English.
@collegeandi I hesitate to weigh in about a move and the toll it might take - this is something that you and your family will know better than I. Purely from a financial point of view, the California publics would no longer be an option for your child if you were to move out of state before she completes HS.
I did want to mention that you should not assume that privates are out of reach. For example, my daughter got a merit scholarship from Case Western that brought the total COA to about 32-33K. That wasn’t typical in our experience; merit awards that required no separate application brought the COA to about 40-45K in most cases. There are some privates that have extremely competitive named merit scholarships (Duke, Wash U, Vanderbilt, etc.) for which a separate application is required. Odds are low, but they do exist. Colorado School of Mines offers merit also, but I don’t know the range.
Also, there are also a number of public flagships that provide merit scholarships for OOS high achievers - Ohio State, Arizona State, U of Alabama are a few that come to mind. Some of the universities in the Mountain West have very low tuition and offer in state rates to qualified applicants - U of New Mexico and U of Wyoming, for example. Should your child get NMF, that would open still more opportunities that would fall within budget, both public and private.
Best of luck to you!
Note that UCs recommend level 3 or higher in foreign language, although level 2 is the minimum requirement for admission. Some other schools may also prefer level 3 or higher.
But really it seems to come down to the answers to questions 1 and 2, which you and she need to figure out.
Note that she could choose next year’s courses to allow her to graduate early, but defer choosing whether to do so until later. “Later” still means within a few months, since UC and CSU applications are due in the fall (and SAT or ACT scores need to be had in time for them).
@Sybylla, the kids just want to live us together. H and I wish to keep it reality based decision; not emotionally driven one.
@HImom , I appreciate your inputs a lot. It helps to know various options from the people in the similar situation.
@collegeandi, I’d strongly recommend that anyone considering a move and possibly wanting to be a state resident of a public U carefully read all the requirements of ALL states potentially involved before the move. Requirements can change over time and there have been lots of cases where people are found NOT to be residents of places they assumed they were residents. Moving when kids are in HS is fraught with lots of issues, so it should be carefully considered from all angles before taking the plunge. It can work well or not so well.
I will research further based on your inputs @HImom. It sure is a very complicated territory.