We did the school research and picked a neighborhood and price range and looked on the internet for 6 months. Made 2 trips and bought our house on the second one. I wish we would have lived here for 6 months before deciding where to live. While our house was adequate, it was not quite right for us and we ended up staying there for 6 years before putting it on the market and 2 more before it sold. So, 8 years in the wrong house. I say go live there a while and move again. A local move is WAY easier than a cross country move. BTW, this time around we sold, moved in a temp house (there are tons available if you know where to look) and lived there from May to Oct. till our deal was finalized and we got in our new one. So I moved twice this year with 6 kids in school. It can be done. Oh, and I didn't use any movers and only rented a truck one time for part of a day Boat owners are resourceful. You can make your plan work.