> Sidenote: My friends with children tell me that kids won’t complicate this at all.

Mmm...I'm not entirely convinced. I suppose it depends on whether or not you already have kids before you go this route. e.g. if you've got a couple of kids going to school in NY you have to time it properly. And you'd have to think about whether or not the place you're moving to would suit them. Oh and there's the small matter of getting "buy-in" from your wife/partner/girlfriend :)