No experience moving back, but we've lived very near family since we were married.
When I say very near, I mean VERY near. On my mom's side, we still have my grandparents and all 4 of mom's sisters and brothers and their spouses and children. All but one aunt lives within 10 minutes of us. On my dad's side, we still have my grandma, 6 of my dad's 8 brothers and sisters and their spouses and children. All live within 20 minutes of us. On FIL's sides, we have the grandparents, FIL's two sisters, and their spouses and children. All but one cousin lives within 20 minutes of us. On MIL's side, we have the grandparents, MIL's 5 brothers and sisters, and their spouses and children. All live within 30 minutes of us.
And of course there's my mom, dad, MIL, FIL, SIL, and BIL (and his wife and three kids)...all within 15 minutes of us. That's not counting all of the extended family (grandparents' sisters and brothers and their children and grandchildren, etc), most of whom have also stayed in the area. We're literally surrounded by family.
For the most part, it works well. We're lucky that nobody is particularly crazy (we have a few oddballs, and many whose parenting choices and lifestyles we don't agree with, but nothing that affects our lives too much). We do spend a lot of time with everyone...we typically have dinner at someone's house once or twice a week, and there's always something going on on the weekends, between birthday parties and different get-togethers. I think our mindset helps - we're both very accustomed to big, nosey southern families, so the fact that they're so involved with our lives is just the norm for us. We also make it a point to set boundaries - for example, I don't really trust my BIL (he's a great guy, but he's screwed us over on things a few times), so we just don't get really involved with them. We're friendly when we see them, but we don't go out of our way to be super involved in their lives.
There are times I fantasize about moving far far away, but I know we're really blessed to have the situation we do. I love that our children are growing up around so many people who love them, and it's so nice to know that we have tons of help if we need it.
Stacy
Wife to K
Mommy to A (5) and twins E & S (1.5)
The biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make...I did not live in the moment enough. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less. - Anna Quindlen