I 'll never forget the welcome our next-door neighbors gave us when we moved into our current home 24 years ago. We were carrying things into the house when the wife jaunted over to our sidewalk, introduced herself, welcomed us to the neighborhood and offered to help in any way she could. They had only moved in themselves a week earlier, but it was wonderful to have the ice broken. C hildren somehow seem to break the ice and make it easier to get to know new neighbors.
Children always make a move more interesting, if also more exhausting and trying.
One family moved from North Carolina to Minnesota and the father had to move before the rest of the family. Any woman who can pull that off can probably survive whatever it takes to get acclimated in a new neighborhood. Use discussion lists, boards or referrals to find out names of people in your new community who belong to the same club, religious group or organization. Allow yourself and your children time to grieve your losses and feel sad. Don't wait for the neighbors to invite you over.