Uncles and long-distance uncles of Reddit: When might be an ideal nephew age for me to relocate away from them and still maintain a bond?

Hi all,

I’m a 31yo and have two nephews, one born Sept 2020 and another born March 2023 (so 4.5 and almost 2 currently). I currently live in the same city as them with my fiancée and see them a few times a month,  which has been great as they’re at fun stages. We don’t want kids of our own but I do want to be a part of their lives, and sometimes I’ve done some babysitting.

The thing is though we would like to relocate to try out another city at some point in the next, say, 5-10 years, and so I’m trying to determine what would be the implications on where they’re at in their lives and maintaining a bond with them. We certainly could move back after a couple years away but not sure yet.

So, re: nephew age and kids stages: is it fair to say that:

1)      Kids start forming long-term memories of people (like their uncles) around age 5-7?

2)      From a babysitting perspective: generally, if kids are raised to be responsible, they can be left on their own for a night around age 10-11?

3)      When boys hit around age 11/12/13, they generally want to start spending more time with friends of their age and less around adults (including uncles)?

For guys that eventually moved away, what was it like becoming a long-distance uncle? Did you stay connected with them with gifts and talking to them on the phone, etc.?

I know there are no perfect answers to these questions and there’s never going to be an ideal time to leave, but curious on experiences and perspectives here. Thanks!