It's not something I was used to growing up as my family on both sides didn't get together often, if ever.

At first it took some adjusting. Like most things that are worth anything in life if you make the choice deliberately then when things go wrong you can live with the consequences and when things go right you feel all the better. I now consider my in laws to just be family. It may sound weird but it feels disrespectful (only in my own mind) to refer to them as in laws as all of the family feels like a family. We fit well together.

I just got back from a trip and I'm already excited to see them again. The money and time we spend on family always seems more valuable and I part with it without hesitation now because experiencing things with them is better than spending it by myself.

It's different for everyone, but if you can make it work to invest in those relationships, the distance will only be a pain for the amount of time it keeps you apart and not for the time it takes you away from anything else.