A visit would indeed be wise, especially where kids are involved. It may be difficult to get approval though. The decision making process seems to be a bit of a black art and a lot of applications are refused with no real justification.
Im not sure even a visit will eliminate the culture shock element. Im pretty sure that any move would be a shock to the system, but children are resilient, and in the UK, many schools have provision for managing children new to the UK and sometimes with limited English language skills.
It sounds like you're in better shape to get a visitor visa than many, with a fulltime job to return to. I think the key is to make it very, very clear that you WILL be returning to leave no scope for misunderstanding.
Good luck
