Residential Relocations in the Life Course

Abstract

The life course perspective has proved to be a powerful instrument in developing a general theoretical framework to interpret a variety of phenomena pertaining to residential relocation. The first phenomenon is that relocations are instrumental to goals arising from a specific life course trajectory or “career”. It is important to distinguish between moves triggered by the educational career, the labor career, the family career and the housing career. The second phenomenon is that even those careers that are not the actual trigger for the move, are still pertinent to the relocation decision. These other careers condition the decision by providing the resources for the move and by imposing restrictions on geographical mobility. The third phenomenon is that residential relocation, which has a positive effect on the triggering career, can have a detrimental effect on other careers or on the careers of other household members. The attractiveness of the life course perspective is that it allows for feedback effects between these phenomena, thereby improving the understanding of relocation behavior.