Expected and Actual Residential Mobility

In this article, two phases of the residential mobility process—mobility expectations and the fulfillment of these expectations—are analyzed with longitudinal data on a representative national sample of families. Since different factors affect the expectation and fulfillment of job- and housing-related moves, these motivations are analyzed separately. The costs of job-related moves seem to be the major deterrents to fulfilling the expectations of these locational changes. The fulfillment rate of housing-related mobility expectations, on the other hand, relates to demographic and housing factors and indicates possible institutional impediments to mobility and die need for more adaptable housing. Regardless of the type of move, however, fewer than half of those expecting to move actually fulfill these expectations. In general, individuals do not seem very able to forecast their own moving behavior. The research reported here was supported by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, contract number 4180.