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A new poll examines the motivations, experiences and disappointments of those who recently moved.
Moving is never easy, but high home prices and interest rates have made it even harder. In December 2022, Home Bay, a real estate advice website, conducted a poll of people who moved during the year, providing an interesting snapshot of their motivations, experiences and disappointments.
As for why they moved, 24 percent of respondents reported seeking a better quality of life, meaning safe neighborhoods, affordability, good school districts and proximity to work. Another 23 percent said they were looking for a cheaper place, while 23 percent said that upsizing was a goal. A smaller share, 17 percent, moved to downsize. About 10 percent had political motivations.
You’d think those who managed to find a place in this market would be happy about it. On the contrary, the poll showed that 75 percent of respondents had regrets and 44 percent even reported crying during the process.
Two common regrets were wishing the new place were larger and missing the old one. A quarter of respondents moved from cities to suburbs, while 31 percent went from rural areas to suburbs. But many were unhappy with where they ended up geographically, with 40 percent indicating they’d prefer to live in a city if they could afford it. (Los Angeles was the most popular fantasy.)
Looking at the Venn diagram of disappointment, one would surely find overlap among the 14 percent who said movers broke their stuff, the 17 percent who reported items missing and the 13 percent who did not tip their movers.
But when the boxes were finally unpacked, 65 percent associated positive emotions with their move, like excitement, hope and relief. Maybe some were crying tears of joy?
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