Aging Americans Increasingly Opting To Stay Put Than Roaming

Once celebrated for their ability to pack up and move around the country on a whim, Americans are increasingly opting to stay put, according to a report published by the Pew Research Center.

Using polling data and government statistics, Pew found only 13 percent of Americans moved house between 2006-2007, the lowest rate since records began in the 1940s.

According to Thursday's report, roaming has been on the wane since the 1960s - an era when millions followed beatnik author Jack Kerouac "On the Road."

Analysts say the slipping trend is due to an aging population. "The US population is getting older and most moves are made when people are young," Pew researchers noted.

While the annual rate of migration had stood since the 1960s at around 60 percent, that had fallen last year to its lowest level ever with the onslaught of the property crisis.

Some 38.6 million people moved between 2006-2007, the lowest number since 1982-1983, a period which also saw an economic downturn.

While a majority of Americans have moved region at least once in their lives, now nearly four in 10 have not left their home towns.

But it appears "home" is a relative concept.

While 26 percent said home is where they were born or raised, a similar number said it was where they currently reside, 18 percent said it is where they have lived the longest and four percent said it is where they went to high school.

Among naturalized Americans the majority considered the US as home, while four in six Americans born abroad also described the US as home.

Source-AFP
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