Distance to Parents and Geographical Mobility

Francesca Michielin, University of Amsterdam
Clara H. Mulder, University of Amsterdam

We address the influence of parental proximity on residential mobility and migration of young and middle-aged adults. We investigate whether current proximity to the parents discourages geographical mobility, particularly in situations where the need for support or contact is greater; and which factors influence the probability of a move that either decreases or increases the distance to the parents. We use data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS) and Dutch register data. We estimate binary logistic regression models of the probability of moving, and multinomial logistic regression models to distinguish whether the move increased, decreased or left unchanged the distance between generations. Preliminary results from analyses of NKPS data show that parental proximity strongly decreases the likelihood of moving. Divorce and having an additional child enhance the probability of moves without a change in distance and of moves in the direction of parental home.