Variation in Motives for Moving by Distance: Evidence from Germany

Heiko Rüger , Federal Institute for Population Research
Elias Hofmann, Federal Institute for Population Research
Nik Lomax, University of Leeds

Moving home can mean a significant change to an individual’s spatial, social and professional environment, particularly when moving long distances. However, few studies have examined why people move and how these reasons differ depending on the distance of the move. Furthermore, no such evidence exists for Germany. This paper uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) from 2019 and 2020 (N=1,703 moves). We initially limited our analysis to moves that occurred before March 2020, given the potential changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that the proportion of work-/education-related moves increases with distance (from 3.7% within 20 km to 66.9% at 150 km or more), while housing- and family-related moves decrease with distance (from 49.3% and 47.1% within 20 km to 14.4% and 18.6% at 150 km or more, respectively). Nevertheless, work-/education-related moves only constitute the majority of moves when the distance is 80 km or more, and a significant proportion of non-work/-education-related mobility is observed even at long distances. These findings call into question simplistic assumptions about the relationship between motives for moving and distance. Subsequent analyses will utilise moving distance as a continuous variable and disaggregate the moving distance categories, paying particular attention to the 0–20 km category, which accounted for two-thirds of the moves in our sample and is a category that is neglected in prior work. Furthermore, earlier (2001–2017) and later (from 2020 onwards) periods will be included, and a pre/post-COVID comparison will be carried out.

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 Presented in Session P4. Migration, Migrants, and Mobility