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The significance of relocation for chronically poor families in the USA

Children's Environment Research Group at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York

This paper considers the difficulties facing the many low income households who are constantly moving-for instance because of eviction or as they search for better conditions-and the factors influencing their decision to move. After reviewing the literature on relocation, this paper describes the experiences of one low income family living in a small town in the United States who have moved 24 times since the birth of their nine year old daughter. The low paying, poor quality jobs they find do not encourage them to stay in one location and the family income is never sufficient to pay for decent housing. Moving becomes an escape from unsatisfactory conditions and a hope of better conditions in the new location. But it also means constant disruption for the children as they change school and lose friends, great difficulties for the whole family in maintaining social relations and the obvious difficulties in constantly re-registering with new authorities for health care and schools. The paper ends by considering the role of inadequate housing in supporting this cycle of constant relocation and suggesting that if low income groups could find decent housing, it would help break this cycle and the heavy costs it imposes on all family members.

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