Come One, Come All

Home is supposedly where the heart is, but the average American moves quite frequently—about 11 times in total, according to census data. All that migration appears to influence how people relate to the places where they land, University of Virginia psychologist Shigehiro Oishi and his colleagues have found.

There are, for example, more megachurches (those with congregations of more than 2,000 people) in states with more mobile populations, like Nevada and Arizona, Oishi and his team report in the Archives of Scientific Psychology. Since such churches are “easy to join and easy to leave,” the researchers argue, they’re perfect for people of a transient bent. Studies also indicate that movers tend to cultivate larger social networks with looser friendships. “If you move a lot, you have to develop a professional attitude toward human relationships,” Oishi says. “You have to be able to make new friends, but not devote too much time to these relationships, considering that you may leave soon.”

A 2012 paper found that chain stores were also more prevalent in mover-heavy states. Subjects who were asked to imagine choosing between national outlets like Barnes & Noble and local vendors of equal quality were more likely to pick the household names if they had changed homes more frequently. Those adjusting to new surroundings, Oishi suggests, may value the familiarity of such places.

Proudly local institutions may inspire less loyalty in movers. In an earlier study, Oishi found that in metro areas with relatively mobile populations, like Miami and Phoenix, turnout at baseball stadiums tended to be more closely tied to a team’s success than in more stable areas. People with fleeting ties to a city have less reason to invest in teams that aren’t winning.

Credit: Target photo by Ken Wolter/Shutterstock