Retirement, Relocation, and Residential Choices

Abstract

In today’s aging societies, a good deal of the older population is faced with the decision of when to exit the labor force. The decision is often made jointly with a locational choice and a choice about housing consumption (Banks et al. 2012). Prior to retirement, the workplace location strongly influences where people live. Upon retirement, however, other factors such as closeness to children and grandchildren, climate, and amenities take on a pivotal role (Whisler et al. 2008; Wiseman and Roseman 1979; Serow 2001). Moreover—upon retirement—households typically receive less income and change their consumption patterns, spending relatively more on housing, food, and healthcare than on clothing, transportation, and household furnishing (Lee et al. 2014). As a result, many households downsize their home (Bian 2016) and move to places that are more affordable and easily accessible in anticipation that health and strength may become compromised (Abramsson and Andersson 2016).