Relocation trends for moves within the United States.

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

James Wesley Rawles October 12, 2023 October 8, 2023

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at relocation trends for moves within the United States.

Moving to the Country in a Post-Pandemic World

Moving to the country in a post-pandemic world. The article’s opening lines:

“Three years after the start of the pandemic, Americans are on the move again – though in ever-decreasing numbers. Between March 2020 and March 2021 only 8% of Americans relocated, according to the Pew Research Center, the smallest percentage recorded since 1948. That’s still about 26.5 million people.

Of those who do want to move, the preference is for a rural area. At the end of 2020, about half of Americans said that, if able to live anywhere they wished, they would choose a town (17%) or a rural area (31%) rather than a city or suburb…”

Americans Are Restless in 2023: 55% of Adults Want to Relocate

At Architectural Digest: Americans Are Restless in 2023: 55% of Adults Want to Relocate.

Where Are People Moving in 2023?

From a storage company website: Where Are People Moving in 2023? An excerpt:

“As housing affordability declines, many Americans are looking to relocate to a different state or city for more affordable homes and lower costs of living. Finances and growing expenses were the main reasons Americans moved in 2022. However, we’re expecting to see a more stable housing market in 2023, making moving more feasible for many.

Americans seeking higher financial security weighed the costs of urban vs. suburban living. Remote work has allowed many Americans who previously lived in expensive cities to relocate to more affordable cities without sacrificing career opportunities. This U.S. migration pattern explains why more people have been leaving urban areas and moving to the suburbs.”

Conservatives Move to Red States — A Country More Polarized

Reader H.L. sent us this from the leftist PBS: Conservatives move to red states and liberals move to blue as the country grows more polarized. Here is a pericope:

“One party controls the entire legislature in all but two states. In 28 states, the party in control has a supermajority in at least one legislative chamber — which means the majority party has so many lawmakers that they can override a governor’s veto. Not that that would be necessary in most cases, as only 10 states have governors of different parties than the one that controls the legislature.

The split has sent states careening to the political left or right, adopting diametrically opposed laws on some of the hottest issues of the day. In Idaho, abortion is illegal once a heartbeat can be detected in a fetus — as early as five or six weeks — and a new law passed this year makes it a crime to help a minor travel out of state to obtain one. In Colorado, state law prevents any restrictions on abortion. In Idaho, a new law prevents minors from accessing gender-affirming care, while Colorado allows youths to come from other states to access the procedures.”