Choosing Among Residential Options: Results of a Vignette Experiment

Among decisions that older people have to make, those involving potential residential relocation are among the most important and difficult. Because of both attraction to their current residence and negative aspects of moving, older people usually have a strong preference to remain in place. Nevertheless, over time, because of changes in themselves and their environments, older people often experience powerful reasons to relocate. The issues involved in making relocation choices are complex. The decision process often involves both older people and adult children. In this article, we address questions about the relative extent to which five dimensions—(1) functional status, (2) social network characteristics, (3) mobility barriers in current housing, (4) features of retirement communities, and (5) implications of relocation for personal finances—influence decisions to move to retirement communities. We examine these questions separately.