Yes, i’m aware it might be a stupid question. But i’ve been wondering this for years and just never searched it up or asked.
In: Economics
For individuals? Not much – aside from their family, friends, and general support network.
That said, there are a lot of opportunities for individuals to find a better life through relocation.
If you have a partner and/or kids, though, there are a ton more factors.
tldr; money and fear
relocating can be quite expensive and sometimes barely making ends meet where you currently are is easier and less scary then paying for a move to a new unknown.
edit: this of course does not apply to all cases and i’m certainly not saying people with low income are all scaredy cats… just two human factors that play a role in not being able / wanting to move.
It costs a lot of money to move a household. Even if you are an individual with everything you own on one suitcase (or your car), you have to pay for transportation, food and lodging on the road, and the down-payment on an apartment.
Well for starters, they’re low income. Moving and starting over somewhere new isn’t cheap.
Another big reason is that you need to have a job in the new place. There’s not going to be a hell of a lot available in the middle of nowhere.
Places are either HCOL or LCOL because of how much demand there is with people wanting to live there. Places that are really cheap to live are usually cheap for a reason.
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Moving is expensive. Even if you’re not having to physically move a lot of stuff there are still costs associated with securing housing, having to cover gaps in employment… most low income earners are living paycheck to paycheck and don’t have that kind of money to spare.
Being away from support networks (family/friends) can offset potential financial benefits.
Also, typically earning potential in less expensive areas is lower and so ultimately the net impact is negligible.
It costs money to move. Other than that, jobs in larger cities often pay more since it’s more expensive to live there so moving to a lower cost of living area doesn’t necessarily equate to being able to save more money as their new job may come with a pay cut.
When you don’t have money everything costs more. you want to move to save money, great idea. You need essentially three months worth of rent as cash to get a place because you have a low credit score. You have to pay the first month up front, the last month up front and a security deposit of typically one month’s rent.
You also need money to pay for all of your expenses while you wait for your first paycheck to come in. With pay every other week. You might wait as much as three weeks for your first check.
You move to a rural area, now you need a vehicle and insurance. The cost of car insurance is based on your credit rating, not in your driving habits.
There are huge impediments to moving and in the end, you might actually have less disposable income because wages tend to be lower in rural areas.
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