Family and Friends Living Nearby, Neighborhood Satisfaction, and Residential Mobility

Abstract

This study draws on panel data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (N = 1,128) to examine whether and how family and friends living close-by are associated with individuals’ interneighborhood residential mobility. Additional analyses tap into why individuals’ proportion of nearby kin and friends are linked to their mobility. The results suggest that individuals’ perceptions of their neighborhood are patterned by whether or not they have family—and to a lesser extent friends—who live locally. The absence of nearby family is associated with leaving the neighborhood, but the direct effects do not hold for nearby friends. However, the role of friends does become important in the absence of family ties. The results also indicate that having nearby friends moderates the relationship between neighborhood satisfaction and moving away.