Understanding the association between (im)mobility and life satisfaction in Australia

Stayers are an important component of the internal migration system, yet despite their numerical significance, they are often treated as ancillary to movers in the migration literature. As a result, there is a conflict between the mobility-centric view of immobility as undesirable and developing narratives which recognise staying as an active and consciously made decision. We therefore need to rethink immobility conceptually and empirically to shed light on a numerically dominant component of the population that has largely been neglected. Using Australia as a case study, this paper examines whether being a stayer has a positive or negative association with life satisfaction, and whether this relationship varies by (1) preference for staying or leaving, (2) between cities and regional areas, and (3) before and during the onset of the pandemic. By first reconceptualising staying as an active process and distinguishing between voluntary and involuntary stayers, life satisfaction outcomes are examined using four migration preference-behaviour types: desired stayer, undesired stayer, desired mover and undesired mover. Drawing on nationally representative survey data and regression modelling, results reveal important differences in life satisfaction outcomes between individuals expressing a preference for staying or leaving. Findings highlight that while satisfaction of stayers generally declined, being an undesired stayer was associated with a significantly greater loss of life satisfaction compared to being a desired stayer. The magnitude of this association was greater for undesired stayers in regional areas and those surveyed during the pandemic. These results illuminate the varied characteristics and outcomes of stayers within the Australian migration system, demonstrate the importance of acknowledging preference in theorisations of (im)mobility and emphasise the value of adopting an immobility-focused perspective on internal migration.