Four in Ten (43%) Working Americans Would Move to a Different Community if it Offered a Higher
Quality of Life

New York, NY - If they could find the same job in a community that they thought offered a higher quality of life, four in ten (43%) working Americans would take the plunge and move, according to a new Ipsos Public Affairs poll conducted on behalf of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Americans aged 18 to 34 (67%) are most likely to say they'd seize the opportunity and move, while fewer middle-aged (42%) and older (28%) Americans say the same. It appears that the search for a higher quality of life is particularly strong among those with kids as one half (51%) of working Americans with children say they'd move, compared to 38% of those without children.

It appears that many working Americans might have already relocated in order to find employment. In fact, four in ten (38%) say that they chose to live in their current community primarily because of a job, the proportion of which rises to 42% among men, 45% among those with a college degree or higher education and 56% among Hispanic Americans. Moreover, one quarter (23%) of working Americans say that they have actually sought a job elsewhere that would provide them with a higher quality of life, especially those aged 18 to 34 (37%), those who earn under $25K a year (35%), and those with children (26%).

Thinking about what might attract a potential mover to another community that they thought offered a better quality of life, two in ten (20%) say greater affordability would be the biggest attraction, while a similar proportion says that better schools (16%) or a more robust economy (16%) would be the biggest attraction for them. Others say greater recreation and entertainment offerings (13%), better safety and security (11%), greater cultural diversity (9%) or some other feature (12%) would be most attractive to them.

But some features are more attractive to certain Americans: women (23%) are more likely than men (17%) to like greater affordability, while those with children (31%) and those aged 18 to 24 (24%) are especially attracted by better schools. Individuals whose family earns more than $75K a year are disproportionately attracted to greater recreation and entertainment options (19%), while those with a college degree are attracted by greater cultural diversity (13%).

The study also revealed that 55% of Americans wouldn't move to another community even if it offered a higher quality of life and they could find the same job, and that 77% have not actively sought a job elsewhere in the last five years in an effort to find a better quality of life in another community, suggesting that many working Americans aren't prepared to make the big move.

Among those who haven't actively sought a job elsewhere, the most common response (35%) was that family considerations have prevented them from doing so (44% of those with children), while others say it's not a high priority for them (18%), they like their job (13%), they're happy where they are (7%), they lack employment opportunities (7%), or that the process is too disruptive (5%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted June 3-14, 2010. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,083 randomly-selected employed adults residing in the U.S. interviewed by telephone via Ipsos' U.S. Telephone Express omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within 1773.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of employed adults in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more information on this press release, please contact:

Aaron Amic Vice President Ipsos Public Affairs 612.205.4733 [email protected]

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