Moving Too Much?
The inability to settle down in one place can be a sign of a deep-rooted problem. Just why is it that while some people can’t wait to get nested and stay put, others are forever on the move? And what is it that distinguishes a heathy sense of adventure, a natural desire to roam, from a more troubling flightiness that can afflict a person so severely, they rarely spend even a single year in one home?
How often do people move house?
Let’s start by looking at what could be called a ‘normal’ amount of moving. A 2017 poll discovered that the average Briton moves house every 23 years. It doesn’t sound like much and, of course, there are huge disparities among the people who make up that average figure, with homes in some parts of Scotland changing hands every 15 years. At the other end of the scale, in some regions of North Wales, moving house is something you do only ever 33 years. It’s also worth noting that some of these figures reflect the impact of recessions and financial crises. Polls taken in the late 1980s found that people moved every eight and a half years, so the fiscal downturn has had a dramatic effect, taking the overall moving rate considerably downward. From this figure, however, you should be able to judge your own moving habits and determine whether they fall within ‘normal’ or ‘extreme’. If ‘extreme’, then read on…
Addicted to moving house
The reluctance of some people to settle can have a variety of causes; some are merely practical but others are psychological. Some writers have identified what they call Restless Expat Syndrome as a specific contributory factor. Sufferers can find themselves in a cold, shivery sweat at the mere thought of putting down roots. They feel compelled to stay on the move, changing countries the way other people change underwear, going from nation to nation, determined to outpace their feelings at all costs. It is possible that they have commitment issues and as soon as they’ve moved in, they start imagining that the grass is greener everywhere else and so the cycle goes on. But is that really true or are we just rushing to pathologise people who are, in fact, perfectly healthy? Because while they may have commitment issues, they’re also exceptionally adaptive and undeterred by the idea of constant change. They just take it in stride. So perhaps we should put aside the rather judgmental idea that people with a compulsion to move frequently are in the grip of mental disturbance and, instead, give them the less toxic label, ‘serial movers’.
Serial movers
Serial movers reject wholeheartedly the idea that their frequent house-moves are signs of some maladaptive compulsion. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t affected by something in their past, but it does mean that they have decided to view their ability to adapt to constant changes of address and environment as an asset. They enjoy redecorating, discovering new cities and towns, new customs, peoples and paces of life. Their frequent ‘removal days’ encourage them to get rid of stuff and to travel light through life, so they’re not weighted down by the past the way that people who stay in one place sometimes are.
Moving every year
If you count yourself among those who can’t stay put, then what does moving every year do to you? It’s worth investigating. For starters, there’s a certain amount of stress you will be unable to avoid. You will develop an ability to move on from friendships and relationships easily; in a 2016 study, published in the journal Personal Relationships, two psychologists put forward evidence to suggest that people who move frequently are able to view both possessions and friendships as more disposable than those who stay put. That ability is, arguably, both an asset and a drawback, depending on how it’s harnessed. But there’s another benefit to frequent moves; your memory will improve.The Journal of Experimental Psychology published research indicating that people are able to retain memories better around the time of house-moves. That means that your ability to memorise things gets a terrific boost once a year. It’s sometimes known as ‘relocation bump’ and the more you move, the more you get it.
Moving house too much
Just how much is too much? And is it different for different people? There are some early warning signs. If you don’t promptly unpack your possessions and get rid of cardboard boxes, then moving addiction may be afoot, especially if there are still full cardboard boxes in rooms after several weeks. But the only surefire way to determine whether you’re doing it too much is to step back and assess your life objectively. Is your love of frequent house-moves enhancing it or damaging it? Is the habit having a ruinous effect on your finances or have you found a way to do it that keeps you afloat? If something’s an addiction, then there will always be identifiable negative consequences outweighing any positive ones. But if no one’s being hurt and you’re thriving despite moving a lot, then who’s to say there’s anything wrong with moving every year.