Social Consequences of Geographic Mobility for Constructing a Life Course

Geographical mobility has important social consequences, but also seriously impacts individual life trajectories, serving as a channel for social mobility. But any sort of geographic mobility is also related to serious risks. To what extent are people’s hopes and expectations justified, what are the long-term consequences of geographic mobility? To answer these fundamental questions, we use data from a new large-scale study titled “Geomobility of Generations”, conducted by CESSI as part of the project “Life Course, Values, Expectations of the Generation That Grew up in the 1990’s” from the fall of 2023 and through the spring of 2024 based on a national random probability sample of older generations of Russians born before and up to 1973. The main method of analysis is statistical assessment of differences between groups of mobile and non-mobile respondents. The parameters for comparison are presented in the form of a conceptual scheme, including conditions of mobility, factors of mobility and consequences in different spheres. The results showed that geographic mobility as a life strategy cannot be considered an indisputably winning or an indisputably losing one. Some of the long-term consequences of geographic mobility include the impact on self-assessment of health, the scope of social connections and educational intergenerational mobility. The study did not find any connection between geographic mobility and subjective well-being and satisfaction with one’s life path at the final stage of one’s life path. The impact of geographic mobility on one’s financial situation in the long term is also uncertain. Geographic mobility definitely contributes to upward intergenerational educational mobility, but it does not have a significant impact on intergenerational professional mobility or subjective assessment of one’s position on the social ladder.