Home is where the heart is? Older individuals moving closer to a grandchild with disability

This article examines older individuals in Sweden who relocate to care for grandchildren with disabilities. Findings from semi-structured interviews show that life events in the lives of adult children, such as having a child with a disability, can prompt older individuals to move closer. These relocations typically occur when circumstances align in the lives of both generations and result from an identified care need not met by formal care. The article also explores the complexities of these moves, including the challenge of leaving other family members behind and establishing belonging in a new location. By situating the findings within a combined care ethics and linked lives perspective, the article both empirically and conceptually advances our understanding of how relational and moral dimensions across generations drive relocation among older individuals. Informal caregiving as a relocation motive challenges prevailing assumptions about who migrates and why in a welfare state.