Every year thousands of Americans move from city to city, state to state and in some instances to countries abroad. Migration has become a common feature with every citizen chasing his or her version of the American Dream. Such a movement has its effects, some good and others not so good. On the downside, moving is at the price of the social well being of the traditional American family.
Two or three generations of family living together in the same house or the same city comprises the traditional American family. This concept of family is epitomized by rural America, but is fast losing relevance in cities where unitary families are a norm. Economic reasons are forcing Americans to make hard choices. More often than not they choose to move with its direct adverse effects on their immediate family. More often than not, moving hits the elders of a family the hardest. This decision typically involves leaving behind the elders. The elders are thus faced with an ‘empty nest’ which has a direct impact on their emotional health. Moving sometimes involves admitting the elders into old age homes. Some senior citizens cope up with this ‘banishment’, while others find that sadness and melancholy dominate their lives.
It is not that just the elders are affected. Children too feel the adverse effects of moving. The moral values and lessons of life passed on verbally by the grandparents are lost to them.
Moving to a new place consumes finances. Any relocation is a challenge on your budget management, which would include careful assessment of your immediate liquidity, as well as your various insurance policies. A move abroad requires far more careful financial planning than an interstate move. Even unitary families are greatly affected financially. It may well happen that the children plan to move away requiring the parents to ‘chip in’ thus increasing the financial burden. The children on relocating get busy with their own lives and the thus the established social fabric also undergoes strain.
Moving also affects the way families relate to each other and the society at large. Relocation involves, in most cases, leaving behind a part of your family, that vacuum requires to be filled up. If this vacuum is not filled by a suitable role model, children may fall into bad company and also may require psychiatric help at a later stage. Why are Americans going in for psychiatric counseling in increasing numbers? The answer possibly lies in migration, which is causing disarray in the American social structure. The issue that needs to be addressed is whether we as Americans must reconsider our choices, or continue our quest for fulfilling the American dream at all cost.