Would I Choose This State if it Weren’t For a Corporate Relocation?

United Van Lines’ Annual Migration Study tracks the states its customers move to and from during the course of the year. Oregon is once again the number one state people moved to in 2014. South Carolina comes in second, and North Carolina is the 3rd most moved to state in the US.

The top outbound states last year were, in this order, New Jersey, New York and Illinois.

This is the first year United Van Lines added an interesting new question to their study: Why are you relocating?

The answers made sense. According to the study, people are choosing to relocate to southern and western states for lower housing costs, better climates, and more positive job growth. People are also drawn in by things like outdoor recreation, cultural activities, and green space.

A corporate transfer is certainly a different type of reason than moving to the Carolinas for the warm climate and outdoor activities or Oregon for the green space. In fact, as I look at the migration study results, I wonder how many of these moves were a conscious choice, versus a corporate relocation that dictated the new zip code with no input from the family involved.

If you’ve had to move to a state you didn’t embrace, my congratulations to you for making it through and finding a way to call it home. If you’re still striving for that feeling of being settled, here is a relocation resource that can help.

Moving In

The top inbound states of 2014 were:

1. Oregon
2. South Carolina
3. North Carolina
4. Vermont
5. Florida
6. Nevada
7. Texas
8. District of Columbia
9. Oklahoma
10. Idaho

Moving Out

The top outbound states for 2014 were:

1. New Jersey
2. New York
3. Illinois
4. North Dakota
5. West Virginia
6. Ohio
7. Kansas
8. New Mexico
9. Pennsylvania
10. Connecticut