Do People Really Move Because of Bad Neighbors?

Have you ever been so annoyed by a neighbor that you’ve thought about moving to get away from them?

While “neighbors from hell” do indeed cause some homeowners and renters to leave their current living arrangement, most people decide they can live with their neighbor’s quirks: A recent survey by marketing agency Fractl found that just 5% of people who moved in the last year did so because of bad relations with their neighbor.

The most common reasons for moving

According to the survey, which polled more than 1,000 U.S. adults, a new job or job transfer was the No. 1 reason for relocation, cited by nearly a quarter of respondents.

Most of the other top reasons for moving were house and neighborhood-related or family-related:

• Better home (23.9%)
• Larger home (17.5%)
• Family reasons (16.5%)
• Closer to work (16.3%)
• Better neighborhood (15.4%)
• Cheaper home (12.4%)
• Change in relationship status (11.4%)
• Following a spouse (10.5%)
• Safe, family-oriented environment (10.0%)

Some less common motivations respondents cited include moving closer to elderly parents or children, desire to live in a better school district and retirement.

How to manage stress during your move

Anyone who’s ever moved knows how stressful it can be to pack up and transport everything you own to a new location. The Fractl study found that moving negatively impacted the average respondent’s sleep for 15 nights after they arrived at their new place, and 50% cited stress as the main reason for poor sleep.

The distance you move can also impact your sleep quality, according to the survey. Most respondents (65%) relocated within 50 miles of their previous residence, and those who moved within the same city were 52% less likely to experience worse sleep quality. This is likely because of the shift to unfamiliar surroundings when you relocate to a new city or state – 42.4% of respondents said this factor affected their sleep after a move.

No matter how far away you’re moving, Fractl recommended the following tips to combat post-move stress:

• Unpack and set up your bedroom as soon as possible.
• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule.
• Limit your caffeine intake late in the day.
• Adjust the room temperature.
• Take a warm shower or bath right before bed.

Want to check out property values in a neighborhood before you move? Plug any address into NeighborWho to find out owner details, current value and more.