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Each year Americans are moving intercity, interstate and abroad. Migration has become a common feature with every citizen chasing his or her version of the American Dream. Moving has it pros and cons. On the downside, moving is at the price of the social well being of the traditional American family.
A conventional American family consists of at least two generations living together, with the elders living in the same house or in the same city. This concept of family is epitomized by rural America, but is fast losing relevance in cities where unitary families are a norm. Better economic prospects in states other than that of original residence are forcing the Americans to take a hard choice. 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. The choice to move usually involves leaving behind the elders. This results in a sudden loss of known family social circle, an empty nest syndrome which has a deleterious effect on the psychological health of the aged. 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 young lose the opportunity to imbibe the traditional values and lessons of life, which can best be passed by a time-tested oral tradition.
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.
Intra-family and societal relations are affected by migration. Relocation involves, in most cases, leaving behind a part of your family, that vacuum requires to be filled up. When suitable role models do not fill the space, siblings become vulnerable to the darker sides of human nature and at a later stage visits to the psychiatrist become a norm. Ever wondered why the psychiatrist has become such an important figure in daily lives of Americans? The answer possibly lies in migration, which is causing disarray in the American social structure. So should we as Americans reevaluate the way we have become or continue to chase the eternal rainbows - thats the question that needs answering.