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Moving to a different neighborhood can make you happier
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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In order to be healthy and happy, it is not necessary to have a bag of money, it is enough to be... poor.
It turns out that a low-income person can become mentally and physically healthier if they move to a better-maintained neighborhood, according to research from the University of Chicago published in the September 20 issue of the journal Issues of Modern Science.
As ILIVE reported, the risk of developing diabetes depends on the area in which you live.
Even though the move may not be related to an improvement in the family's financial situation, people still experience important events in their lives.
Using data from large randomized social studies, the authors found that income segregation had a larger impact than racial segregation.
"This finding is very important, particularly because the rate of racial segregation has been declining since 1970, but income segregation has remained to this day," says the study's lead author, Professor Jens Ludwig. "The problem of disadvantaged neighbourhoods therefore remains relevant to this day and is only getting worse over time."
Focusing on income inequality diverts attention from low-income families who face segregation by family financial status.
“The fact that the trend of wealth segregation has persisted in the United States for a long period of time is not good for the overall welfare of the country,” the professor emphasizes.
From 1994 to 1998, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provided volunteer families who agreed to take part in the study with warrants for new apartments in five U.S. cities: Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.
To compare the results, the scientists also observed a control group of volunteers who lived in the same poor housing conditions, but did not receive assistance from the state.
Those who agreed to move were in extremely difficult economic situations. Most of the families, African-American or Hispanic, were only too happy to change their way of life in order to protect their children from the influence of street gangs and drugs.
These people did not become richer, but having changed their place of residence to a more prosperous one, their mental and physical condition significantly improved compared to the health indicators of the control group.
"These data speak to the problem of poor families in our country. It is very important to make every effort to improve their quality of life," the researchers say.
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