From Staff Reports
After you’ve flown the nest and you’ve done your best, where do you migrate to next? One survey shows that when it comes to college towns and living conditions, many students would answer “anywhere but here.”
BestColleges.com did a headcount and found that 25 percent of current undergraduate students say they are tired of their current situation and would choose relocation after graduation. According to the survey, most college students plan to or will consider living in a mid-sized town (60 percent), 36 percent will consider a large city, and 21 percent will consider a small town.
Over a third of college students admit they don’t know where they will live after graduation (39 percent), while 29 percent definitively say they will move somewhere completely new, which makes complete sense in our highly mobile era.
Would they choose to stay in a college town or head back to the nest, though?
Even fewer students said they would stay in the area where their school is located (18 percent) or plan to move back to their hometown or where their family lives (14 percent). When considering where to live once they finish college, factors contributing to students’ plans include an area’s affordability (57 percent), career opportunities (56 percent), safety (41 percent), and proximity to family and friends (40 percent).
“College students can use the characteristics of the places they lived before and during college to help them decide whether they want to live somewhere similar or different in the future,” said Jessica Bryant, education analyst for BestColleges.com. “Additionally, it’s important to consider all the factors that will have an impact on the life they want to live before making plans.”
A majority of current college students report they left their hometown to attend college (61 percent), and 29 percent wish they went to a school in an entirely different area. Almost half (48 percent) want to experience a new place post-college with 40 percent reporting they have a desire and ability to live independently and 20 percent reporting plans to move in with a partner or spouse.
An overwhelming majority (73 percent) say that getting out of dodge after graduation “would be a dream come true.”
So you’re moving, but where to?
The most popular regions undergraduates are planning to or are considering living in are the Northeast (33 percent), South Atlantic (26 percent), and Pacific West (23 percent).
Among those interested in the Northeast, 57 percent are considering the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area. Half (50 percent) of students considering the Pacific West are eyeing the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area, and a quarter (25 percent) of those interested in moving to the South Atlantic are considering the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area. With the huge numbers of younger Americans moving to North Texas every day, it’s a big shocker that the Southwest was didn’t rank.
Fewer students plan to or will consider living in the Midwest (18 percent), South Central (17 percent), and Mountain West (14 percent) regions of the United States. Just 8 percent of college students plan to or will consider living abroad and 13 percent are unsure of their future geographic location.
More than half (53 percent) of students say their relocation plans after college are more realistic than idealistic, and 53 percent also report they wish they could live where they want rather than where they plan to or will likely have to.
“College students today are being practical as they look to the future,” said Bryant. “It’s great to see that they are making careful considerations as they develop plans for life with a degree in hand.”
