Measuring post-move satisfaction

Central to my analysis is the post-move satisfaction that respondents express following their move. In the following section I outline the satisfaction questions.

Given the subtleties associated with each question asked, I start with overall post-move satisfaction and then consider the satisfaction domains.

The DMM survey studies six categories of post-move satisfaction.

Respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction using a Likert scale with five ordinal categories as described below. Overall satisfaction asks how satisfied movers are with the outcomes of their move. As will be seen, this is a fundamentally new approach to measuring the post-move satisfaction of movers. In contrast, the five domains of satisfaction use the more traditional approach, considering the change in satisfaction in each domain relative to before the move took place. The five domains are outdoor environment satisfaction, housing satisfaction, employment satisfaction, standard of living rating and social life rating.

Overall satisfaction

Previous post-move satisfaction studies have quantified the degree to which movers are more or less satisfied with their life following a move. For example,

“respondents were asked to assess if they consider themselves better or worse off after their move” (Lundholm and Malmberg, 2006: p. 38). In contrast, the survey used here does not ask movers to compare their overall level of satisfaction with life with the satisfaction they had prior to moving. Instead, they were asked about the level of satisfaction that they have with the outcomes of their move. Specifically:

B19/EQ08 Overall Satisfaction: “Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way things have worked out since you moved: very satisfied, satisfied, equally satisfied and dissatisfied, dissatisfied or very dissatisfied?”

This satisfaction question is a measure of how satisfied the mover is with the way things have worked out since they moved. I consider the wording of this question to be open to slightly more interpretation by the respondent than a simple better or worse evaluation. As with measuring a change in overall satisfaction, it is up to the respondent to evaluate the factors that influence the overall level of satisfaction that they have with the outcomes for the move. In addition, I suggest that it is also up to the mover to determine what they take into account when evaluating the question. For instance, one mover may interpret satisfaction with the way things worked out as if they were better off as a result of the move, while another mover may interpret the question as if their move met their expectations or not. Some movers may include life conditions unrelated to the move, while others may not. I keep this in mind as I continue my analysis.

Satisfaction domains

The questions asked of satisfaction with the outdoor environment, housing, employment, standard of living and social life domains vary from that asked of overall satisfaction in the above question. For the five satisfaction domains, movers are explicitly asked how their current situation is compared to before they moved. This is in line with previous cross-sectional studies of post-move satisfaction. That is, the satisfaction question asked of each of the five domains makes a direct comparison with the relative level of satisfaction experienced before and after the move, while the

“overall satisfaction” question above does not. Unlike other studies, such as De Jong et

al. (2002), these domains are not an amalgamation of a number of factors. The five domains include an employment domain, previously identified as an area of opportunity within the literature (Lundholm and Malmberg, 2006).

The first domain of satisfaction that movers were asked about was their satisfaction with the environment around them. Movers were given a definition of what to consider when evaluating their level of satisfaction and were asked how much better or worse their new surroundings were compared with their previous residence:

B14/EQ03 Environment: “The environment includes the natural and man-made outdoor surroundings where you live, and in all the places you go to. Compared to before you moved, is the outdoor environment in the city, town or area [you live now/where you usually live] much better, better, about the same, worse much worse?”

Unlike the environment satisfaction, movers were not given a definition of what housing satisfaction is, perhaps because housing is a less ambiguous term. But as with environmental satisfaction, they were asked how much better or worse their housing situation was compared with prior to moving:

B15/EQ04 Housing: “Compared to before you moved, is your housing now: much better, better, about the same, worse much worse?”

For employment satisfaction, only those movers who were in the labour market at the time of interview were questioned. They were asked how much better or worse their employment opportunities were compared to prior to moving:

B16/EQ05 Employment: “Compared to before you moved, are your employment opportunities now much better, better, about the same, worse much worse?”

Like each of the satisfaction domains, the standard of living rating is measured by the mover‟s perception of whether or not their standard of living is better or worse compared with prior to moving. As with outdoor environment satisfaction, respondents were provided a guide to how to interpret standard of living.

B17/EQ06 Standard of Living: “Standard of living is self-defined. It includes the circumstances in which people live, the economic resources they have access to and the goods and services that they are able to consume. Compared to before you moved, is your standard of living now: much better, better, about the same, worse much worse?”

The final post-move satisfaction domain is the mover‟s perception of how their social life has changed relative to before their move:

B18/EQ07 Social Life: “Compared to before you moved, is your social life with family and friends now: Much better, better, about the same, worse much worse?”

In summary, movers were asked about their overall level of satisfaction with how things worked out following the move. This is in contrast to previous studies, where their life satisfaction prior to and following the move is compared, or where they are asked how their overall satisfaction has changed.

For domains only, movers were asked to compare their situation at the time of their interview with their situation before they undertook their move. Satisfaction domains that could be considered to be less well understood by movers were defined, but movers were afforded a broad scope from which they were able to interpret how they evaluated the importance of the specific components of each domain.