RURAL MIGRATION OF OLDER PEOPLE IN MICHIGAN: EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE ON ENVIRONMENTS AND SERVICE USE

For many decades, the predominant population migration pattern in the United States indicated people moving from sparsely-populated areas to amenity-rich urban centers. Recently, a major reversal of this long-standing trend has been documented. The elderly contributed to this new trend in two important ways: they moved to nonmetropolitan counties at a higher rate than did others and they were the forerunners of the trend.;Specific objectives of the study are: (1) to identify the characteristics of elderly migrants at the time of their move, (2) to identify their motivations to move or to stay, (3) to determine to what extent changes in personal independence are associated with differential feelings about services, and (4) to determine to what extent changes in personal independence are associated with differential feelings about one's environment.;Of the 51 recent migrants, aged 60 years or greater, who were interviewed in 1978, 40 were found in 1985 and were interviewed.;The data analysis indicates that changes in migrants' personal independence were associated with identifiable changes in migration motivations, service use patterns and service and environmental evaluations. Lessons learned are directed to service providers as well as designers and apply to retirement settings in rural areas.;The study investigates 51 elderly migrants to a typical high in-migration rural county in Michigan, at two points in time--1978 and 1985, in order to determine changes in their independence, how they compensate for these changes and the extent to which these changes are associated with their evaluations of public and private services and their housing.