Summers are not just all about beach ball, tans and pina coladas. It also happens to be the peak domestic moving season and therefore United Van Lines - a popular long distance moving company - conducted a survey to gauge where the Americans moved to this summer.
For the survey, the company analyzed city-to-city migration among the United States between May 1 and August 3, the peak moving season.
"Year after year, May through August are the most popular months to move," Melissa Sullivan, director of marketing communications for United Van Lines, said in a statement.
"Because United conducts more moves than any other moving company, we're in a unique position to use this data and observe the migration of American families from city to city and state to state," Sullivan added.
The survey showed that Chicago and Washington D.C. were the areas that had the most inbound migrations. The interesting part was although some areas ranked well on inbound migrations, they also saw considerable number of people moving out.
The report also showed that the major reason for the move was not really the heat, but corporate transfers or a new job. About 10 percent said they moved for personal reasons, while 13 percent said the move was a result of their retirement.
Below are the 7 most popular areas Americans moved to this summer:
1. Chicago
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Atlanta
4. Boston
5. Los Angeles
6. Dallas
7. Phoenix
And these were the metro areas that several Americans moved from:
1. Washington, D.C.
2. Dallas
3. Atlanta
4. Houston
5. Phoenix
6. Chicago
7. Seattle
"Bucking recent trends, more people are moving to frost belt cities in the Northeast and Midwest," Michael A. Stoll, economist, professor and chair of the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, added in the statement.
"Popular metropolitan destinations driving city to city migration are those with a highly educated labor force and that have growing or mature business, financial, and insurance services. In addition, strong technology and healthcare industries are driving migration, sectors where recent job growth has been relatively robust in the broader economy," Stoll added.
A previous study by Redfin found that affordability was a major reason why people were relocating. While jobs and wages also mattered, price of a home and cost of living were equally or perhaps a tad bit more important.
