Relocation, also known as moving is the process of vacating a fixed location (such as a residence or business) and settling in a different one. A move can be to a nearby location within the same neighborhood, a much farther location in a different city, or sometimes a different country. On the Holmes and Rahe stress scale for adults, "change of residence" is considered a stressful activity, assigned 20 points (with death of spouse being ranked the highest at 100)[1], although other changes on the scale (e.g. "change in living conditions", "change in social activities") often occur as a result of relocating, making the overall stress level potentially higher.
Various studies have found that moving house is often particularly stressful for children and is sometimes associated with long-term problems.[2][3][4][5]
Expatriate's Relocation
Often big corporations relocate their employees for short- to long-term assignments abroad. Quite often such relocation is supported by a relocation service, which assists internationally assigned personnel in finding and/or moving into a new house, organizing school for children, conducting local culture training and in general terms, supporting integration into the new location and/or culture.[6]
Individual members of skilled professions may also independently find work in countries to which they are not native. In these cases, the support systems mentioned above may be absent.