ELDERLY MIGRATION TO THE SUN-BELT - SEASONAL VERSUS PERMANENT

A substantial body of research has focused on the interstate migration of elderly households to the Sunbelt. Most of this research has conce ntrated on permanent moves, but seasonal migration of elderly househol ds to Sunbelt locations has become an increasingly important social ph enomenon. Although some have suggested that such temporary migration s erves as a precursor of permanent locations, recent analyses have foun d that such seasonal migration constitutes an alternative elderly life -style. Using 1980 census data, this study empirically examines the si milarities and differences in these two types of elderly migration flo ws to a Sunbelt state such as Arizona. The statistical results indicat e that seasonal and permanent migration are correlated in different wa ys to the variables usually found to be determinants of elderly migrat ion flows and suggest the two types of elderly migration are related b ut separate phenomena