Survey reveals how different generations approach moving

  • 2 days ago
Gen Z is crushing moving season, according to a recent poll.

The survey of 2,000 Americans who have moved in the last five years found that not only are they on top of their finances, more than half of Gen Z respondents (57%) reported they actually enjoy the process of moving. Meanwhile, only 22% of baby boomers share that sentiment.

As the summer moving season heats up, digital insurance company, Lemonade, commissioned the survey through Talker Research to investigate how Americans approach moving — how they prepare, feelings on the overall process and the generational split on it all.

According to results, Gen Z stands out as the most meticulous planners, with 60% creating a moving budget compared to only 55% of millennials, 46% of Gen X and 38% of baby boomers who prepared financially.

The research also found that of all generations, Gen Z even set aside the most money for their most recent move. Gen Z focused their budget on getting their new space ready with things like furniture and home updates ($1,703.50 on average), while Baby Boomers focused on the physical components, like moving trucks and supplies ($1,633.60 on average).

But despite their careful planning, four in five exceeded their moving budgets. For those, average overspending totaled $1,057.20.

And for the average respondent, it took five months to financially recover from their most recent move.

Still, nearly half (47%) said they would overpay if it meant they would have a disaster-free move, with millennial respondents being the most willing to overpay (51%), compared to baby boomers who were least willing to overpay (37%).

According to those surveyed, the most unexpectedly expensive parts of moving were renting a moving truck (30%), purchasing packing materials (22%) and putting some belongings temporarily in storage (18%).

“Whether you enjoy packing up your old house and moving into a new one or you hate the process altogether, it’s a huge undertaking with so many factors to think about: Logistical, emotional and financial. And it’s very easy to forget important things,” said Sean Burgess, chief claims officer at Lemonade. “It’s always a good idea to simplify the process as much as possible, especially for those tasks we tend to forget, like updating your address, insurance and utilities accounts.”

When it comes to being a bit forgetful, 35% claimed they didn’t forget anything, baby boomers being the least forgetful (58%) compared to Gen Z (24%).

But for those who forgot a few things, the most common things to fall through the cracks were forgetting to update their address or forward their mail, with Gen Z forgetting this the most (31%) and baby boomers forgetting this the least (18%).

Along with that, 19% of Gen Z forgot to update their home or renters insurance compared to only 3% of baby boomers.

For those looking to rent new homes when moving (59%), the most alarming red flags included the home looked worse in person than in pictures (28%), lack of air co