There’s an intuitive sense that high mobility—that is, people frequently moving from place to place—diminishes the sense of community and social trust in a nation.
But America has become lower-trust and more atomized at the same time it has become less mobile and more ‘rooted.'
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The vaunted nodes of 20th century civil society—y'know, the Elk Lodge, bridge groups, Knights of Columbus, the D.A.R., etc.—are often assumed to have been little social nuclei for lifelong locals.
To the contrary: Their role was rapidly integrating a highly-mobile middle class.
In other words, the premium for being a long-term local has actually gone UP 
significantly over the past century. We are less flexible both socially and economically; we don't trust our fellow countrymen. Moving to a new city or state has become more costly, more suspicious.
significantly over the past century. We are less flexible both socially and economically; we don't trust our fellow countrymen. Moving to a new city or state has become more costly, more suspicious.
High mobility enhances a national sense of community, but diminishes local (city, neighborhood or family) sense of community
You see that with Europe as Erasmus has successfully translated away from national to transnational identification in certain people
It certainly enhances the national sense of community, but I don't think that necessarily works as a zero-sum, hydraulic counterpart to local community.
I mean, I think it's pretty clear that both have declined!
I wonder how much of this is “moving” becoming more synonymous with “leaving” for lots of communities
I doubt it. We're more able to keep in touch with older connections than ever. Moving back then would have meant a far more severe separation.
I don't think it's necessarily direct causation, but clearly the two aren't as closely linked as many people say
One is elite mobility a lot of the rich have multiple homes have diversified portfolios over larger areas ect. The other is that its not a 90% white 90% Christian nation anymore
I've always felt we've become less rooted. Anecdotally, staying in one's home town seems less common and more of a low status signifier. What makes you say we are more rooted?
As we become more atomized, the penalty of moving away from your social network becomes greater
The good ol’ high trust days from the Leave it to Beaver idyllic 50s were a time of insane mass internal migration
Because people are stuck in neighborhoods they aspire to leave? Mobility may not be there, but the desire for mobility is still there and the psychological effects that come with it.
Can’t form a common identity rooted in a shared place when you wanna move out of that place.
people will blame ANYTHING besides the invasion of the country by foreigners
Can def see this in many places, thinking eastern Europe, where people are immobile and also low trust
It actually makes a lot of sense. If you aren't used to seeing newcomers or transients, you get more suspicious of them.
The higher mobility involved the establishment of communities, or sudden growth, somewhat ground up with the newcomers feeling an immediate stake. This lasted a couple generations.
Now the trend is towards internal fragmentation within established areas. Social divides.
America recreated feudalism with hundreds of millions of tiny lordships, a closed society
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I assume what's not being captured is the outsized impact of "move to college" followed by "move to GoodJob™" If that is the normal course of even the top third(?) of all students, men and women, that is going to read, and truly is, way more disruptive than "the average American
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