Closest family in the household or in the community? The role of family in residential satisfaction among intended stayers in Iceland

The salience of family in residential satisfaction and staying in rural communities has been well established. However, the relative importance family in the households and wider networks of family ties remains unclear, as well as the extent to which such associations can be found across the urban-rural continuum. This study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the role of family in residential satisfaction and residential decision-making processes by distinguishing between satisfied, ambivalent, and dissatisfied stayers in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Drawing on several large-scale surveys conducted in Iceland, we use binomial and multinomial logistic regression models to show that both having family in the household and having the closest family in the community predict intentions to stay, net of residential satisfaction. The odds of being a stayer are significantly higher if living with a spouse, with or without children in the household. Interestingly, this effect is found in all non-metropolitan types of communities but not in the metropolitan Reykjavik capital area. Familial factors relate differently to the odds of being a satisfied, ambivalent, or dissatisfied stayer and vary significantly between urban, exurban, micro-urban, and farming communities. Living with a spouse and children in the household increases the odds of being a stayer, regardless of residential satisfaction. Living in a household as a couple without the presence of children is only associated with higher odds of being a dissatisfied stayer. Beyond the household, respondents are significantly more likely to be stayers if most or all closest family live in the community, regardless of being a satisfied, ambivalent, or dissatisfied stayer. This is true for all types of communities. These results contribute to the cross-cultural evidence base and suggest several possible avenues for future research relevant to policy and practice in the field of regional development.