Poll: 1 in 3 Americans Want to Move to Less Populated Areas Because of Pandemic

A recent Harris Poll found that one-third of Americans, including older Americans, are considering relocating to less populated areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports KYW Newsradio 1060 . However, Widener University Professor Karen May joins other experts in saying that this may actually create more problems, especially for older men and women. "Infrastructure is very different," she noted. "Access to public transit, access to grocery stores and pharmacies, all of that is all spread out. So it requires, first of all, that you have a car. And you have the ability to do that." May also said relocation can be stressful, and adds to the strain of being in the middle of a pandemic. Nora Super of the Milken Institute for the Future of Aging cited loneliness as another burden, and research demonstrates that seniors in nursing and assisted living communities have reported more loneliness during the lockdown because visits were suspended. "You hear several geriatricians and people that work in these nursing homes worry that these residents are actually dying of loneliness," Super said.