Neolocal residence is a type of post-marital residence in which a newly married couple resides separately from both the husband's natal

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

and the wife's natal household. Neolocal residence forms the basis of most

developed nations A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...

, especially in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, and is also found among some nomadic communities. Upon

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

, each partner is expected to move out of their parents' household and establish a new residence, thus forming the core of an independent

nuclear family A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larg ...

. Neolocal

residence A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence may more specifically refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...

involves the creation of a new household where a child marries or even when they reach adulthood and become socially and economically active. Neolocal residence and nuclear family domestic structures are found in societies where geographical mobility is important. In Western societies, they are consistent with the frequent moves that are necessary due to choices and changes within a supply- and demand-regulated labor market. They are also prevalent in hunting and gathering economies, where nomadic movements are intrinsic to the subsistence strategy. In western countries, employment in large corporations or the military often calls for frequent relocations, making it nearly impossible for extended families to remain together hence creating new generation of families.

Description

In neolocal residence, newly formed couples form their own separate household units, and create what is considered a nuclear family. This contrasts with other forms of post-marital residence, such as

patrilocal residence In social anthropology, patrilocal residence or patrilocality, also known as virilocal residence or virilocality, are terms referring to the social system in which a married couple resides with or near the husband's parents. The concept of locat ...

and matrilocal residence, in which the couple resides with or near the husband's family (patrilocal residence) or the wife's family (matrilocal residence). Neolocality first appeared in

Northwestern Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, North ...

. It was from there brought to British colonies in the Americas. As American colonists expanded westward, this form of residence remained. Although some believe neolocal residence came as a result of industrialization, there is evidence of neolocality in England from before industrialization. Whatever the relationship between neolocality and economic development is, what is clear is that the two seem to coincide. Countries that experience economic development tend to also experience declines in multi-generational households, and increases in nuclear, neolocal forms of residence. A reason often cited for the high coincidence of neolocality in developed countries is the higher mobility of nuclear families, which becomes more important in modern economies. The decline of dependency on agricultural subsistence, which results in a weakening of extended family ties, is seen as another cause of nuclear, neolocal household creation. A particular case study of the relationship between economic development and neolocal residence patterns is the community of Navajo Mountain, which showed a positive correlation between the two. Currently, neolocal residence is more commonly found in the west, and is becoming more common in countries that have experienced economic development, like

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

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