Are migrants happier?

In an article for the Atlantic (paywall), Arthur C. Brooks explores whether migrants are happier after they move. Brooks quotes a Gallup research paper which was looking to find out:

Do migrants generally gain happiness from moving to another country? In what specific migration flows do migrants gain happiness from moving abroad? Do the short-term and long-term effects of migration on migrants' happiness differ?

In 2018, a team of Erasmus University and Gallup researchers tried to answer these questions in the 2018 World Happiness Report, using Gallup World Poll data from interviews with 36,000 first-generation migrants from more than 150 countries and territories.

Here's what they found:

Do migrants generally gain happiness from moving to another country?

very broadly is yes. Based on their ratings of their lives, the approximately 250 million international migrants across the globe, on average, have become 9% happier following migration. Migrants who have moved from sub-Saharan Africa to Western Europe experienced the largest gains -- 29%.

But they also find the answer is no for some migrants. For example, migrants who left Western European countries to live in Central or Eastern Europe generally do not perceive better lives after they migrate. And those who move between the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand also do not typically see a happiness benefit.

Which suggests that "migration particularly brings happiness for migrants who move to more developed countries than the ones they leave. However, the data also show there are migration flows between similarly developed countries in which migrants do benefit from migration."

The study additionally shows that migrants across the globe experience approximately 5% more positive emotions such as enjoyment and laughter and 7% less negative emotions such as worry and sadness because of migration. These findings suggest that international migration is, for many people, a powerful instrument to change their lives.

According to Brooks, if you aren't happy where you are living, moving, if you can, will likely boost your wellbeing, because odds are that your situation will improve. There's a catch: you need to embrace change to ease your transition. Instead of clinging to the familiar, "Purposefully migrate your habits, tastes and affections," says Brooks. Resisting change will only make your life harder than it needs to be.

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