Gonzalez 1

Zayra Gonzalez
Professor Bieber
English 113B
12 March 2015
Homes are not for Sale
I have moved houses seven times in my life, and I have considered
them all my home, because my family lived in it. To me family is my home
not a piece of land. Though, for many people a house is home to them, and
they work most of their lives to obtain the satisfaction of owning a house.
Home ownership signifies success for many Americans; it has become part of
the American Dream. However, this dream has become a nightmare for
many home owners and it has affected the lives of the people around them.
House ownership can generate problems in families, it can create psychological problems,
and financial problems. People that want to own a home should be more aware of the
consequences of their financial investment.
In the journal, Residential Mobility, Well-Being, and Mortality Shigehiro Oishi,
psychologist at University of Virginia and Ulrich Schimmack associate professor at University of
Toronto Mississauga researched the effects frequently moving houses has on children as they get
older. The researchers followed adults that moved repeatedly during their childhood for 10
years. Oishi and Schimmack found that introverts that moved a lot had a high possibility of
dying earlier:
Time 1 (when they were 6 to 9 years old) had a high probability of death by Time 2 (25
26 years follow-up), or the odds ratio of 1.62. Although the effect size indicated by the
odds ratio is impressive, it did not reach statistical significance. This is in part because
only 44 (or 3.5%) of 1, 243 original participants had died before Time 2 (Oishi and
Schimmack 980).

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Parents should make their child moving experience more enjoyable, to increase the probably of
having a better healthy life. They should also explain to their children about the reason they are
moving, this could help prepare the child for the changes. Additionally, Oishi and Schimmack
found that introverts and extroverts have a different reacting to moving house. Introverts are
more affected because they have difficulty socializing with other people. Moving often affected
my ability to communicate with other, because I felt there was not point on making new friend if
I was going to move any way. As a result I started to get bully in school which reflected on my
grades. This just comes to show that some of the consequences of moving homes often, create a
chain reaction into other factors that affect childrens lives.
Additionally, the article Study: How Much You Spend for Housing Could Affect How
Smart Your Kids are Jill Rosen explains that research demonstrates that spending too much
money or too little money on housing can affect a childs performance in school. Rosen states
that when families spend more of their revenue on their house instead of their children, the
children are more likely to have problems with reading and math. This could be because less
money is being spend on material. Materials such as school supplies are important for the
academic success, as well as paying for a home. Parents should take other factors of their life in
consideration to balance the money they spend on their home and on their families. Moreover,
Rosen mentions that families that tent to pay little for their home end up in the violent
neighborhoods, which can affect performance in school. People may argue that they do not have
the money to move to a better neighborhood, however, parents in this kinds of conditions should
be more active in their childs school to make sure they are on the right track. My family does
not live in the best neighborhood, but the school programs and my parents insolvent in school
helped me follow the right path. The author concludes by mention that spending about 30 percent

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of income is better because this will allow them to spend more on their children. Families need to
make a plant to keep up with their house payment as well learn to manage their budget, to be
able to contribute more to the family than the house they live in.
To sum up there are many families should have a financial plan before making a big
investment such as buying a house, secondly they should be more aware of their childs needs, as
well as take into consideration that frequently moving houses can affect them in the future. This
could help them improve the way they manage their money and helped them improve their
family lives.

Work Cited
Oishi, Shigehiro , and Ulrich Schimmack. Residential Mobility, Well- being, and Mortality.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychological 98.6 (2010): 980-94. Web. 15 Mar.
2015.
Rosen, Jill. Study: How much you spend for Housing Could Affect how smart your Kids
Are. The Hub. John Hopkins University, 10 June 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2015