Effects of internal migration on the life satisfaction of apprentices

Migration can have far-reaching implications for individuals’ life satisfaction (LS) trajectories. Previous research has mostly examined how migration influences LS using broad samples of the adult population. Moreover, it has not sufficiently considered the influence of other important life events preceding, accompanying, or following migration. Consequently, its conclusions are not readily transferable to individuals in different life stages and their age-specific coupled life events. To narrow this research gap, we examine how migrating within Germany during the transition to vocational education and training (VET) influences the LS trajectories of apprentices. We estimate fixed-effect panel regressions using data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Beyond a substantially positive effect of entering VET, we find no significant average effect of VET-related migration on apprentices’ LS. Moreover, the pre-migration VET opportunity structures do not moderate the effect of VET-related migration on LS. However, VET-related migration geared towards the attainment of higher-status (versus lower-status) occupations positively influences apprentices’ LS in the short term. We observe the strongest positive effects of VET-related migration to urban (versus rural) regions. These results suggest that, beyond strictly VET-related factors, age-specific lifestyle factors, which become accessible by moving towards urban regions, moderate the effects of internal migration on LS. Overall, our study illustrates the need to consider the specificity of life stages and coupled life events when analysing the effects of migration on LS.