  Family members' life course tendencies to remain geographically close to each
other or to migrate due to education or job opportunities have been studied
relatively little. Here we investigate migration patterns of parents and their
children between 19 administrative regions of Finland from 1970 to 2012. Using
the FinnFamily register dataset of 60 000 index individuals and their family
members, we investigate the patterns of regional migration and regional
co-residence of parents and their children. Specifically, we analyse how likely
it is for children to reside in the same region as their parents at any
specific age, whether parents and children who live in different regions are
likely to reunite, and whether siblings function as regional attractors to each
other. Results show an intense regional migration of people to the capital
area. The migration propensity of individuals is high in early childhood and
peaks in early adulthood. About two thirds of Finnish children live in the same
region as their parents throughout their adult lives. Females show higher
propensity to migrate than males, since daughters move away from their parents
earlier and with a higher rate than sons do. The propensity for two full
sibling brothers to be in the same region is higher than that for other types
of sibling dyads. We conclude that family members serve as important
geographical attractors to each other through the life course and that family
attraction is stronger for sons and brothers than for daughters and sisters in
contemporary Finland.
