In looking at their lives before moving to this neighbourhood, many of the families had been quite transient. Beth speaks about how her family had lived in one low-rental neighbourhood for a couple of years, moved to another town where they had "a beautiful home" and then moved back to the city. At that time, while waiting for affordable housing, the family of five was forced to share accommodations temporarily with Beth's parents, her brother and her father's friend and three children. Beth recalls vividly the noise and chaos with twelve people residing in one cramped three bedroom home. She explains how they had made a request to the housing authorities. "We asked to be not put back in [the same low rental neighbourhood] where we started but that's where they put us." When their name came up for a home, they had to get out of the overcrowded situation in which they were living and so returned to their old low-rental neighbourhood for a few years while waiting for a home to become available elsewhere. They then moved to their present home in what Beth describes as a "slightly better neighbourhood" than where they had been.

Jane's family had been very transient when she was a child. Although there were a number of moves within the same area which allowed her to stay in the same school, she nevertheless listed six different schools that she had attended. Jane realizes that the problem was that her parents could not pay their rent when it was due. They would then uproot the family and move to a new temporary home.

Natalie speaks about numerous moves prior to settling into her present home:

I was in [the nearby village]…Well, before we separated, we lived…with his [her husband's] Mom. Then we bought a mini-home in [trailer park]. And then we separated and then went to [the north end of the city]. And then I went to …downtown, subsidized units. And then uh - there is so much racket going' on with their father and I that I moved to get some peace. So that's when I moved to [nearby village]. I wanted to get as far as I could – But you know – away from it so I could have time to sort things through with the kids' stuff. So I moved there for six months in a little bungalow…