Moving to a new fast-growing city like Charlotte means trying to make new friends and find your community. The older you get, the harder that can feel, especially for caregivers, a new study from The Cigna Group shows.
Why it matters: Americans of all ages struggle with loneliness, Jeanette Bennett, an experimental health psychologist and UNC Charlotte associate professor, tells Axios.
What they’re saying: Charlotte has a vibrant social culture, but new folks sometimes have a hard time making connections, Lawrence Nycum, a physician and senior medical principal for Cigna Healthcare, Carolinas at Cigna Healthcare, tells Axios.
- It’s a challenge facing the roughly 157 people who move to the Charlotte region daily.
Context: Loneliness nationwide has jumped from around 46% in 2018, when Cigna began tracking loneliness, to 57% as of the 2024 study. Rising loneliness is consistent across age groups, and it’s independent of where you live, Nycum says…