Moving

$$Moving is part of a Sim's life. A single Sim or an entire household can move to or from a residential lot.

Moving in
Households are moved into a residential lot from the Family bin or the Lots and Houses bin making it available for play. A household can be moved into an unoccupied or occupied lot, thus merging the two households.

Until The Sims 2: University, Sims in the family bin could not be combined with other households. This feature allows teens who are going to college to join an existing (non-Greek) household, and allows graduates to do things such as re-join their families or form households with friends from college.

Moving out
A household can be moved out of a residential lot to the Family bin, the Lots and Houses bin or to another residential lot. This may be done to give a large household more room, or to allow another household to move in without merging the households.

In The Sims, a single sim could only move out of its current household by being asked to move in by a sim in another. In The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, single Sims are moved out by using "Find Own Place" from the newspaper or computer or by being asked to move in with a sim in another household. They can also bring other sims in the household with them, thus splitting the household or moving the entire household out. Teens will move out when they go to college.

To move out an entire household in The Sims, the player must be in the neighborhood view. Once moved out, the household will be in the Family bin. In The Sims 2, a household moved with its house will be in the Lots and Houses bin. A household that did not move with its house will have all their possessions not in inventory sold for their current value.

In The Sims 3, a household can be moved out and then moved in without being placed in the library, not necessitating the player to leave the active household. The household's possessions can be automatically placed in the family inventory upon moving.