This chapter is an empirically-informed discussion of relevant social theory for examining the phenomenon of lifestyle migration in the United States in both rural and urban settings. Specifically, the chapter explores key explanatory models born of research into so-called non-economic migration occurring since the early twentieth century—models that may be characterized as primarily either production or consumption oriented in their emphasis—as a context for outlining an integrated approach. The author then highlights changes in how some Americans appear to calculate personal and collective quality of life as engendered by an emerging economic order—based on principles of flexibility and contingency—whose affects are variously shared by individuals, families, and communities. Through a focused review of relevant literature from a range of social science disciplines, this chapter attempts to merge macro and micro levels of analysis. The intent is to provide a means of framing and understanding the prospects for lifestyle migration in the wake of economic crisis and protracted fiscal and social insecurity and what these might suggest about not only the challenges but also opportunities faced by persons and places in the United States.