While researchers are increasingly reconceptualising international migration, less interest is being shown in rethinking the geographies of short-distance residential mobility and immobility. Short-distance moves are crucial for the structuration of everyday life, the operation of housing and labour markets and the (re)production of social inequalities. This paper argues that a deeper understanding of residential mobility and immobility can be gained by exploring developments in longitudinal analysis while seeking theoretical innovations derived from extending life course theories. Rethinking the geographies of residential mobility around notions of ‘linked lives’ will allow us to understand, critique and address major contemporary challenges.