# How Frequent are Move-Out Requests?



## Sheando (Apr 9, 2020)

I’ve been playing since launch (without time traveling), filled my island to 10 villagers as early as possible, and I’ve only had one villager ask to move (8-9 days ago). Is it rarer in this game? Am I going to have to wait 6-12 months for the right villager to request a move?


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## Jared:3 (Apr 9, 2020)

They aren't as frequent as New Leaf, its quite tedious to get a villager to move out in this game


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## Kamzitty (Apr 9, 2020)

I've had three villagers move out so far, and I've time traveled between 30-40 days, not sure of the exact amount because I did go back to current time. So in my experience, someone will ask every 1-2 weeks roughly.


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## Fey (Apr 9, 2020)

That’s disappointing to hear, considering I just got my first request today—and it was from the only villager I’m 100% sure about keeping.


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## DJStarstryker (Apr 9, 2020)

I've only gotten 1 request so far (I said no). I can't remember when it happened but it was several days ago now. Nothing since. I've seen other villagers do that sort of thinking thing, but whenever I talk to them, they just give me stuff.


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## petrichr (Apr 9, 2020)

So far I've had requests about every 4 days. You see a villager walking with a thinking cloud, it's either an item to give you or they want to move.


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## Keion (Apr 9, 2020)

I've had one so far, thankfully if was someone I couldn't stand! XD
I said yes, of course.

My understanding is there are steps to getting villagers to move out.
-Don't talk to them for several days.
-Watch for a thought cloud and talk to them.
-They'll probably tell you they've been thinking of leaving.
-Tell them to leave!


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## Awhburn (Apr 9, 2020)

Cashmere just moved in yesterday, and she asked to move out today. I wasn’t expecting her to ask to leave that quick, especially since I talked to her when she was unpacking boxes.


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## Sheando (Apr 9, 2020)

Kammm said:


> I've had three villagers move out so far, and I've time traveled between 30-40 days, not sure of the exact amount because I did go back to current time. So in my experience, someone will ask every 1-2 weeks roughly.



Man, that's such a bummer. I'm extra frustrated because out of my 10 villagers, I only have 4 I want to keep. Ten days ago I got a move out request from one of those four, and then today I got a move-out request from ANOTHER of those four, not any of the six I would like to let go of. I hate that I now apparently have to wait two weeks at a time just for the CHANCE to have a villager maybe think about going somewhere.

Any idea why Nintendo would make this switch? Is it too depressing/abrupt to have villagers constantly thinking about moving? Do they want to slow down the pace? Or are they just trying to push more amiibo sales by deliberately making it less likely that anyone will consider leaving otherwise?


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## Saga (Apr 9, 2020)

I've only had two ask to move out in 40-45 days (TTing), so for me, it's roughly every three weeks.

It's frustrating because I have a lot of villagers I would like to move out, but one of the requests came from one of the few villagers that I wanted to keep. So I've only had one villager successfully leave so far... At this rate, it might take 6+ months to get rid of my least favorite villager!

I'll likely start using Amiibo at some point if more don't start asking to move out soon.


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## SmoochsPLH (Apr 9, 2020)

Wait the thinking thing is a sign of a villager wanting to move out? Frick I could've moved out Rodeo! Do they still ping you?


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## eladisland (Apr 9, 2020)

It seems like these move out requests are completely random and not dependent on whether they like or dislike you. Anecdotally, two of my friends and myself have had our favorites ask to move out and we think it's because we gave them too much attention. I think it's coincidence  because I've also shoved and netted one of my Peppy gals and they weren't the ones to ask to leave. I am starting to wonder about the title Animal "Crossing" as if the makers imply that 'crossing' is a privilege, but somehow we all assumed that we are supposed to make them stay.

Having said that, based on what I hear from TT'ers they seem to succeed with the 2-week-trick, and the incidents with my two friends and I happened around 2 weeks after we got the game on release day.


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## chibby (Apr 9, 2020)

i had my first request about five days ago or so since starting on release day w/out tting, so not too bad. i think it probably happens every 1-2 weeks.


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## Raayzx (Apr 9, 2020)

I just want teddy to move out but i never see him having a thought bubble. He works out 24/7 btw


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## Sheando (Apr 9, 2020)

SmoochsPLH said:


> Wait the thinking thing is a sign of a villager wanting to move out? Frick I could've moved out Rodeo! Do they still ping you?



They don't ping anymore. It's the thought bubble that signals wanting to move. That bubble also signals other things, though. I really want Hazel to leave (I like her, but I've had her before and I want a fresh experience) so I would always get excited when I saw her thinking, but she always just wanted to give me an item or sell me something. One time she gave me FOUR DIFFERENT SHIRTS in one evening play session, like an unsubtle hint that she hated my outfit or something, haha.


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## Khaelis (Apr 9, 2020)

I think it's been around.. 10 days since my first move-out? No one appears to want to move yet.


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## TheRealWC (Apr 9, 2020)

I think it's random? I believe villager can start moving out when you get your 8th villager, so one of my villagers (my 9th) asked to move 6 days after my 8th villager moved in, 5 days after they moved in, and 1 day after my 10th move in. 

I don't know what the criteria is or if it's completely random, but that's the only villager I've had ask to move out so far. However, I will say I remember people being confused on not having many campers, and I've had 3 campers in less than 2 weeks, which is actually fairly equivalent to how New Leaf was.

I think while it might take villagers longer to say if they want to move out, the process is _much_ quicker. I prefer this balance instead as I don't have to wait 5+ days for a villager to fully move out.


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## Sheando (Apr 9, 2020)

Saga said:


> I've only had two ask to move out in 40-45 days (TTing), so for me, it's roughly every three weeks.



I've noticed that a lot of the people reporting longer wait times between requests seem to be TTers. I'm hearing 2-3 weeks from people who time travel and 5-14 days from people who don't, generally. I wonder if that's a coincidence? 

I've noticed that unlike past games, neither of the move-out requests I've gotten have been at the start of the day/session. Both times I've only seen a villager with the thought bubble after a few hours of gameplay that day, and they were both villagers I'd already talked to several times that day before they started thinking about moving. So I wonder what triggers the appearance of that bubble, if it's no longer the first thing on their mind when you load up the game that day. Huck asked to move after I returned home from a mystery tour, and Bubbles asked to move today after I returned from visiting my boyfriend's island. It seems like putting more hours into a single day slightly increases the chance that someone will want to move that day, especially if you're doing things that prompt changes in your villagers' locations and activities, like "reloading" your island by leaving and coming back. So maybe TTers, who are less likely to play several hours on a single in-game day, aren't seeing thought bubbles that might have generated if they'd been playing longer sessions or more than once per in-game day during those times?

I don't care at all whether people TT or not, just something I've noticed! I'd like to figure out what makes the game decide when a villager will think about moving.

	Post automatically merged: Apr 9, 2020



TheRealWC said:


> I think while it might take villagers longer to say if they want to move out, the process is _much_ quicker. I prefer this balance instead as I don't have to wait 5+ days for a villager to fully move out.



That's a good point! Honestly, though, I'd take a longer move-out process over an extra 5-10 days between requests. That's still an increase of at least five days in move-out time, it's just happening before the request instead of after it. And that's assuming that you want that villagers to move. Right now we have to wait a couple of weeks just for someone to _request _to move. At least in New Leaf, you didn't have the 5-day wait time unless you actually confirmed their request to move because you wanted them gone, and then you had a concrete date by which they'd head out. In NH, we wait much longer between requests, but it's still likely that someone you want to keep will be the next one to consider moving, which renders all that extra wait time meaningless.


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## Marzipan (Apr 9, 2020)

Sheando said:


> They don't ping anymore. It's the thought bubble that signals wanting to move. That bubble also signals other things, though. I really want Hazel to leave (I like her, but I've had her before and I want a fresh experience) so I would always get excited when I saw her thinking, but she always just wanted to give me an item or sell me something. One time she gave me FOUR DIFFERENT SHIRTS in one evening play session, like an unsubtle hint that she hated my outfit or something, haha.



I wish I had Hazel ‍


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## PajamaCat (Apr 9, 2020)

SmoochsPLH said:


> Wait the thinking thing is a sign of a villager wanting to move out? Frick I could've moved out Rodeo! Do they still ping you?


Maple tried to move out today and she had the thought bubble above her head but it also turned into a text box saying "What to do...?" All the other times I've seen a villager with a thought bubble they've just given me a gift so maybe the text is specific to moving requests?


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## Saga (Apr 9, 2020)

Sheando said:


> I've noticed that a lot of the people reporting longer wait times between requests seem to be TTers. I'm hearing 2-3 weeks from people who time travel and 5-14 days from people who don't, generally. I wonder if that's a coincidence?
> 
> I've noticed that unlike past games, neither of the move-out requests I've gotten have been at the start of the day/session. Both times I've only seen a villager with the thought bubble after a few hours of gameplay that day, and they were both villagers I'd already talked to several times that day before they started thinking about moving. So I wonder what triggers the appearance of that bubble, if it's no longer the first thing on their mind when you load up the game that day. Huck asked to move after I returned home from a mystery tour, and Bubbles asked to move today after I returned from visiting my boyfriend's island. It seems like putting more hours into a single day slightly increases the chance that someone will want to move that day, especially if you're doing things that prompt changes in your villagers' locations and activities, like "reloading" your island by leaving and coming back. So maybe TTers, who are less likely to play several hours on a single in-game day, aren't seeing thought bubbles that might have generated if they'd been playing longer sessions or more than once per in-game day during those times?
> 
> ...



Yeah, I don't know. I've been in quarantine, so I've been playing 3-4 hours per in-game day, and about 10 hours per real-life day, even when I was TTing. So I don't think that play time affects it much, sinch I really was spending a lot of time per in-game day. Here's when I got my requests to move:

First two in-game weeks, TTing: No requests (could have been because I had fewer than 7 villagers).
Second two in-game week, TTing: One request.
TT back to the actual date, play in real time (no TTing) for 1.5 weeks: One request.

As for when during the day I got the request, the first one was as soon as I started the game up (one villager told me another was thinking of moving and I should go talk to them within 5 minutes of starting the game).

The second request I got after maybe an hour of playing when a villager had a thought bubble over their head.

So I don't necessarily think you have to play the game for several hours before someone asks to move. It seems to just be luck/RNG.


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## SmoochsPLH (Apr 9, 2020)

Sheando said:


> They don't ping anymore. It's the thought bubble that signals wanting to move. That bubble also signals other things, though. I really want Hazel to leave (I like her, but I've had her before and I want a fresh experience) so I would always get excited when I saw her thinking, but she always just wanted to give me an item or sell me something. One time she gave me FOUR DIFFERENT SHIRTS in one evening play session, like an unsubtle hint that she hated my outfit or something, haha.





PajamaCat said:


> Maple tried to move out today and she had the thought bubble above her head but it also turned into a text box saying "What to do...?" All the other times I've seen a villager with a thought bubble they've just given me a gift so maybe the text is specific to moving requests?



Dang I didn't know that. I maybe could've moved out Rodeo for someone yesterday then! I'll keep an eye on that from now on then. Wait does this mean that he's gonna move out without saying anything now?


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## Corndoggy (Apr 9, 2020)

i believe ive had 2 ask to move out in about a week and a half, convinced the first one to stay but told the second one to enjoy her new life, as i wasnt particullary attached to her and i wanted to see who i would get next


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## moon_child (Apr 10, 2020)

I only ever really experienced one (but I wanted to keep her) and I’ve been playing the game since launch (I don’t TT though). I’m actually getting impatient. Everytime I see Ed thinking I’m like yyyyaaasssss and then he’ll end up just giving me a gift instead. Boo. ☹


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## Garrett (Apr 10, 2020)

I've had one request so far - from Beau, so of course I refused. I keep hovering near Wendy hoping she'll say she's leaving haha. I have Maddie in the campsite on her second item so hopefully not long.


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## Ceres (Apr 10, 2020)

PajamaCat said:


> Maple tried to move out today and she had the thought bubble above her head but it also turned into a text box saying "What to do...?" All the other times I've seen a villager with a thought bubble they've just given me a gift so maybe the text is specific to moving requests?


Sadly I don't think thats the case. I had Mac pacing around with the 'What to do' text above and he just gave me an item he said he couldn't find a home for.


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## Underneath The Stars (Apr 10, 2020)

2 requests since i started the game, and i have 9 villagers only. the first one asked when i had 8. so it’s definitely random but yes, it’s much rare compared to new leaf. i kept them for now tho, it’s too early for me to let go some of them.

	Post automatically merged: Apr 10, 2020



moon_child said:


> I only ever really experienced one (but I wanted to keep her) and I’ve been playing the game since launch (I don’t TT though). I’m actually getting impatient. Everytime I see Ed thinking I’m like yyyyaaasssss and then he’ll end up just giving me a gift instead. Boo. ☹



LMAOOOO


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## smudgedhorizon (Apr 10, 2020)

My experience is I have played since launch day on the 20th (with no time travel & no amiibo use) & have so far had one villager on the 5th April ask to leave. So that was after 16 days play for me.

It was a villager I have barely spoken to & I was happy to agree. If it makes any difference, he was my 5th to move in (& a random move in).


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## Sir Zyr (Apr 10, 2020)

I've only had one request since I started playing on launch day, and that was a villager I was talking to exactly once a day and ignoring every other time I saw him. I was happy to let him go, of course, as it was chops


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## ctar17 (Apr 10, 2020)

I've been playing since release and haven't TTed.  My first move out thought bubble was April 5th and it was Victoria (I had 9 villagers at the time), I let her move.  I'm now up to 10 villagers again now, so hopefully someone else decides to move out.  

On a side note, I haven't had a campsite visitor for over a week and a half now.  The spawn rates must be super low


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## PajamaCat (Apr 10, 2020)

Ceres said:


> Sadly I don't think thats the case. I had Mac pacing around with the 'What to do' text above and he just gave me an item he said he couldn't find a home for.


Ahh okay, good to know! Thanks!


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## cheezu (Apr 10, 2020)

Could it have something to do with the number of villagers - I remember in NL, if your town was full, someone would ping to move around every 4-5 days if I'm not mistaken.
So far only Wolfgang asked me to move and he moved in recently too - I denied because I wanted to think about it more but now I wish I had traded him.

I was also wondering if the thought bubble above the head is gonna be the first thing you see when they walk around town after starting up your game or could it potentially happen later throughout the day (as I said, I only had it happen once so can't really comment on that).


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## Katie0391 (Apr 10, 2020)

I've been playing since launch, and only had one move out request, either last week or the week before. It was one of my 2 starter villagers (Renee) who I speak to a lot. I denied her request


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## Sheando (Apr 10, 2020)

ctar17 said:


> On a side note, I haven't had a campsite visitor for over a week and a half now.  The spawn rates must be super low



Yeah, I haven’t had any since my forced campsite move-in on the 28th. Not even one.



cheezu said:


> Could it have something to do with the number of villagers - I remember in NL, if your town was full, someone would ping to move around every 4-5 days if I'm not mistaken.
> So far only Wolfgang asked me to move and he moved in recently too - I denied because I wanted to think about it more but now I wish I had traded him.
> 
> I was also wondering if the thought bubble above the head is gonna be the first thing you see when they walk around town after starting up your game or could it potentially happen later throughout the day (as I said, I only had it happen once so can't really comment on that).



I’ve had 10 villagers since my first move-out request and still waited 10 days for the second one.

Both of my move-out requests were later in the day. It no longer has to be immediate. I was mentioning that earlier in the thread and wondering what prompts the thought bubble if it’s no longer something that happens at the start of the day.


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## dragonair (Apr 10, 2020)

I've had 2 requests since I started playing and one I rejected. I've also been playing since launch. I have to get through 6 villagers and it feels like it's gonna take a year at this point! TT v TT


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## InkFox (Apr 10, 2020)

moon_child said:


> I only ever really experienced one (but I wanted to keep her) and I’ve been playing the game since launch (I don’t TT though). I’m actually getting impatient. Everytime I see Ed thinking I’m like yyyyaaasssss and then he’ll end up just giving me a gift instead. Boo. ☹


Si I'm not the only one desperately waiting for Ed to finally decide to go live his life somewhere else. Seems like the guy likes to stick to where he lives. Hope I'll have the so long awaited thought bubble soon...


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## Jared:3 (Apr 10, 2020)

Seems like kicking out villagers is much more difficult than new leaf, I tried kicking like 2 or 3 of my villagers out and no luck even with TT'ing


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## hikaricities (Apr 10, 2020)

I definitely think it's random. I don't time travel and tend to play a few times throughout the day. Earlier this week (I think it was either Monday or Tuesday) Frita told me she wanted to move but I said no since she's one of my favorites! She was the first to ask to move. Then Thursday, yesterday for me, Octavian asked to move out.


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## trashpedia (Apr 10, 2020)

I’ve gotten 3 requests (both from Mira and one from Apollo) and declined them. So far they only happened to me when I TT’ed one day back and then forward to the current day again.


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## 0orchid (Apr 10, 2020)

Grrr I've only had this happen one time, and otherwise every time they have thought bubbles above their head they're trying to gift or sell me something!


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## Aleigh (Apr 10, 2020)

I've been playing the same amount as you, and I only got one move out ask as well. However, I'm glad that it was the first villager I wanted out immediately


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