So far, little is known about the lifestyles of the future elderly generation and what expectations those seniors might have regarding residence and living arrangements. Previous work on demographic change in Germany in general and in a number of major German cities mostly has focused on changes in the size of cohorts. In current academic debate on the residential mobility of the elderly, two opposing processes are addressed: either it is assumed that in terms of lifestyle and choice of residence the future elderly will display the same behaviour as current senior citizens and leave the central cities after retirement for the suburban regions or a fundamental reversal of trend is