Does being extra nice to villagers help at all with deterring them from moving away?

[Kipper_snax]

I've been feeling like it's the opposite lately. I'm super nice to Erik, the past week I've gave him medicine, completed all his quests, etc but he's wanted to move twice in a row. I'm now writing letters with gifts to all my favorites, but is it futile? I've been kind of rotten to one villager I really want to move out, but she's been there the longest and never has asked to move XD

 

[ShenkuuBlossoms]

Not really. In fact being their best friends and doing stuff for them all the time seems to get them to want to leave more. Villagers I've ignored for 3-4 months have yet to ping me but villagers who've been in my town less than 2 weeks (I talk to them everyday) want to move before them. When I'm at 10 there is an almost certain chance someone will ping so I just walk around in front of all of them to find the one who does hoping it's somebody I want out.

 

[PlasmaPower]

I've been feeling like it's the opposite lately. I'm super nice to Erik, the past week I've gave him medicine, completed all his quests, etc but he's wanted to move twice in a row. I'm now writing letters with gifts to all my favorites, but is it futile? I've been kind of rotten to one villager I really want to move out, but she's been there the longest and never has asked to move XD

You can get their pictures faster by being extra nice to them.

 

[roseflower]

Unfortunately reaching a high friendship with a villager makes them want to move out more. But it`s still kind of random who is chosen to move out. And writing letters to your favourite villagers doesn?t make them stay, they will ask to move again at some point.

 

[smalltowncrossing]

I find ignoring them works the best to get them to move since building up friendship is very hard all on it's own at times.

 

[cosmic-latte]

I just treat villagers that I want to move out like villagers I want to keep, ignoring them may lead to a lack of pinging when they do decide to move. It also makes it a lot harder for them to want to move away in the first place.

 

[Maruchan]

I've been feeling like it's the opposite lately. I'm super nice to Erik, the past week I've gave him medicine, completed all his quests, etc but he's wanted to move twice in a row. I'm now writing letters with gifts to all my favorites, but is it futile? I've been kind of rotten to one villager I really want to move out, but she's been there the longest and never has asked to move XD

What I've observed, and based on many others' experience, being nice to a particular villager (like what you did there for Erik), chat with them all the time, doing things for them, will *definitely* get them on the top of the moving list.

Yeah, kinda sucks but that's the game's design.

Now, as for that one villager you really wanted out, being 'rotten' to them, or hitting them with nets, or denying their request,
would only make them even more determined to stay and 'be better friends with you'. Yup. Bullying or hitting them won't work.
I've found that with Tammi in my main town, after seeking advise from other members on the forum, the best way (that worked for me) is to introduce yourself, chat a few times in the v beginning when they first moved in, then ignore them.
Within two weeks that horrible Tammi swiftly pinged and moved out.

Also, FYI in case this matters, the ones that you voided (as in not asking another player to come and adopt them to their town when they are in boxes)
will ensure that they will linger on your main street for all eternity.
How do I know this? Well, I was so happy to have Tammi & Rocket (argh) moved to the void, it did not occur to me that they will instead planted themselves on my main street and stores. Of course, I know better now ^^;;

The ones that I specially moved to my cycling town (either for adoption or voiding) did not quite show up much at all.

 

[MissyChai]

I always thought that it was just random.