In this research project, I seek to answer two questions that relate to residential location choices and housing search. For residential location choices, I draw upon the life course theory and unpack residential self‐selection by examining the roles of involuntary past location experiences on later choices. For housing search, I draw upon concepts of mental map and awareness space and examine the role of intra‐household dynamics and the dynamics played out during the sequential moves of a search on the extent of a spatial search for housing. This research contributes to our theoretical understanding of integrated transportation and land use model by probing into the formation of a search space for housing and demonstrating a life‐course evolution of one’s preference toward residential location choices. Results of this research project also has practical significance for Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)’ work —the insights gained from this research will help us build better residential location models and construct a realistic choice set for housing alternatives.