How did family residence patterns change after marriage in traditional Micronesia?

In traditional Micronesia, residence patterns after marriage were characterized by flexibility rather than a single, rigid rule. While most Micronesians lived in extended family groups, the choice of where a newlywed couple resided was primarily determined by the availability of agricultural land and the need for additional laborers on either the husband’s or the wife’s side of the family.1

Because descent was traced through matrilineage in most of the region, residing with the wife’s family was widely considered the ideal. However, in practice, exceptions were frequent, and children often maintained rights to use land belonging to their paternal grandmother’s side.1

A notable exception to this general trend existed in Yap, where patrilocal residence—living with the husband's family—and patrilineal inheritance of land were considered the ideal.1