diff --git a/docs/changes.txt b/docs/changes.txt
index e20e6429ac..e813684a3a 100644
--- a/docs/changes.txt
+++ b/docs/changes.txt
@@ -31,6 +31,12 @@ Changes in behaviour not resulting in compilation errors
   wxGLAttributes::Samplers(1).SampleBuffers(4) explicitly if you need to keep
   using the same attributes that were previously used by default.
 
+- Default location of file used by wxFileConfig under Unix has changed to
+  XDG-compliant ~/.config/appname.conf instead of ~/.appname but note that
+  any existing files at the old location will still continue to be used.
+  See wxCONFIG_USE_XDG and wxCONFIG_USE_HOME for how to customize this
+  behaviour. You may also find wxFileConfig::MigrateLocalFile() useful.
+
 - As first mentioned in 3.0 release notes, the value of wxTHREAD_WAIT_DEFAULT,
   used by wxThread::Delete() and Wait() by default, has changed from
   wxTHREAD_WAIT_YIELD to wxTHREAD_WAIT_BLOCK for safety and consistency.
diff --git a/include/wx/confbase.h b/include/wx/confbase.h
index bc00ec1413..34e250ce90 100644
--- a/include/wx/confbase.h
+++ b/include/wx/confbase.h
@@ -63,7 +63,8 @@ enum
     wxCONFIG_USE_RELATIVE_PATH = 4,
     wxCONFIG_USE_NO_ESCAPE_CHARACTERS = 8,
     wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR = 16,
-    wxCONFIG_USE_XDG = 32
+    wxCONFIG_USE_XDG = 32,
+    wxCONFIG_USE_HOME = 64
 };
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/include/wx/fileconf.h b/include/wx/fileconf.h
index 4229820cf8..31971df83e 100644
--- a/include/wx/fileconf.h
+++ b/include/wx/fileconf.h
@@ -137,7 +137,9 @@ public:
       wxString error;
   };
   static MigrationResult
-  MigrateLocalFile(const wxString& name, int newStyle, int oldStyle = 0);
+  MigrateLocalFile(const wxString& name,
+                   int newStyle,
+                   int oldStyle = wxCONFIG_USE_HOME);
 
   // ctor & dtor
     // New constructor: one size fits all. Specify wxCONFIG_USE_LOCAL_FILE or
diff --git a/interface/wx/config.h b/interface/wx/config.h
index 3be4368c66..f0169b693e 100644
--- a/interface/wx/config.h
+++ b/interface/wx/config.h
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ enum
     wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR = 16,
 
     /**
-        Use XDG-compliant file location on Unix systems.
+        Always use XDG-compliant file location on Unix systems.
 
         If wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR is not specified, using this flag has the same
         effect as calling wxStandardPaths::SetFileLayout() with
@@ -38,9 +38,29 @@ enum
         In combination with wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR, this flag changes the default
         configuration file location to ~/.config/appname/appname.conf`.
 
+        If neither this flag nor wxCONFIG_USE_HOME is specified, XDG-compliant
+        configuration file path will be used by default, but if there is an
+        existing file in the home directory, then it will continue to be used
+        instead.
+
         @since 3.3.0
      */
-    wxCONFIG_USE_XDG = 32
+    wxCONFIG_USE_XDG = 32,
+
+    /**
+        Use home directory for the local file location on Unix systems.
+
+        Using this flag is not recommended, it exists only for compatibility
+        with the previous wxWidgets versions which created configuration files
+        in the home directory (i.e. `~/.appname`) by default.
+
+        Note that any already existing files in the home directory will still
+        be used, even if this file is not specified, unless wxCONFIG_USE_XDG is
+        used.
+
+        @since 3.3.0
+     */
+    wxCONFIG_USE_HOME = 64
 };
 
 
diff --git a/interface/wx/fileconf.h b/interface/wx/fileconf.h
index 05f3c14b21..95ae264a50 100644
--- a/interface/wx/fileconf.h
+++ b/interface/wx/fileconf.h
@@ -90,8 +90,8 @@ public:
         parameter in the constructor.
 
         @a style has the same meaning as in @ref wxConfigBase::wxConfigBase "wxConfig constructor"
-        and can contain any combination of styles but only wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR
-        and wxCONFIG_USE_XDG are really used by this function.
+        and can contain any combination of styles but only wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR,
+        wxCONFIG_USE_XDG and wxCONFIG_USE_HOME are really used by this function.
 
         Notice that this function cannot be used if @a basename is already a full path name.
     */
@@ -146,9 +146,8 @@ public:
             }
         }
 
-        // Note that this must be done after calling MigrateLocalFile(),
-        // otherwise the old style would use XDG layout already and the actual
-        // file at non-XDG-compliant location wouldn't be migrated.
+        // Prefer doing it only after successfully calling MigrateLocalFile(),
+        // otherwise, i.e. if it failed, the old config file wouldn't be used.
         wxStandardPaths::Get().SetFileLayout(wxStandardPaths::FileLayout_XDG);
         @endcode
 
@@ -157,12 +156,15 @@ public:
             program, typically including ::wxCONFIG_USE_XDG and possibly also
             including ::wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR.
         @param oldStyle Style which was used by the previous versions of the
-            program, possibly including ::wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR.
+            program, possibly including ::wxCONFIG_USE_SUBDIR and typically
+            including ::wxCONFIG_USE_HOME.
 
         @since 3.3.0
     */
     static MigrationResult
-    MigrateLocalFile(const wxString& name, int newStyle, int oldStyle = 0);
+    MigrateLocalFile(const wxString& name,
+                     int newStyle,
+                     int oldStyle = wxCONFIG_USE_HOME);
 
     /**
         Saves all config data to the given stream, returns @true if data was saved
diff --git a/src/common/fileconf.cpp b/src/common/fileconf.cpp
index 17e6b6469e..097bd551eb 100644
--- a/src/common/fileconf.cpp
+++ b/src/common/fileconf.cpp
@@ -261,6 +261,18 @@ wxString wxFileConfig::GetLocalDir(int style)
         return dir;
     }
 
+    if ( style & wxCONFIG_USE_HOME )
+    {
+        // When traditional layout is requested, don't use wxStandardPaths as
+        // it could be using XDG layout.
+        wxString dir = wxGetHomeDir();
+
+        if ( style & wxCONFIG_USE_HOME )
+            dir = stdp.AppendAppInfo(dir);
+
+        return dir;
+    }
+
     // Normally we'd like to use GetUserConfigDir() and just append app info
     // subdirectories to it, but we can't do it for compatibility reasons:
     // there are existing configuration files in the locations returned by
@@ -469,8 +481,22 @@ wxFileConfig::wxFileConfig(const wxString& appName, const wxString& vendorName,
 {
     // Make up names for files if empty
     if ( !m_fnLocalFile.IsOk() && (style & wxCONFIG_USE_LOCAL_FILE) )
+    {
         m_fnLocalFile = GetLocalFile(GetAppName(), style);
 
+        // If none of the styles explicitly selecting the location to use is
+        // specified, default to XDG unless the file already exists in the
+        // traditional location in the home directory:
+        if ( !(style & (wxCONFIG_USE_XDG | wxCONFIG_USE_HOME)) )
+        {
+            if ( !m_fnLocalFile.FileExists() )
+            {
+                style |= wxCONFIG_USE_XDG;
+                m_fnLocalFile = GetLocalFile(GetAppName(), style);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     if ( !m_fnGlobalFile.IsOk() && (style & wxCONFIG_USE_GLOBAL_FILE) )
         m_fnGlobalFile = GetGlobalFile(GetAppName());