ABSTRACT

This article deals with the housing strategies and changing living styles of the Bangladeshi population in a small town in north-eastern Italy. It analyses the re-use and “domestication” of everyday public spaces, as a way of exploring how bidesh (foreign-land) space is transformed into a shodesh, home-like space. A parallel process of re-functionalization occurs in the private sphere. Different forms of cohabitation are put in place to deal with immigrants’ family-based needs, against deteriorating economic conditions.

The process is not without contradictions. For instance, family reunification allows men to recover an important component of their emotional universe, possibly healing the loneliness of migration. Reunified women, though, may experience their new home as an ambivalent place of solitude. Along these lines, the paper also highlights the gap between men’s and women’s views of “home” and “homeland”, in order to make sense of their evolving ways of “feeling at home”.

KEYWORDS: Bangladeshi diaspora, north-eastern Italy, gender, home-making, everyday life

ABSTRACT

This article deals with the housing strategies and changing living styles of the Bangladeshi population in a small town in north-eastern Italy. It analyses the re-use and “domestication” of everyday public spaces, as a way of exploring how bidesh (foreign-land) space is transformed into a shodesh, home-like space. A parallel process of re-functionalization occurs in the private sphere. Different forms of cohabitation are put in place to deal with immigrants’ family-based needs, against deteriorating economic conditions.

The process is not without contradictions. For instance, family reunification allows men to recover an important component of their emotional universe, possibly healing the loneliness of migration. Reunified women, though, may experience their new home as an ambivalent place of solitude. Along these lines, the paper also highlights the gap between men’s and women’s views of “home” and “homeland”, in order to make sense of their evolving ways of “feeling at home”.

KEYWORDS: Bangladeshi diaspora, north-eastern Italy, gender, home-making, everyday life

ABSTRACT

Lifestyle migration literature often focuses on lifestyle migrants as consumers. However, this paper shows how various modes of production are involved in everyday migrant lives as they seek to produce the lifestyles sought. The paper’s aim is twofold: to explore issues of production in lifestyle migrants’ everyday lives, and to examine these migrants’ potential contributions to local rural development in lagging rural areas such as Swedish Bergslagen. This aim is addressed through two in-depth interview studies. The findings suggest that the respondents combine lifestyle-led motivations with seeking labour opportunities. Hence, studying these migrants is useful for investigating newcomers’ multifunctional rural land use and examining how their engagements with local rural development increases our understanding of their post-migration lives in lagging rural areas.

KEY WORDS: consumption, Dutch lifestyle migrants in Sweden, multifunctional rural land use, production, lagging rural areas

ABSTRACT

Lifestyle migration literature often focuses on lifestyle migrants as consumers. However, this paper shows how various modes of production are involved in everyday migrant lives as they seek to produce the lifestyles sought. The paper’s aim is twofold: to explore issues of production in lifestyle migrants’ everyday lives, and to examine these migrants’ potential contributions to local rural development in lagging rural areas such as Swedish Bergslagen. This aim is addressed through two in-depth interview studies. The findings suggest that the respondents combine lifestyle-led motivations with seeking labour opportunities. Hence, studying these migrants is useful for investigating newcomers’ multifunctional rural land use and examining how their engagements with local rural development increases our understanding of their post-migration lives in lagging rural areas.

KEY WORDS: consumption, Dutch lifestyle migrants in Sweden, multifunctional rural land use, production, lagging rural areas

ABSTRACT

The paper explores the connection between the sea, sea imaginaries and lifestyle migration. Through the use of qualitative longitudinal research, specifically the biographical approach, it discusses in what way sea imaginaries are the inspiration for lifestyle migrants and how they are translated into practice in situ.  It introduces the idea of unbelonging developed by Rogoff (2000) in relation with migrants’ experiences. In the first part I discuss the sea as a physical place and as a significant symbol for my interlocutors in relation to the ideas of liminality and temporarily unbelonging. In the next part I put forward two representative (family) portraits in order to highlight details from individuals’ lives on a longer time perspective, while in the final part of this article I place the individual stories, sea imaginaries and people’s experiences with the maritime environment in dialogue with each other. This makes it possible to better understand the expectations, aspirations and experiences of my interlocutors and to discuss further the idea of temporarily unbelonging in practice.

KEYWORDS: the sea, biographical approach, lifestyle migration, Mediterranean, temporarily unbelonging

ABSTRACT

The paper explores the connection between the sea, sea imaginaries and lifestyle migration. Through the use of qualitative longitudinal research, specifically the biographical approach, it discusses in what way sea imaginaries are the inspiration for lifestyle migrants and how they are translated into practice in situ.  It introduces the idea of unbelonging developed by Rogoff (2000) in relation with migrants’ experiences. In the first part I discuss the sea as a physical place and as a significant symbol for my interlocutors in relation to the ideas of liminality and temporarily unbelonging. In the next part I put forward two representative (family) portraits in order to highlight details from individuals’ lives on a longer time perspective, while in the final part of this article I place the individual stories, sea imaginaries and people’s experiences with the maritime environment in dialogue with each other. This makes it possible to better understand the expectations, aspirations and experiences of my interlocutors and to discuss further the idea of temporarily unbelonging in practice.

KEYWORDS: the sea, biographical approach, lifestyle migration, Mediterranean, temporarily unbelonging

ABSTRACT

Lifestyle migration has mainly been studied in the context of rural or coastal tourist destinations, less in cities. This case-study deals with the immigration of Jews from Western countries to Jerusalem, Israel’s capital city. These immigrants generally enjoy a high socio-economic status, and are motivated by ideological and religious reasons. Moreover, these immigrants are highly desired by the State in their ‘homecoming’. The article focuses on Baka, a neighbourhood in Jerusalem, where large communities of English- and French-speaking immigrants reside. This case-study contributes to the understanding of the effects lifestyle migration has on places, particularly gentrification, and expands our understanding of who lifestyle migrants are, what motivates them and how they live in their adopted countries.

KEY WORDS: lifestyle migration, gentrification, homecoming, Jerusalem, Israel

ABSTRACT

Lifestyle migration has mainly been studied in the context of rural or coastal tourist destinations, less in cities. This case-study deals with the immigration of Jews from Western countries to Jerusalem, Israel’s capital city. These immigrants generally enjoy a high socio-economic status, and are motivated by ideological and religious reasons. Moreover, these immigrants are highly desired by the State in their ‘homecoming’. The article focuses on Baka, a neighbourhood in Jerusalem, where large communities of English- and French-speaking immigrants reside. This case-study contributes to the understanding of the effects lifestyle migration has on places, particularly gentrification, and expands our understanding of who lifestyle migrants are, what motivates them and how they live in their adopted countries.

KEY WORDS: lifestyle migration, gentrification, homecoming, Jerusalem, Israel

ABSTRACT

The current generation of senior citizens strives for a self-determined way of life and frequently materialises this through relocation to tourist destinations. Based on this premise, this paper analyses German (pre)retirees who are planning or have realised inter-regional lifestyle migration to Bad Fuessing, a spa town in Southern Germany. While recent studies have focused on lifestyle migrants’ perspectives in pre- and post-migration lives, this article adds local stakeholders’ assessments of age-selective in-migration. It is proposed that locals view the latter ambivalently against the backdrop of demographic change and transformations in health tourism. The article opens up lifestyle migration research to applied questions by considering the economic and social implications for destinations, i.e. it takes into account the structures that frame migration.

KEYWORDS: tourism, lifestyle migration, ageing, regional development, Germany

ABSTRACT

The current generation of senior citizens strives for a self-determined way of life and frequently materialises this through relocation to tourist destinations. Based on this premise, this paper analyses German (pre)retirees who are planning or have realised inter-regional lifestyle migration to Bad Fuessing, a spa town in Southern Germany. While recent studies have focused on lifestyle migrants’ perspectives in pre- and post-migration lives, this article adds local stakeholders’ assessments of age-selective in-migration. It is proposed that locals view the latter ambivalently against the backdrop of demographic change and transformations in health tourism. The article opens up lifestyle migration research to applied questions by considering the economic and social implications for destinations, i.e. it takes into account the structures that frame migration.

KEYWORDS: tourism, lifestyle migration, ageing, regional development, Germany