Lifestyle Migration

Abstract

In the context of the growing global middle class, and the ageing of the baby boomer generation, an increasing number of migrants with accumulated wealth from advanced economies are relocating to economically less developed or more peripheral countries to improve their quality of life. Migration of the middle-classes and the relatively affluent is embedded in the same globalising processes and social transformations in production and processes of accumulation that have reshaped labour migration (Hayes, 2021; Castles, 2010). Privileged mobilities are part of wider migration systems, however, what distinguishes lifestyle migrants from other migrants, who are also in pursuit of a better quality of life, is the ease with which they can relocate due to relative privilege in terms of citizenship and financial or cultural capital.

Bureaucratic Violence in the Residency Application Process: Findings from a Mixed Methods Cross-Sectional Survey of Migrant Women in Spain

“…Three key forms of migration have been identified that encapsulate the majority of migration: labour migration, which includes the movement of both 'high-skilled' and 'low-skilled' workers, family migration for marriage or the existence of 'transnational families' living in different places, and humanitarian migration, which includes refugees and asylum seekers, survivors of human trafficking, unaccompanied minors and internally displaced people. Other forms of migration include lifestyle migration, where people move for a perceived increased quality of life over economic benefits, student migration, and irregular migration, defined as movement outside of the laws or regulations governing countries of origin, transit or destination (McGarrigle 2022;Sironi et al 2019;Talleraas 2022). Whatever the reason for migration, the interconnectedness of our modern world, facilitated by advancements in transportation and communication, has facilitated a complex web of global migration patterns, and the dynamics of contemporary migration are more intricate and far-reaching than ever before (World Economic Forum 2022).…”