The Circular International Migration of New Zealanders: Enfolded Mobilities and Relational Places

Abstract

Migrants' social relations are reconfigured in terms of how the localised and distanciated are recombined in context of how individuals are embedded in the enfolded mobilities of increasingly mobile social networks. The paper is organized around three main propositions. First, that social relations are structured across three main and intersecting domains -family, workplace and community. Second, that social relations and networks are shaped by, and shape, the relational nature of places. Third, that the relational nature of places, and the reconfiguration of localised and distanciated relationships should be analysed across the entire migration cycle. These ideas are explored through a study of the Big OE from New Zealand to the UK, based on in-depth interviews with returned migrants.

Temporary Transnational Youth Migration and its Mobility Links

“…Most moves were made within social relationships or networks, in the sense that respondents had either moved with or to friends or family. This observation can be seen to correspond well to the results of studies of the New Zealanders on their OE in Britain, characterized as taking place within highly mobile social networks (Conradson andLatham 2005, Williams, Chaban, andHolland 2011). In the present case, however, it is also true that the occurrence of strong social ties or repeated visits preceding the move was the exception rather than the rule.…”

“…Based on interviews before, during, or after the 'working holiday', several studies have examined the meaning that young people attribute to such projects (Mason 2002;Bagnoli 2009;Wilson, Fisher, and Moore 2009;Haverig 2011). Some studies investigate these moves from a perspective of transnationalism, focusing on communicative practices while away (Conradson and Latham 2005) and the spatial reconfiguration of (mobile) social networks (Williams, Chaban, and Holland 2011). Attempts have also been made to study the implications of the OE for career development (Inkson and Myers 2003).…”

“…As such, it forms part of a growing body of work conceptualizing connection and intermediaries between long-distance mobility forms previously seen as separate phenomena (Bell and Ward 2000, Williams, King, and Warnes 2000King 2002;Coles, Duval, and Hall 2004;Hall 2005a;Williams, Chaban, and Holland 2011). In particular, it builds on recent efforts to understand temporary transnational mobility from a biographical or lifecourse perspective Hall 2005b;Frändberg 2006Frändberg , 2008.…”

Leaving Politics Behind? Diasporic Nationalism in London

“…[…] social collectivity that exists across state borders and that has succeeded over time to (1) sustain a collective national, cultural or religious identity through a sense of internal cohesion and sustained ties with a real or imagined homeland and (2) display an ability to address the collective interests of members of the social collectivity through a developed internal organisational framework and transnational links. (Adamson and Demetriou 2007, 497) Arguably, New Zealanders in London fit both criteria since the city's high concentration of expatriates has encouraged the development of a wide range of New Zealand-focused businesses and organisations that address the collective needs of New Zealanders, including sustained ties with a New Zealand identity (Conradson and Latham 2007;Williams, Chaban, and Holland 2011;Wilson, Fisher, and Moore 2009). Although 'OE' sojourners are still common, increased maximum age limits for working-holiday visas have encouraged many New Zealanders to complete tertiary education and/ or gain some work experience before travelling.…”

Home and away: Family matters in the lives of young transnational couples

“…Such patterns of mobility have become increasingly ubiquitous among the well-educated middle classes in many nations (Allon, 2004;Allon et al, 2008;Clarke, 2005;Conradson and Latham, 2005a, 2005b, 2005cWiles, 2008;Williams et al, 2011). For some (Clarke, 2005;Conradson and Latham, 2005a) these temporary transnational migrants are best characterised as being part of a global 'middle' -a population that is, for sure, primarily middle-class, but also one that does 'not represent elites or extremes of socio-economic status and power, privilege and poverty' (Wiles, 2008: 120).…”