Work in London, love in Paris: middle class mobility over the Channel Tunnel

Abstract

Our paper contributes to the analysis of the transformation of middle classes in Europe by linking the issue of spatialization of class at the transnational and urban levels with the question of mobility and skilled migration. We therefore analyse the migration motives and urban practices (lifestyle and residential choice) of about ninety mobile middle class French nationals in London and middle class British nationals in Paris. The respondents belong to various fragments of an emerging European transnational middle class, whose diversity is reflected in their reasons for moving and their experience in the new city. Drawing on the concept of elective belonging, we argue that both the transnational and urban levels are important for class making mechanisms. Our results illustrate the relevance of the transnational level, i.e. cross-border mobility, for the making and reproduction of middle-class status. At the same time, the urban level -both the city and neighbourhood -is a crucial element that facilitates or obstructs middle-class practices, e.g. related to lifestyle or residential choice. For our respondents, multicultural London presents the economic capital of Europe with abundant professional opportunities, while Paris is viewed as a provincial city, liked for its beauty and lifestyle, but economically far behind London.

Labour or lifestyle? Understanding urban incorporation of European middling migrants

“…When talking about the school choice for his children, Lionel stresses that the school is a state school and if they had not gotten a spot there, they would have sent their children to a local school, not to a private bilingual one. In contrast to what has been demonstrated for French parents in London or British parents in Paris (Barwick & Le Galès, 2021, 2020; Huc‐Hepher & Drake, 2017), the British school does not hold a prominent role for the respondents. This is somewhat surprising as the avoidance of the local school, particularly in mixed neighbourhoods, has been well documented for German middle‐class parents (Barwick, 2016; Noreisch, 2007).…”

“…Locational choices are often rather unspecific and refer to broader categories such as ‘in the center’ (Dubucs et al, 2017). Favell (2008) has described the difficulties of finding housing in an owner‐dominated market, such as Amsterdam, Barwick and Le Galès (2021) have demonstrated the difficulties of foreigners to collect all the documents that are needed to rent an apartment in Paris.…”

“…Studies with various groups of (highly) skilled migrants have demonstrated their intention to avoid contact with co‐nationals in their new place of residence and the difficulty to realize this plan, as well as the volatility of local networks, which can be more or less embedded over time (Beaverstock, 2005; Lubbers et al, 2021; Ryan, 2018; Ryan & Mulholland, 2014). Comparing British nationals in Paris and French nationals in London, Barwick and Le Galès (2021) found that both groups complained about the difficulty of getting to know locals. While the French thought meeting in a pub after work was rather superficial, the British saw a high barrier to getting invited to a French person for dinner and wine.…”

“…Isolation is not necessarily desired but can result from durable social, cultural and linguistic constraints (Griffiths & Maille, 2014). To illustrate, some British migrants in Paris lamented that even after years, it was very hard to meet and become friends with local French residents and they thus felt somewhat isolated socially (Barwick & Le Galès, 2021). Lastly, those with higher attachment to the city are locally embedded; this group is the focus of the paper.…”

“…Thus, different cultures of socializing may inhibit making new friends and developing a local network in a new place (cf. alsoBarwick & Le Galès, 2021).Nevertheless, a systematic analysis of the respondents' best friends indicates that with time, many have succeeded in creating a local network with a considerable number of German contacts. We asked the respondents to name their three to five best friends, irrespective of their place of residence.…”