Differential Life-Styles between Migrants and Nonmigrants: A Case Study of the City of Shiraz, Iran

The migration pattern to Shiraz, a southern city of Iran, is not consistent with the general pattern observed in cities of the other developing nations. Migrants to Shiraz are largely from other cities, and they are more advanced educationally and socioeconomically and less traditional than native Shirazi. This study is based on 1,061 interview cases collected at random. The sample consists of 612 nonmigrants, 125 rural migrants and 324 urban migrants. These groups were compared on thirtyfour indices measuring various facets of the respondents’ life-styles. The three groups differed statistically on most of the indices. Fatalism and possession of modern appliances were the most important factors differentiating the three groups.