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Connected Life Courses: Influences on and Experiences of ‘Midlife’ In‐Migration to Rural Areas
Author(s) -
Stockdale Aileen,
MacLeod Marsaili,
Philip Lorna
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
population, space and place
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.398
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1544-8452
pISSN - 1544-8444
DOI - 10.1002/psp.1709
Subject(s) - life course approach , sociology , internal migration , rural area , gender studies , psychology , developmental psychology , demographic economics , political science , demography , population , economics , law
This paper aims to contribute to the theorisation of midlife migration into rural areas. Although the factors influencing migration are known to be variable at different stages of a person's life, much less well understood is how migration decisions at different stages of the life course are connected and how post‐migration experiences may be influenced by an earlier life course stage. We argue that midlife migration decisions are the product of the migrant's lifetime experiences and influences up until that stage in their life alongside their expectations and aspirations for future life course stages. Using a case study of the Glens of Antrim (Northern Ireland), this paper specifically demonstrates the role of childhood memories to explain midlife migration to a rural area. In doing so, it argues that some findings more commonly associated with second‐generation transnational migration are also equally relevant to migration within the UK. Roots migration and place attachment alongside the midlife migrant's post‐migration sense of belonging and permanency are found to be influenced by the migrant's earlier memories, behaviours, and experiences. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.