Social Integration and Multilocality: a Multivariate Study on Lifestyle Migration

Joaquín Rodes () and Vicente Rodríguez
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Joaquín Rodes: Catholic University of Murcia
Vicente Rodríguez: CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Spanish National Research Council)

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2021, vol. 22, issue 2, No 8, 529-551

Abstract: Abstract Within the lifestyle migration studies, a relation between mobile patterns of retired migrants and the propensity to get some socio-political integration is not a common theme. This paper aims at deepening into this relationship by questioning to what extent some multilocal behaviours may, or not, drive to an integration at destination. To this objective, a combination of a survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews directed to North-European retirement migrants, over 50 years old, in Spain has been deployed. Variables related to multilocality are the time of annual residence in Spain, the maintenance of property in their country of origin and the number of times they travelled to their country of origin in the year before. Social integration has been measured through variables such as daily social relations, voting in municipal elections, membership in clubs and associations, registration with the local register, trust in Spanish institutions and interest in Spanish political issues. Results from the multivariate statistical analysis and qualitative research indicate that multilocality is associated with migrants’ specific social and political integration in Spain since migrants enter the receiving society unevenly. While they show a certain degree of integration, their social relations tend to stand aside from the whole Spanish population. Collected data suggest that, on the one hand, research on lifestyle migration should develop explanatory models open to the different dimensions of the integration processes, and on the other, that theory on social integration can be improved by considering contemporary mobilities as a field of research.

Keywords: Multilocality; Social integration; Lifestyle migration; International retirement migration; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12134-019-00747-z

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