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Purpose – The aim of this paper is to assess the thinning notion in a case study while acknowledging the hybrid nature of regional identities with the past. In The Netherlands, a process can be observed in which regions actively claim their uniqueness to ensure their development and relevance. It seems that regions adopt similar modern labels in their regional marketing, suggesting a so-called thinning of identities away from traditional thick identities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a content analysis of promotional texts and interviews with politicians to analyse the context, aims and perceptions of the regional marketing. It stresses an approach which sees identities as balanced between the present and the past. Findings – In line with the thinning notion, this case study shows indeed a creation of new thin elements and an exclusion of traditional thick elements in the regional marketing. However, it was also found that the marketing entails creative links between both characteristics, which suggest a tempering of the thinning notion. Practical implications – The results show that linking traditional with utilitarian elements might capacitate traditional regions to allocate the resources for regional marketing more effectively. Originality/value – Despite the fact that studies acknowledge identities as neither thick nor thin, the thinning notion seems to examine both elements as a dichotomy within regions, which does not follow the nature of identities as interconnected in time. Then, the value of this study must be found in the way it goes behind such a dichotomy by presenting an integrative analysis of thin and thick characteristics.

In line with the increased attention for residential experiences of young adults in rural areas, this paper explores the diversity of residential motives and combines them into overarching residential orientations. Based on survey data, we distinguish five residential orientations on rural identity, family, livability, housing and employment. These orientations are analysed on the basis of residential history, expectation to stay, agency about residential choices and sociodemographics of young adults. This paper finds that most of the young adults have the expectation to stay in their rural home region for the rest of their lives or at least for the upcoming 10 years. In addition, most of them experience a free choice to reside in their rural home areas. Young adults possess five residential orientations which do not differ much with regard to residential history and the expectation to stay. Nevertheless, whereas the family residential orientation is the most general orientation among young adults, the rural identity residential orientation stands out with specific characteristics among young adults. A stronger rural identity orientation is most likely among independent young adults who experience agency in their residential choice and who expect to stay in the study areas. K E Y W O R D S expectation to stay, residential history agency, residential motives, rural young adults 1 | INTRODUCTION Despite increased attention being paid to residential immobility as a worthwhile subject in itself (e.g.,

This article presents insight into rural young adults’ reflections on their past, present and future staying rural preferences (transitional perspective) and how they relate to their experiences and connections outside the rural home area (mobility perspective). Using a biographical approach, we conducted 12 semi‐structured interviews with young employed adults living with their parents or alone in two rural areas in the Netherlands and Northern Ireland. Their transitional perspectives, which were agent‐centred, revealed that staying rural preferences do not evolve as a uniform process, fluctuating instead between ‘messy’ periods of stability and instability, entailing multiple alternations between deliberate and ‘just‐happened’ periods. In line with the ‘new mobilities paradigm’, the participants’ mobility perspectives confirmed the relevance of past residential experiences and current non‐residential mobility for analysing staying preferences. The article concludes that staying rural is a complex, (unstable) evolving, spatially relational and (only partly) conscious process.

De bevolkingsgeografie doet meer onderzoek naar migratie en heeft minder aandacht voor de keuze om te blijven. Dit houdt het beeld in stand van passieve blijvers op het platteland versus ambitieuze vertrekkers richting de stad. In dit artikel staan we juist stil bij de diversiteit van blijvers op het platteland.