Research was conducted in four Anglo-Indian residential care facilities (one in Melbourne and three in Kolkata) which identified the distinctly Anglo-Indian characteristics of the institutions and sought to ascertain residents' attitudes towards and reasons for living in them. The methods used were ethnographic: participant observation fieldwork combined with semi-structured informal interviews over the course of multiple research visits. The histories of the institutions were examined, including the purpose of their establishment. All four institutions are unique, but share common characteristics such as distinctly Anglo-Indian food, religious observance, and hospitality. Residents' values and background, accents, and their (and their children's) migration experiences are also shared. This article looks closely at what makes these homes distinctly Anglo-Indian, and compares residents' narratives about why they chose to live in the ethnic-specific residential facilities in the two cities. This forms the basis for the argument presented here that in an increasingly globalised world the need for ethnic-specific homes for residents to spend their last years in a culturally familiar environment is growing rapidly. In conjunction with this is a need for published research on such homes to provide models for these types of facilities.

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In my work with the Anglo-Indians in Calcutta I was reminded of Caplan's (1995) comment that Anglo-Indians had a 'culture of emigration', as I observed a steady stream of Anglo-Indians leaving India. Even though destination opportunities are being eroded, the Anglo-Indians I spoke with regularly referred to relatives and friends living abroad, and in the main wanted to emulate this pattern of migration. In this paper I draw particularly on case study material collected in India and Australia over the past five years. I explore the nexus between Anglo-Indian identity, which they often regard as more Western than Indian, and their migration patterns. Concentrating on their reasons for leaving, I contribute to the 'culture of migration' literature through this analysis of the migration culture of an ethnic group which exhibits variations on the set of reasonably distinct characteristics associated with groups having a 'culture of migration'.

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