Come to Stay? Integration After Amenity Migration to the Alps. Qualitative Longitudinal Research in two Peripheral Mountain Regions of Western AustriaWhile lifestyle-oriented forms of migration in rural regions have already been investigated in a large number of cross-sectional studies, relatively little attention has been paid to the Austrian Alpine space. Furthermore, the life of newcomers after migrating to mountain regions also lacks investigation. The aim of this study is to fill these research gaps by applying qualitative longitudinal research (QLR), focusing on the two peripheral case study regions "Vorarlberger Montafon" and "Tiroler Gailtal". Interviews conducted there in the years 2015/2016 and 2020/2021 shed light on the social integration of primarily urbanites, who have moved their residence permanently or even temporarily to the study region.The fieldwork demonstrates that the relocation to mountain regions serves to improve the participants' quality of life. However, this effect only remains if they integrate them-Gekommen, um zu bleiben? Integration nach Amenity Migration in den Alpenraum 201 selves into the local community in an identificational, structural, interactive and cultural way. Thereby, the identification process initiated by previous contacts to relatives or holiday stays inevitably leads to their cultural adaptation. After participants have relocated their main or second residence to the study regions, the reproduction of the rural idyll that originally triggered this movement leads to a variety of positive societal and spatial effects in these regions. On the one hand, this is clearly evident in the maintenance of the Alpine cultural landscape, for example, by farming activities or the revitalisation of abandoned mountain farm buildings. On the other hand, the conservation of traditional knowledge can also be observed. However, age-related life crises in particular force the participants to reconsider their integration status and thus their quality of life at the Alpine destination. If their integration there is lower than at the place of origin or elsewhere, they move onward and seek a better life again.

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The pivotal aim of this research is to identify new entrants to mountain farming, their routes into practicing and resulting environmental impacts. Following an actor-network approach, this multi-regional case study was conducted in two remote regions of the Western Austrian Alps and in a bordering Alpine region in South Tyrol (Italy). All data was generated using semi-structured interviews on site and official agricultural statistics. Both autochthons and foreign newcomers to mountain farming display a great deal of idealism to fulfil their agricultural dreams. Their self-determination and bid for independence from the agricultural industry affects their thinking and decisions on housing, farming and collaborations, resulting in far-reaching social and spatial impacts on the sociocultural landscape. In implementing sustainable and extensive farming practices, new entrants act as role models and thus highlight alternatives beyond the prevailing mountain agricultural regime.