This paper explores the rhythm of temporary mobility experiences of young Eastern Europeans in Spain, after the European Union (EU) enlargement towards the East. Following Lefebvre's rhythmanalysis approach, and drawing on 60 in‐depth qualitative interviews, this paper investigates how rhythms are linked to youth mobility and how different interplays of rhythms are connected and disconnected in multiple ways. I argue that both the EU socio‐economic context and the personal and professional life‐course circumstances of young Eastern Europeans who practice mobility create different, uneven rhythms that influence their everyday lives and their perceptions of mobility. This paper highlights the issue of rhythmic change in temporary mobility, uncovering ‘arrhythmic’ mobility, reflected in the loss and insecurity in the lives of those who practice it; ‘polyrhythmic’ mobility, practised by people looking to study and/or work and expressed through uncertainty on the one hand and the possibility of establishing a certain rhythm in their lives on the other; and ‘eurhythmic’ mobility, used by those with a stable professional status in one of the EU countries, in this case, Spain. The conclusions provide a better comprehension of Lefebvre's thinking, offering insights for wider applications. They show the need to advance the theoretical and empirical understandings of rhythm in relation to mobility during the lifecourse.

This article examines the experiences in terms of belonging and sense of place among young Romanian immigrants who came to Spain in search of opportunities for professional development. The research detects and analyses the process of mobility, the search for job opportunities and the necessity of working below one's level of training or education, which induces young people to re-construct a new and complex identity. By means of the qualitative method of in-depth interviews, the analysis highlights the role that emotions play in young peoples' discourse while underscoring the ability of the interviewees in recreating their identity and building a place even during the midst of a turbulent and insecure process. The conclusions signal the creation of a new and multiple identity which is complex and fluid and specific to persons on the move.

a b s t r a c tThis article looks at the uneven mobility experiences of Eastern European (EE) undergraduate students within the European Union (EU) as a fundamental aspect of human intra-European mobility. It addresses the issue of student mobility by focusing on two samples of Romanian and Bulgarian undergraduates studying in the UK and Spain, after the EU enlargement towards the East. Based on 70 in-depth qualitative interviews, the study evaluates the motivations, experiences and expectations of students and their families in the context of life-course trajectories. I argue that the socio-economic situation of the country of origin, the different strategies used by EE students and their families, and the country they choose for study overseas -the UK or Spain -create uneven mobility and influence their future life-strategy mobility after graduation. The main thematic findings, that is, mobility as a platform for permanent migration and family reunification, uncertain mobility as a tool for competition, and mobility for return, show the relation between the reasons why students study overseas and subsequent mobility aspirations. The conclusions highlight the need to integrate mobile students into the study of mobility as pivotal actors in the global circuit of mobility who favour both host and origin societies.