Exploring the Micro-Politics of Place: Lifestyle Migrants, Collective Identities and Modes of Belonging

Does migration improve the quality of life? The case of Swedish immigrants residing in Portugal

“…The lifestyle migration theory is built upon subjectivity, when emphasising the desire individuals have to live a more fulfilling and meaningful life, by moving somewhere else (O'Reilly & Benson, 2009; Torkington, 2015). In line with the Dynamic Model of Wellbeing, we focused our analysis on the hedonic, evaluative and eudaimonic components of subjective QoL (Ahrendt et al, 2015).…”

“…He is also retired and does not speak Portuguese. The findings by Liu et al (2020) and Torkington (2015) point at loneliness as a problem when moving to a new country. Among the ‘escapers’, several of them report loneliness and problems to make new friends in Portugal, especially if not commanding Portuguese language.…”

The Role of Locally-produced Foreign-language Media in the Migration Experiences of Lifestyle Migrants in the Algarve

“…It is therefore pertinent to explore migrant perceptions of experiences of integration. Although some recent studies have argued that lifestyle migrants often discuss integration as a kind of moral obligation (e.g., Benson 2011, Lawson 2015b, Torkington 2015, the apparent superficiality or even total lack of social integration of these migrants has been well-documented since the earliest studies of these communities (e.g., O'Reilly 2000, Huber & O'Reilly 2004).…”

“…Many studies have observed that inability to communicate in the local language is widespread (Torkington & Ribeiro 2019). The reasons listed for the creation and maintenance of this language barrier are always similar: participants report that it is not, after all, necessary to learn and use the local language to enjoy the "good life", including in the Algarve (Torkington 2015). One reason for this is the way in which these migrants tend to form strong social networks and communities among themselves, concentrating on building the bonding rather than bridging form of social capital (Putnam 2000), as noted by Casado-Díaz and colleagues (2014).…”