Finding the American Dream Abroad? Narratives of Return Among 1.5 and Second Generation Vietnamese American Skilled Migrants in Vietnam

Abstract

This essay, using multi-sited ethnographic methods, discusses the motivations for the en masse longer-term migration of 1.5 and second generation Vietnamese American professionals to their parents’ ancestral homeland during the 2000s. Social class dynamics, gender, racial, and national identity in the United States and migrant selectivity inform their decisions to migrate to the ancestral homeland for personal growth and to help develop the country. The interviewees’ framing of return experiences reflects the social ambivalence of returning as “in between” subjects in pursuit of a liberal capitalist American Dream abroad.

No place like home? Self‐initiated expatriates in their ancestral homeland

“…(We return to this point later in this section.) Thus, contrary to our expectations and the observations of other researchers in the field (Jain 2013; Nguyen‐Akbar 2016), these expatriates did not fall into a ‘new’ category characterised by sentimental or emotional ties to a particular country.…”

“…In other words, any link between their place of work and their family history seems little more than a mere coincidence. This contrasts with the experience of ethnically Indian professionals working in India and the overseas ‘Việt Kiều’ in Vietnam, who appear to have much stronger affective ties to their respective host countries (Jain 2013; Nguyen‐Akbar 2016). In sum, the limited literature available hints at variations in the motivational factors driving expatriates to work in their ancestral homelands.…”

“…However, many of the more recent studies are based predominantly on the experiences of expatriates who have gone in a decidedly East‐West‐East direction, as it were. Though there is commendable variation in host‐country settings – incorporating such locations as Vietnam (Nguyen‐Akbar 2016, 2017), India (Jain 2013), Mainland China (Wang 2016, 2017), and Hong Kong (Yan, Lam and Lauer 2014) – these studies have drawn almost exclusively on ethnically Asian respondents who have experienced a Western upbringing and who find themselves working ‘back’ in Asia. This is certainly understandable given the large numbers of such diasporas in North America, Europe, and Australia and the findings have undoubtedly contributed much to our understanding of the phenomenon.…”

“Leftover Women” and “Kings of the Candy Shop”: Gendering Chinese American Ancestral Homeland Migration to China

“…A growing body of research examines Asian American ancestral homeland migration to India (Jain, 2011; 2013), Vietnam (Nguyen-Akbar, 2014, 2016), South Korea (H. K. Lee, 2013), and Japan (Yamashiro, 2017).…”

The Formation of Spatial and Symbolic Boundaries among Vietnamese Diasporic Skilled Return Migrants in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

“…Recent empirical studies of Asian American return migration to Asia have pointed to the shared commonalities of experiences for the 1.5 and second generation of Korean Americans returning to Seoul (Lee 2009; 2013), of Japanese Americans returning to Tokyo (Yamashiro 2011, 2017), of Indian Americans returning to Mumbai (Jain 2013), of Vietnamese Americans returning to Ho Chi Minh City (Nguyen-Akbar 2014, 2016), and of Chinese Americans returning to Shanghai (Wang 2016) . These include the economic rise of Asian economies, the cultural pressures and expectations of being “in-between,” and gendered expectations surrounding careers, assorted mating, and socializing with local residents upon the return.…”