British Migration: Privilege, Diversity and Vulnerability

Description

Around 5.6 million British nationals live outside the United Kingdom: the equivalent of one in every ten Britons. However, social science research, as well as public interest, has tended to focus more on the numbers of migrants entering the UK, rather than those leaving. This book provides an important counterbalance, drawing on the latest empirical research and theoretical developments to offer a fascinating account of the lives, experiences and identities of British migrants living in a wide range of geographic locations across Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia. This collection asks: What is the shape and significance of contemporary British migration? Who are today’s British migrants and how might we understand their everyday lives? Contributions uncover important questions in the context of global and national debates about the nature of citizenships, the ‘Brexit’ vote, deliberations surrounding mobility and freedom of movement, as well as national, racial and ethnic boundaries. This book challenges conventional wisdoms about migration and enables new understandings about British migrants, their relations to historical privileges, international relations and sense of national identity. It will be valuable core reading to researchers and students across disciplines such as Geography, Sociology, Politics and International Relations. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of contributors Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: British migration: privilege, diversity and vulnerability Introduction Routes and rhythms of British migrant mobilities and residence Privilege and the British ‘expatriate’ migrant ‘Britishness’ and the diversity of mobile Britons Vulnerability and British migration Conclusion: an agenda for researching British migration Notes References 2. Constellations of privilege: the racialised and classed formation of Britons living in rural France Introduction Introducing the British residents of the Lot (Relative) Privilege and the search for a better way of life British migration to rural France: a classed phenomenon? Problematising the invisibility of the white British in Europe Conclusion Notes References 3. Home consumption and belonging among British migrants in Western Australia Introduction Methodology In the market for a better lifestyle: theorising consumption led migration Location, location, location: the popularity of Perth’s coastal suburbs ‘I don’t know anyone who is happy for any length of time in a rental’: the preference for homeownership Size matters The dream home narrative: as featured in the Whingeing Pom Taking the plunge: the backyard swimming pool as a symbol of a successful migration Conclusion Notes References 4. British migrant orientations in Singapore: negotiating expatriate identities Lifestyles Citizenship Conclusions Notes Acknowledgements References 5. Post-colonial liminality: ‘expatriate’ narratives in the East Africa Women’s League White migration and belonging in Kenya Transmigration, older age and expatriate belonging Placing migrants in ‘the League’ ‘Expatriate’ narratives in the League ‘Two-Year-Wonders’, ‘permanents’ and modes of belonging Post-colonial whiteness in limbo Expatriates, migrants: Legal liminality and definitional struggles Malleable categories, ambiguous belonging and post-colonial liminality Notes Bibliography 6. Transgressing transnational normativity? British migration and interracial marriage in South Africa Introduction Researching the British in South Africa Whiteness, privilege and interracial marriage The social politics of migrating to South Africa Shifting whiteness and rejecting lifestyles Spatial, racial and political journeys Discussion and conclusion Notes References 7. British-born Indian second-generation ‘return’ to India Introduction Second-generation return Parents ‘left behind’ and potential retirement migration Methods and sample Findings Discussion Conclusion Notes References 8. Britishness abroad: national identities for contemporary British migrants living in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand Introduction The pursuit of a ‘better Britain’ in Aotearoa New Zealand The ‘fuzzy frontier’ of Britishness and its constituent nations Research methods Whingeing Poms: Englishness and the avoidance of displays of patriotism Celtic capital: the differing experiences of Welsh and Scottish migrants Conclusion Notes References 9. Size matters: British women’s embodied experiences of size in Singapore Introduction Trans-sizing – body size and migration British expatriates in Singapore Methodology Body size and belonging Conclusion Note References 10. Resilience and social support among ageing British migrants in Spain Introduction Growing old in Spain Methodology Exploring resilience in vulnerable older British migrants in Spain Family in Spain Family in the UK Conclusion References 11. Returning at retirement: British migrants coming ‘home’ in later life British migration to the UAE in the ‘early days’ Working visas, retirement, and return from the UAE in later life Experiences of British returnees ‘settling’ back ‘home’ Concluding remarks: the vulnerabilities of retirement, return and later life Note References Index