Successful British Migration to Australia—what lies beneath the macro-level? (original) (raw)
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Understanding the motivations for return migration in Australia
Australian Population Studies, 2019
Background Return migration is often overlooked by traditional analyses of internal migration. Why people return has received even less scrutiny. Relatively few migrants make a return move, so there is clearly something noteworthy about these people and their circumstances that trigger such a move.Aims This paper explores why people make return moves in Australia. Data and methods Migration histories were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews; content analysis of interview transcripts was undertaken.Results People return for a wider range of reasons than is indicated by neoclassical economic theory. Some of the moves are linked to significant life events such as post-school education and employment. Returns also occur for less tangible factors such as amenity and climate, connections to family, friends and the extent to which a place “feels like home” are equally important.Conclusions A broader explanatory framework is required to explain why people return. The in...
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In the past decade Australia has developed unprecedented reliance on skilled migrants a process intensified by a period of sustained economic boom. By the time of the 2006 Census, 57 percent of all degree-qualified information technology (IT) professionals were born over-seas, compared with 52 percent of engineers, 45 percent of doctors, 41 percent of accountants and 25 percent of nurses. While many had migrated in childhood, a disproportionate number had been selected by Australia in the previous five years (2001-06), including 36 percent of all migrant professionals in IT, 32 percent in accounting and 28 percent in engineering (across economic, family and refugee/humanitarian categories).
While migration continues to be a key feature of globalization, an interesting phenomenon is the post-democracy emigration of many South Africans to countries like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. This study explores black and white South African participants’ experiences of migration to Australia and its implications for identity disruption, construction and belonging. With a focus on meanings conveyed through migration stories, we thematically analysed semi-structured interview data gathered from nine participants. We generated three themes, including the motivations for migration, the experience of leaving and losing home, and the personal and political challenges of home making. Home and its associations with textured depictions of belonging and loss was central to the meanings participants gave to the impacts of displacement. Settling involved the ongoing negotiation of identity in relation to both South Africa and Australia. The findings are discussed with reference to the role of nostalgia and race in negotiating belonging and identity.