Leaving for the money, staying for the 'quality of life'. Case study of young Polish migrants living in Dublin

Abstract

Over the last few decades lifestyle migration has been receiving increased interest amongst scholars. Most of the studies conducted in Europe tend to focus on the individuals from the ‘Old’ European Union (EU) countries moving abroad in search of a better quality of life and improved ‘social atmosphere’. The mobility of the ‘New’ Member State (NMS) nationals, on the other hand, is still perceived as predominantly economic and labour migration oriented. This article however, will argue that this is not necessarily the case for young NMS migrants who left their countries following the 2004 EU Enlargement. By using the example of Polish nationals living in Ireland the author will examine how these migrants, while initially motivated by economic factors, decided to stay in the host country for non-monetary reasons. This issue became significant following the 2008 recession, where people made their decisions to not return home despite the worsening economic situation in Ireland. This article argues – based on interview data - that these decisions were influenced by lifestyle rather than economic factors.