Migrant networks, information flows and the place of residence: The case of Polish immigrants in the UK

Abstract

AbstractNumerous studies in the field of international migration focus on utilizing migrant networks in migration process, outlining their role in the choice of destination country as well as in the job search process. However, relatively few of the studies discuss migrant networks’ role in the choice of a specific location within destination cities. This paper contributes to this research area by providing additional insights into the motives behind choosing place of residence by immigrants in contemporary European cities. In our paper, we use data of a tailor‐made survey of 610 Polish immigrants, who emigrated from Poland to the UK shortly after 2004, that is, after opening of the British labour market for Polish citizens. Our study results reveal that propensity towards living in the Polish neighbourhood is inversely correlated with migrants’ English language proficiency. Moreover, we discover that networking within the Polish diaspora is to a large extent limited to family and close acquaintances, which most likely results from the limited generalized trust towards other Poles. Based on our study results, we argue that settling in geographical proximity of migrant's ethnic group is likely to maintain its relevance in the contemporary cities, especially in case of immigrants with poor destination language skills.