Working here, investing here and there: present economic practices, strategies of social inclusion and future plans for return among the Albanian immigrants in a Greek–Albanian border town

Abstract

This paper examines the capital and non‐capital investment practices of Albanian immigrants living in a border town in Greece. It argues that both permanent settlement and return are open possibilities for the Albanian first‐generation immigrants who seem eager to be integrated into Greek society and at the same time reluctant to abandon the idea of return in the future. Second‐generation immigrants, however, view the possibility of return as unlikely. Fieldwork was conducted in a town in north‐western Greece and the empirical analysis is based on primary data derived from participant observation, a semi‐structured questionnaire and in‐depth interviews among Albanian immigrants in the fieldwork area.