Bilateral (Hong Kong): Lifestyle Migration in East Asia: A Comparative Study of British and Asian Lifestyle Migrants

Lead Research Organisation: Loughborough University
Department Name: Social Sciences

Abstract

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Description The Lifestyle Migration in East Asia Project was funded from 2012 to 2014 to capture the motivations, experiences and outcomes of lifestyle migration in Thailand, Malaysia and China. Lifestyle Migration involves relatively affluent people moving either part-¬ or full-¬time, permanently or temporarily, to places that they believe will offer them a better quality of life. There is usually an economic incentive to their mobility, but the search for the good life is paramount in their motivations.
One research method used in this project was an online survey targeted at British people living in Malaysia or Thailand who consider that they live there at least partly for quality of life reasons. 112 people responded, of which 57 live in Thailand and 54 in Malaysia. We found that mobility was a key feature of our respondents' lives. Prior to moving to Malaysia or Thailand respondents had lived in a variety of countries, spending on average 15.5 years living abroad. The most frequently cited reasons for moving to Malaysia or Thailand were: the lifestyle and standard of living ("simple life away from the rat race"); the food; the culture; geographical features ("stunning natural environment"); the weather; the friendliness of the people ("people are more friendly and open than in the UK"); for work or partner's work; having family or friendship connections in the country; an air of challenge or adventure ("the challenge of something new") .
We also undertook 65 in-depth interviews with Westerners living in Thailand and Malaysia (note, the Eastern migrants were studied by the Hong Kong team). Respondents to our survey and interviews told us they value quality of life, but this is not measured in financial terms or in possession of goods, rather it is a slow pace of life, maintaining a good work/life balance, and health and happiness.
The lifestyle of these migrants is cosmopolitan: our respondents spend time with people of 40 different nationalities, covering all continents. Almost half of the respondents felt they were at least a little integrated and 1 in 5 felt they were highly integrated in the local culture. Many interviewees also illustrated an interest in the local people, environment, and political situation, and several try to 'give something back' to the local community.
The study included periods of participant observation and analysis of digital communication. When it comes to contacting family and friends who do not live in Malaysia or Thailand, email and VOIP (such as Skype) are the preferred means for regular contact. Respondents telephone friends and family less frequently, and few write letters home. Visiting those living elsewhere is at best an occasional event; receiving visits is also not frequent.
More broadly,the study raised issues around health and social security in older age; unexpected side effects of the ways in which migration is governed; long-term effects of colonialism; a challenge to the stereotyping of elite migrants; social commitment and community for expatriates; and what it means to be cosmopolitan. These areas are all in the process of being examined for future publication in peer-reviewed academic journals.
Exploitation Route We have produced two newsletters summarising our findings for a non-academic audience and these have been distributed to diverse end-users, including the Foreign and Commonwealth office, various expat organisations and consulates in destination countries, and other interest groups such as Institute for Public Policy Research. They are also freely available via our web site: www.lifestylemigration.wordpress.com

We plan to hold an end-of-project public seminar in Hong Kong in collaboration with the Hong Kong University Knowledge Exchange Office to present our findings to academics in the field, key stakeholders (e.g. British Council; British, Malaysian and Thai consulates in HK), and tourism authorities and community organisations concerned with migration, responsible tourism and residential development in Asia. The funding for this will need to be sought elsewhere as the grant did not cover its costs.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Healthcare

Leisure Activities

including Sports

Recreation and Tourism

Culture

Heritage

Museums and Collections
URL https://lifestylemigration.wordpress.com/
 
Description While there have been no specifically identifiable material impacts of the research, we do feel there have been some effects on perceptions and cultures, via diverse avenues. There is a growing interest among academic researchers and migration experts in drawing attention to the fact of British emigration as a counter to the sometimes unhealthy and unhelpful negative focus on immigration to the UK. This project has contributed world-class, social science research to that endeavour. One way in which this is being taken forward is through our future contribution to the British Museum Migration Project: http://www.migrationmuseum.org where we will contribute material, stories and photographs about British emigration. We have produced two glossy newsletters reporting on the project in non-academic language. These have been sent to The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office; British Council, Malaysia; The Expat Group, Malaysia; International Women's Association, Malaysia; Dato' Dr. Sir Peter Mooney, Malaysia; Karen Song , Vice Consul, British High Commission, Malaysia ; Robert H. Hawkins MBE, Honorary British Consul for Penang and Langkawi; Institute for Public Policy Research; Association of British Women in Malaysia; The Chairperson, Ireland Malaysia Association; Hong Kong University; and diverse expatriate groups, local charities and other government and non government organisations in Malaysia and Thailand. Our newsletters can be accessed here: https://lifestylemigration.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/lifestyle-migration-in-east-asia-newsletter-no1-feb2014.pdf https://lifestylemigration.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/lifestyle-migration-in-east-asia-newsletter-no2-may2014.pdf We also have a web site dedicated to the project: https://lifestylemigration.wordpress.com and there is a dedicated facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/lifestylemigrationeastasia We have been working with the British Society for Population Studies to raise the profile of British abroad. We gave a paper at the British Society for Population Studies Emigration Day, LSE, London, 16 May 2013, which was attended by representatives from Central Government Departments (DWP, DoH, Home Office), Universities, and local authorities. Paper: O'Reilly, K. and M. Benson. Invited paper. 'Emigration. The view from ethnography' We will hold an exhibition: Lifestyle Migration in Asia - An Interpretive Photography Exhibition. 24th April to 7th May Hong Kong University.
First Year Of Impact 2014
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural

Societal
 
Title Lifestyle Migration in East Asia 
Description This project examined the motivations, experiences and outcomes of Lifestyle Migration, as a contemporary form of social mobility, in South-East Asian contexts. The main research questions were: How are mobility and quality of life understood within eastern and western migrants' everyday lives and with what consequences for the ways in which they make sense of themselves and their relationships with others? How, in the light of the above, can a more integrated and informed understanding of lifestyle migration and flexible citizenship be developed and how might this set an agenda for further research? These were addressed through an empirical study of British migrants to Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong, and Hong Kong migrants to mainland China. The project was informed by strong structuration theory and employed virtual and visual ethnographic methods and life history interviews with migrant men and women. The research aimed to: increase the effectiveness of services and public policy (in UK, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia); enhance UK economic competitiveness by encouraging effective help for, and mobilising resources of, British abroad; enhance quality of life through improved health and social welfare; to enhance mutual understanding in lifestyle destinations. The survey was 'live' through April to November 2012, and obtained 112 responses (57 from Malaysia, 54 from Thailand, and one who did not specify where he lived). Using the survey we were able to gather interesting demographic information. We also asked about migration histories, social lives, social networks and uses of technology for maintaining social ties, personal values and goals, and relationships with other ethnic groups. We understand this survey as contributing to the task of immersing oneself in the context - a key principle of ethnographic work. The fieldwork in Malaysia and Thailand took place between July and November 2012 during which time we undertook a total of 65 recorded interviews (Malaysia: 31; Thailand: 34). We used a variety of interview methods, including face-to-face, email, skype and telephone interviewing. Most of the interviews were conducted with British lifestyle migrants in Penang, Malaysia and in Hua Hin, Thailand. The rest were conducted through digital channels with respondents in other parts of Thailand and Malaysia. These included 'expert' interviews with consular staff and migration intermediaries, such as property developers and 'expat' magazine publishers. Not all interviews are archivable. Many other interviews were also undertaken within participant observation. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2014 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact ? 
URL https://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/cgi/users/home?screen=EPrint::Summary&eprintid=851378
 
Description NCCR On the move National Center of Competence in Research - The Migration-Mobility Nexus 
Organisation University of Neuchatel
Country Switzerland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Karen O'Reilly is on the International Advisory Board for this Network. In order to ensure high quality and international competitiveness of the scientific work of the nccr - on the move, the Steering Committee appoints an International Scientific Advisory Board. This body is consulted on an ad-hoc basis. It is composed of leading scientists from the NCCR core disciplines social sciences, economics, demography, and law.
Collaborator Contribution The nccr - on the move is the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) for migration and mobility studies, which has been operational since June 2014. The center aims to enhance the understanding of contemporary migration patterns and to establish an innovative and competitive field of research on migration and mobility in Switzerland.
Impact The Advisory Board is consulted on an ad-hoc basis. It is composed of leading scientists from the NCCR core disciplines social sciences, economics, demography, and law.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Public Policies on Migration, Multiculturalization and Welfare for the Regeneration of Communities in European, Asian and Japanese Societies 
Organisation Kobe University
Department Graduate School of Intercultural Studies
Country Japan 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Maggy Lee and Karen O'Reilly are partner researchers in this Network, funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fund for Core-to-Core Advanced Research Network Programme.
Collaborator Contribution The Network is hosted at Kobe University and has many partners around the world. Centered around the Research Center for Promoting Intercultural Studies, Kobe University, this program will be conducted from 2016 to 2020 with the cooperation of eight foreign universities, four Japanese universities, and one institute along with other research departments at Kobe University, in order to build a world-class research base related to migration, multiculturalization, and welfare policy.
Impact None yet.
Start Year 2016
 
Description An Interpretive Photography Exhibition 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact We held an Interpretive Photography Exhibition at the University of Hong Kong, April 24 - May 8, 2015. Over 100 school students attended and asked questions and joined in a discussion about migration. They reported that the exhibition had changed their thinking about migration in Asia. The event was also attended by 8 of our research participants, delegates from The British Council, under-graduate and post-graduate students, and other academics. Visitors were given newsletters from the project to take away with them.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL https://lifestylemigration.wordpress.com
 
Description IIAS Newsletter 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We published our findings in the widely read International Institute for Asian Studies Newsletter, No.69, Autumn 2014

We have been invited to write a book for an academic publisher and were invited to an academic conference in Australia.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
 
Description Newsletters 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We produced newsletters which are available on our web site and were sent to expat organisations, Research organisations, The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Consular Services, and key individuals, as well as academic colleagues in the Uk and abroad.

None yet
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL https://lifestylemigration.wordpress.com/
 
Description Panel discussion on BBC Radio 4 'Thinking Allowed' programme on 'Middle Class Enclaves and Escapes' 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The BBC Radio 4 broadcast promoted public understanding of lifestyle migration as a social issue and generated substantial international interest through Australian Policy Online [apo.org.au].
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2013
URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s8mp5
 
Description Presentation on 'Gender and migration' at Kobe University, Japan 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact The research presentation was part of the international collaboration on 'Public Policies on Migration, Multiculturalization and Welfare for the Regeneration of Communities in European, Asian and Japanese Societies' funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fund for Core-to-Core Advanced Research Network Programme. The presentation on our lifestyle migration research findings in Asia sparked questions about possible international comparisons and future research agenda.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Public Seminar on Thinking Globally about Lifestyle Migration 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We held a Public Seminar in University of Hong Kong on April 24, 2015. It was attended by a few members of the public, post-graduate students, and other academics.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015