Paper short abstract:

Within this paper I explain the processes of distinction that Britons living in rural France use to differentiate themselves from tourists, their compatriots, and other migrants to the area, and highlight the connection between distinction as a social process and the presentation of the 'authentic'.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper I draw upon substantive material on British lifestyle migrants living in the Lot, a rural inland département in the southwest of France. By their own admission, these migrants believe that they come 'from all walks of life'. They readily dissociate from some of their compatriots in the region, while aligning themselves with others. This has implications for understanding why they choose to migrate, and what they anticipate of life following migration. While their move to France can be explained in terms of the search for the rural idyll, anti-modern and anti-urban longings, and their eschatological cravings, the migrants themselves discuss these desires in a variety of ways and emphasize how they understand what constitutes a meaningful and authentic life. In my analysis, I contextualize their discussions in terms of the broader notion of authenticity. I explain the process of distinction the migrants use to differentiate themselves from tourists, their compatriots, and other migrants living in the Lot and I highlight the connection between distinction as a social process and the presentation of the 'authentic' in rural France.

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