Paper short abstract:

Drawing on a study of Italians in the UK, this paper focuses on the experience of growing old in a transnational social field. It examines ideas of home and belonging and the implications that changes that are occurring within migrant families are having on older people.

Paper long abstract:

In research on transnationalism increasing attention is paid to the experiences of the so called 'second generation'. Less attention, however, has been given to those growing old in a transnational social field, in spite of the social and demographic significance of those who have reached retiring age after having worked as unskilled labour in the richer European countries. Drawing on a study on Italians in the UK, this paper focuses on two interrelated issues. The first one relates to the effects of transationalism on ideas of home and belonging (e.g. where to retire). Questions that I will address in this context are the following. What are ageing retired labour migrants' perceptions of 'home'? How do these migrants experience space and place, having lived for decades in the UK while keeping connections with their villages of origin in Italy? What are the consequences of their visions and landscapes in accessing support and experiencing old age? The second issue refers to the changes that are occurring within migrant families (e.g. decline of extended families, second-generations' full time involvement in the labour market, social and geographical mobility of offspring) and their implications for older people. Specifically, I want to consider their access to resources and networks of support that operate within but also beyond the family (such as in community organisations). In doing so I explore the continuities and rupture for both those elderly migrants who chose to stay on in Britain and those who return and provide some examples of the strategies they employ to reconstruct a sense of continuity between different places and experiences.