Paper long abstract:

The proposed paper deals with the experiences of ageing of migrants. Drawing on research with Italians in the UK, the paper will explore their dilemmas about where to retire and the consequences of different choices for the elderly themselves and those around them. Specifically the paper will focus on two interrelated issues. First, the subjective experiences of ageing migrants, their choices and dilemmas about where to spend old age and their ways of making sense of changes occurring in both 'host' and 'home' communities. Second, their access to and participation in networks of care both locally and transnationally. At a theoretical level the paper will bring together the emerging scholarship on 'transnational care-giving' - which has started to explore the consequences of geographical distance in affecting caring practices towards the aged - with the feminist ethics of care which draws attention to the reciprocal and multi-directional nature of caring relationships.