Labour or lifestyle? Understanding urban incorporation of European middling migrants

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, I examine the urban incorporation of British middling migrants in Berlin, expressed through residential choice, local belonging and local networks. So far, urban incorporation has rarely been studied systematically, as European migrants have often been viewed as free floaters who are not invested in their new place of residence. Based on interviews with British nationals in Berlin, the contribution advances the literature on intra‐European migration by bringing together labour‐ and lifestyle‐related migration research to fully account for the respondents’ migration experience and urban incorporation. Lifestyle‐related reasons figure strongly in the respondents’ decision to move to Berlin, as many were seeking a better way of life. For these migrants, characterized by high cultural capital, but less economic capital, the project of self‐realization is strongly tied to their professional careers. Their urban incorporation can only be fully understood when considering the entanglement of labour‐ and lifestyle‐related motives for migration.

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