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Conflicting prognoses for European identity are addressed using data from residents of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the everyday significance of being European; a theoretically informed focus on people in one city. A representative sample of established residents aged 18—24 years are compared with a sample of resident peers engaged in Europe-oriented work or study. Survey data provide an overview of their different understandings of Europe and patterns of identification with Europe, Britain, Scotland and Edinburgh. Using qualitative interviews, rationales for self-engagement with or disengagement from Europe are further interrogated and located in orientations to place of residence, nationality and citizenship.These data provide some further insight into the process by which some come to present themselves as passionate utopian Europeans, while for many being European remains emotionally insignificant and devoid of imagined community or steps towards global citizenship.