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Over the last few decades lifestyle migration has been receiving increased interest amongst scholars. Most of the studies conducted in Europe tend to focus on the individuals from the ‘Old’ European Union (EU) countries moving abroad in search of a better quality of life and improved ‘social atmosphere’. The mobility of the ‘New’ Member State (NMS) nationals, on the other hand, is still perceived as predominantly economic and labour migration oriented. This article however, will argue that this is not necessarily the case for young NMS migrants who left their countries following the 2004 EU Enlargement. By using the example of Polish nationals living in Ireland the author will examine how these migrants, while initially motivated by economic factors, decided to stay in the host country for non-monetary reasons. This issue became significant following the 2008 recession, where people made their decisions to not return home despite the worsening economic situation in Ireland. This article argues – based on interview data - that these decisions were influenced by lifestyle rather than economic factors.

Since EU enlargement in 2004, Ireland has emerged as a major destination for Polish migrants. What are the particular features of this East–West migration? Based on repeat interviews with Polish migrants as part of a Qualitative Panel Study, we show that this migration is characterised by new mobility patterns. As ‘free movers’, Polish migrants are more mobile across national borders and within national labour markets. This affords them new opportunities beyond the employment experience. The younger and more educated of these migrants, especially, are part of a new generation of mobile Europeans for whom the move abroad is not only work-related but also involves lifestyle choices as part of a broader aspiration for self-development. The new mobility strategies of migrants become visible even in an economic downturn wherein Ireland has been hit by an unprecedented recession.

This chapter explores the tensions between the European Union’s commitment to a single European labour market in which all member state nationals are treated equally and the continuing national basis of welfare systems. In particular, it highlights the dynamics between increasingly mobile European nationals who are accessing and moving their social welfare supports across the EU, EU directives guaranteeing equal protection among member state nationals, and national welfare implementation systems which have engaged in selective ‘restriction’ policies in response to EU enlargements during the 2000s. The chapter examines the topic using a case study of Polish migration to Ireland following Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004. The chapter argues that a rise in various forms of mobility has implications for national welfare systems and for individuals’ well-being. Although European citizens have relatively easier access to host-country welfare provisions than do non-EU nationals, access by the latter continues to be shaped by economic activity and residency requirements. Within this Irish context, we show that there were attempts to qualify EU social rights with the introduction of the Habitual Residency Condition (HRC) at the time of accession in 2004. The economic crisis helped facilitate the rolling back of social rights, particularly social welfare, as evidenced by the adjustment of the HRC towards the ‘centre of interest’. These measures have served to reassert the assumption that people live in one place, with accumulating benefits to be drawn down in that same place in the event of need.

In this paper we explore the impact of the current economic downturn on Polish migrants in the Irish labour market. Ireland appears to be well suited to study the impact of the recession on intra-European migration. The country has not only experienced large-scale inward migration from the new EU Member states (NMS) in recent years, but has also been severely hit by a recession. At times of an economic crisis, questions have begun to be asked about the future intentions of migrants. By drawing on an ongoing Qualitative Panel Study on the experience of Polish migrants in the Irish labour market, we argue that simplistic assumptions about migrants leaving the country ‘when times are getting tough’ are misplaced. No doubt some NMS migrants will leave because of the worsening economic situation and new opportunities elsewhere. As East-West migration has adopted a more temporary and circular character facilitated by a free movement regime, NMS migrants have the opportunity to move on elsewhere at times of a downturn. At the same time, many Polish migrants are ‘here to stay’, for the moment at least. This is for at least three reasons. A clear majority of NMS migrants remains in employment, in spite of the downturn. Furthermore, even if migrants should lose their jobs, welfare state arrangements in the host country offer some protection against destitution. Moreover, the decision to migrate, and consequently to stay or move on, is not just reached on the basis of economic considerations alone. Particularly social networks are of importance in sustaining the migration process relatively independent from short-term economic change, including an economic downturn.

There is a growing understanding amongst researchers that traditionally defined linear housing career paths are becoming more difficult to follow, especially for young people. This seems to be part...