Date of Award

Spring 5-16-2026

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Advisor(s)

Dr. Helen Rabello-Kras

Second Advisor

Caley Johnson, Ph.D.

Abstract

Migration is a worldwide phenomenon driven largely by economic, political and social factors. A migrant’s personal aspirations and capabilities play a large role on his/her decision to migration. In my thesis, I aimed to find how the aforementioned fit into lifestyle migration, particularly in lifestyle migration to Argentina. In order to do this, I compared current lifestyle migration to Buenos Aires to the waves of immigration that the nation received during the Age of Mass Migration and in the post-World War II era. I also compared lifestyle migration to the immigration from other Global South nations to Argentina. In this thesis I use both 2022 Argentine census data and interviews with lifestyle migrants currently living in Buenos Aires. These migrants were asked (i)why they chose to move to Argentina, (ii) how long they intended to live there, (iii) and the struggles that they have experienced since living there. Their answers indicated that while they to struggle economically, they choose to live there because they love the country, its food, its people, and the lifestyle that they have acquired. I found that the lifestyle migrants’ reasons for migrating are very different from the reasons for migrating from the Global North to the Global South, or within the Global South itself, which tend to be economically and politically based. More discourse is needed to understand how personal desires for self-improvement and diverse experiences drive lifestyle migration. More research is also needed to see how economically driven-lifestyle migration is facilitated by wealth and privilege. Lifestyle migration is important to understand in order to understand the world as it becomes more globalized.

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