Finding one’s way: recreational mobility of post-2004 Polish migrants in West Midlands, UK

Abstract

In migration studies, relatively little attention has been paid to leisure. This article aims at contributing to this field. It analyses how migrants’ leisure, identity and uncertainty linked to migration experience are intertwined. The study is based on materials of a year-long field research that was carried out in the West Midlands, UK, among post-2004 Polish migrants. The material was collected through participant observation and interviews. The article focuses on two types of recreational mobility: (1) visits to theme parks and other commercial attractions and (2) ‘wandering around’. Despite notable differences, both types of recreational mobility participate in identity work and provide migrants with some form of empowerment. First, they reduce uncertainty that is related to the changed status of an individual or changed environment. Second, they allow inhabiting an environment and establishing a more personal relation with place. It is concluded that recreational mobility is a form of identity work that contributes to migrants’ adaptation.

Keywords:

• leisure
• migration
• recreational mobility
• identity
• uncertainty

Acknowledgements

The study was carried out, thanks to the generous support of the Leverhulme Trust.

Notes

1. From 1 May 2011, the obligation to register with the Home Office was lifted which further liberalised the British job market for Polish workers.

2. The local government supported ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) courses provide free or very cheap opportunities for language learning for migrants, which however are not taken up by many for objective and subjective reasons.

3. The letter indicates a participants’ gender (F or M) and the figure indicates the year of birth.

4. ‘The importance of Elsewhere’ is a poem by Philip Larkin often cited by tour operators (cf. Rapport, 2007, p. 32).