Family involved or left behind in migration? A family-centred perspective towards Estonia-Finland cross-border commuting

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to find out how the active cross-border mobility of one family member changes the communication patterns inside the family and how it impacts those who stay behind. Concentrating on the case study of Estonian men working in Finland, this paper examines how families are maintaining relationships with people close to them and what kind of new practices are created to overcome the geographical distance. The importance of both active real-life and mediated communication, media usage, and social-media practices, but also new travelling practices are stressed. The perspectives of both the mobile members of the family and those who stay behind are covered with a focus on how all family members are involved in the migration processes. The fieldwork demonstrates that the mobility of one member of the family can influence the partner and children to take a more active position in maintaining communication during the period of working abroad. Through media usage and international visits, the partner and children gain a special kind of transnational lifestyle.

KEYWORDS:

• Cross-border mobility
• work migration
• transnational family
• extended mobility
• communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Koneen Säätiö [grant number 64638]; Academy of Finland Kulttuurin ja Yhteiskunnan Tutkimuksen Toimikunta [grant number 14960-288 552].