Moving to the countryside? The case of second home users in Norway

Abstract

Rye, J.F. 2015. Moving to the countryside? The case of second home users in Norway. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift–Norwegian Journal of Geography Vol. 69, 00–00. ISSN 0029-1951.

Different forms of rural mobilities, such as everyday travels, commuting practices, business trips, tourism, and short- and long-term migrations, have emerged as a key topic in rural studies. The article discusses the views of second home users in Norway concerning long-term migration to their second home locality as permanent residents. Analysis of large-scale, quantitative material that constitutes a statistical representation of the Norwegian second home population reveals that a preference for translating circular recreational mobility (the use of second homes) into permanent and long-term migration (residency) is widespread among second home users. Further analysis suggests that such rural migration preferences are related more to actors’ everyday life challenges than to amenity and quality-of-life motivations. As a consequence of these findings, the author suggests that rural municipalities attempting to attract second home users into becoming permanent residents need to reorient their policies.

Keywords:

• migration
• mobility
• rural migration
• second home

Acknowledgements

The research was funded by The Research Council of Norway.