Safe, accepted and charmed by the city. Why do migrants feel better in Berlin than in Amsterdam?

ABSTRACT

The study captures how contextual factors have affected the experiences of skilled Polish migrants in two locations, Amsterdam and Berlin. Drawing from interviews with 60 Poles I demonstrate how perceived attitudes of natives towards migrants, cultural closeness or distance with a majority group and specific characteristics of the destination city can be key facilitators or obstacles in shaping migrants’ sense of belonging. I am pointing to a greater importance of socio-cultural than economic factors in the process of developing a sense of belonging. Nevertheless, these factors remain under the limited influence of migrants. The article demonstrates how migrants’ subjective belonging relates to their experience of integration and thus general level of comfort in a city.

KEYWORDS:

• Sense of belonging
• integration
• migrants
• Amsterdam
• Berlin

Introduction

Amsterdam and Berlin are culturally and ethnically diverse European capitals that attract skilled migrants from around the world. However, they vary with regard to levels of diversity, population, migration policy, and culture, offering place-specific opportunities for developing the integration of migrants. More diverse cities allow migrants to define themselves and choose how to live and with whom to integrate (Ryan 2018; Vertovec 2007). Nevertheless, whether migrants feel at home and included in the host society and identify with it depends largely on contextual factors like history and culture of the city, which remain under the limited influence of migrants.

In-depth interviews conducted in 2017 with skilled Polish migrants living in Berlin and Amsterdam show that although they appreciate the general levels of life comfort in both cities, their sense of belonging differed significantly. The following article compares the process of developing migrants’ sense of belonging and demonstrates how this links to migrants’ well-being in a city. The paper is set to grasp the differences in migrants’ lives on the social, cultural, and economic levels in two multicultural cities and identify factors which have a significant impact on building their sense of belonging.

Research on migrants in both the Netherlands and in Germany has mainly been conducted on the national level. There is still a lack of comparative studies that focus on local contexts. The following study contributes to this growing literature and stresses the significance of contextual factors such as attitudes of the host society, cultural differences between migrants and host society, and the characteristics of a particular city such as opportunities to participate in culture and social life. It demonstrates how city context can facilitate or hamper feelings of integration. Contextual factors often have a more powerful effect than structural factors on the inclusiveness of a city towards migrants. This thread of migration research is still rarely described in a comparative and qualitative way by researchers.

I begin the article by setting out theoretical concepts of sense of belonging. In the subsequent part I present the city context, and then I refer to the research methodology. The empirical part of the article discusses the development processes of belonging in Amsterdam and Berlin and analyses factors affecting them.

Subjective aspects of integration

Although the concept of integration is a commonly used term to analyse the process of adaptation of incoming groups to a native population, it is also a contested one. One reason for criticism towards it is that it does not pay enough attention to its psycho-social aspects like sense of belonging or feeling of safety and stability in a given place (Grzymala-Kazlowska 2018; Ryan and Mulholland 2015). As Duyvendak notices, belonging is an existential need, and researchers should pay more attention to emotions associated with it, as it is an important determinant of how one feels in a given place (Duyvendak 2011). Building on past contributions, this article investigates the shaping of belonging, with feelings of safety and stability being an important part of it, and its dependency on social, cultural, and economic integration (Esser 2001; Heckmann and Bosswick 2006). I point to migrants’ perspectives and the complexity of their subjective feelings of belonging, as well as how it relates to experiences of integration (Castañeda 2018).

I follow the definition of Yuval-Davis (2006), who refers to belonging as to an emotional bond, feeling ‘at home’ and feeling safe. People can form their belonging through locations, identifications, emotional attachments to various groups, or through values systems (Yuval-Davis 2016). Yuval-Davis points out that belonging to a community or to a nation is often constructed and maintained by political powers. Castañeda highlights that belonging is determined by interaction between immigrants and the local context of reception, which includes everyday attitudes of natives (Castañeda 2018). To a large extent it is the receiving society who decides about who belongs and who does not belong by establishing categories and social norms and by legitimising the resources of others (Heckmann and Bosswick 2006; Yuval-Davis, 2006).

Quantitative research (Verkuyten 2016) shows that perceived group discrimination and lack of group acceptance may lead migrants to distance themselves from a host society, and hamper their identification with it. De Vroome and Verkuyten (2014) also pointed out the importance of social ties with majority members, which contribute to feelings of acceptance, identification, and group inclusion, thus fostering belonging. Scholarship demonstrates that regardless of migrants’ efforts to integrate with the majority population, natives’ general negative attitudes and cultural differences can be key factors hindering this integration (Constant, Kahanec, and Zimmermann 2008; De Vroome, Verkuyten, and Martinovic 2014; Nesdale 2002; Verkuyten 2016). Migrants determine their position in a society only to a certain extent, and on the condition that they acquire the core competencies of that culture (Heckmann and Bosswick 2006) and adjust to specific urban contexts. Language and cultural differences between the host country and the country of origin and a long history of multicultural migration, which is true of Berlin, influence the fate of migrants in cities (De Jong Gierveld, Van der Pas, and Keating 2015; Djundeva and Ellwardt 2020; Foner et al. 2014; Wu and Penning 2015).

A vast amount of research stresses the importance of maintaining various types of relationships for migrants’ integration and sense of belonging (Lubbers, Molina, and McCarty 2007; Wessendorf and Phillimore 2019). According to Wessendorf and Phillimore, different types of social relations contribute to different degrees of integration. While friendship with long-term residents can shape migrants’ sense of belonging, serendipitous fleeting encounters can provide them with helpful information. According to Glick Schiller and Çağlar (2016) migrants make efforts to settle and build social networks which include not only long-established locals and natives like neighbours or colleagues, but also other migrants and co-ethnics. They search for relations which give them a ‘mutual sense of being human’. This study takes a closer look at the types of relations migrants build with others, including other migrants and natives. However, I keep in mind that not all minorities’ contacts with the majority are equally meaningful. Everyday encounters in public spaces do not replace lasting and meaningful contacts (Valentine 2008).

Esther Peperkamp (2018) demonstrates that belonging can also relate to practice and rituals. Studying belonging among Polish migrants in the Netherlands, she proposes a perspective of interaction rituals and leisure activities. She has noticed that for Polish migrants in the Netherlands, going out as an activity and dance clubs as leisure space did not help them in developing a sense of belonging. The common experience of leisure activities with the Dutch exposed cultural differences and caused a sense of not-belonging among Polish migrants. This feeling of not-belonging may be linked to the fact that Polish migrants in the Netherlands establish a small number of contacts with the host residents and tend to distance themselves from the Dutch (Toruńczyk-Ruiz 2008). Van den Broek and Grundy (Grundy and Van den Broek 2017) also draw attention to feelings of loneliness among Poles in the Netherlands. They demonstrate that such feelings are strong among working-age Polish migrants, and it is greatest among those who have lived in the Netherlands the longest. Djundeva and Ellwardt’s (2020) research on Polish migrants in the Netherlands links loneliness to migrants’ small, homogenous social networks with a lack of role diversity. While research on Polish migration to the Netherlands highlights cultural differences, concerning for example family norms and language (Jappens and Van Bavel 2012), Poles and Germans are seen as culturally and physically similar. Research on Poles in both Germany and Berlin gives a picture of a group of resourceful migrants who manage to settle in and integrate (Szczepaniak-Kroll 2012).

A sense of safety and stability is usually combined with a feeling of peace in a given place and a feeling of being not threatened with violence (Ager and Strang 2008). Antonsich (Antonsich 2010) points out that safety also relates to stable material conditions. Grzymała-Kazłowska (2018) attaches great importance to a sense of security and stability, emphasising that these are human basic needs. She defines socio-psychological security as a feeling of being not exposed to chaos and danger (2018), and explains that migrants look for footholds in social ties or in culture (language or customs) that allow them to achieve stability in the complex reality that surrounds them.

Similarly to Esser (Esser 2001) and Bosswick and Heckmann (Heckmann and Bosswick 2006), I recognise a special role of socio-cultural factors in contributing to belonging, but at the same time I take into account the importance of economic factors. However, I argue that economic factors have less impact on feelings of belonging than socio-cultural ones. Migrants’ economic outcomes tend to be considered as an important factor on their way to further integration (Alba and Nee 1997). Other research shows (Neuman 2014) that the longer migrants reside in a host country, the better their material conditions, job positions, and language proficiency become. Nevertheless, better economic status does not necessarily equate to better psycho-social conditions. The latter is more complex (OECD 2017), and it depends not only on other dimensions of integration but, as this study shows, on the receiving context of the destination city as well.

Urban context

Berlin is the largest city in Germany. Among its 3.7 million inhabitants are more than 58,000 Poles, who constitute the second largest ethnic group in the city after Turks (Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner im Land Berlin am 30. Juni 2019, 2019). People with ‘immigrant backgrounds’ make up a quarter of Berlin’s population. Amsterdam is the largest city in the Netherlands, with almost 800,000 residents, including 230,000 foreigners (StatLine – Bevolking; leeftijd, migratieachtergrond, geslacht en regio, 1 januari, 2019). Poles started to settle in the Netherlands in 2007 when free movement of workers was introduced. Between 2010 and 2019 the number of Poles increased from 77,000 to 185,000, and from 3,587 to 5,622 in Amsterdam (opendata.cbs.nl). Unlike Germany, the Netherlands was not an important immigration destination for Poles before 2000. The Polish diaspora in the German capital is much more diverse than in Amsterdam. Various groups of Poles started migrating to Berlin in the nineteenth century (Loew 2017). Before 2004 Germany was the main destination for Polish migrants, mostly low skilled. Nowadays, high skilled migrants, lifestyle migrants and many students also migrate to the German capital. These traditional migration patterns show the difference in the nature of the Polish diaspora in both cities. The long history of Polish migration and its diverse composition in Berlin has resulted in the establishment of a Polish community with its organisations and representatives. The NGO network in Berlin includes various organisations created by Poles. Poles in the Netherlands do not have as easy access to Polish social networks as Poles in Berlin. This fact might influence their feeling of belonging and shape their identity in a new place of residence.

Another aspect of difference between the two capitals is the development of the cities’ migration policies. In the 1980s and 1990s Amsterdam implemented local immigrant integration policies which were an example of a multicultural approach (De Graauw and Vermeulen 2016). However, this approach started to change in the end of 1990s when national officials moved away from the concept of multiculturalism. Berlin, on the other hand, has been developing its integration policy gradually, since the 1980s, as an answer to a large influx of migrants and has been becoming inclusive towards migrants. The German capital implemented an integration policy before the national government did (Dekker et al. 2018). Its inclusive attitude is especially visible in local institutions open to immigrant communities and numerous organisations that help migrants and their descendants on many levels.

Data and methods

The following study is part of a larger research project, conducted in 2016–2018, focused on four metropolises, Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin and London, which are important destinations for Polish skilled migrants. The research objective was to compare experiences of an immigrant group with similar socio-economic status in different city contexts. Analysing interviews from all four cities I have noticed that the biggest differences in Poles’ sense of belonging and life comfort are between migrants living in Amsterdam and Berlin. Even though these two cities are both multicultural creative hubs, they differ with regard to size, history of Polish migration, and integration policies. I assumed that these contextual differences would affect the shape of migrants’ sense of belonging.

The analysis is based on 60 semi-structured, in-depth interviews I conducted between June and November 2017 with Polish migrants residing in Berlin and in Amsterdam (30 interviews in each city). The group of interviewees was diversified in terms of age, gender, education, family status, and length of migration experience. Given the topic of the wider project (wealth accumulation), the sample was biased towards skilled, professional migrants like IT specialists, employees of international companies, small entrepreneurs, and business owners, but it also included teachers, academics and social workers. The target group was restricted to those who had spent no less than two years in their current country of residence and had had at least some work experience while abroad. The majority of the research participants were post-accession migrants. In Berlin we reached 15 men and 15 women, in Amsterdam 12 men and 18 women. Most of our interlocutors were between 20 and 40 years old. There were more people over 40 in Berlin. In Berlin, 22 participants had completed higher education, and in Amsterdam, 20. Their names in the paper are changed.

Although the respondents constitute a very similar group in terms of education and socioeconomic status, there are slight differences between the two study groups. In the Berlin group there were more people who had lived there for longer than 10 years and more people in professions related to culture than in the Amsterdam group. In the latter there were more employees of international corporations than in Berlin. This is the limitation of this study.

I reached respondents using snowball sampling. Initial contacts were made through a few channels, such as Polish organisations, groups of Poles on social media, and places of work with international employees. Interviews were conducted on a face-to-face basis, and each interview was recorded, transcribed, and uploaded to MAXQDA software for analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted to discover patterns in shaping migrants’ belonging in two city contexts (Guest, MacQueen, and Namey 2012). After reading the all interviews several times, I coded inductively and in vivo looking for expression of migrants’ feelings referring to their lives in Berlin and Amsterdam. I was also looking for recurring themes concerning three spheres of life in both cities: economic, cultural, and social. In the second round of coding, I captured interviewees’ expressions of belonging according to the belonging literature (emotional attachment with a community/place, feeling ‘at home’, feeling included, identification, feeling safe and stable). Interviews were also analysed considering factors that can influence a sense of belonging. I looked for recurring themes in three subject groups: social, cultural, and economic integration. Regarding social integration, I paid attention to the meaning and intensity of various relationships the migrants had established. Cultural integration was indicated mainly by proficiency and use of the language, and identification and familiarity with the norms and values of the majority group. When analysing economic integration, I wanted to look more broadly at the migrants’ economic positions, referring not only to their earnings and possession of resources such as real estate, but also their general housing situations in a given place, levels of job satisfaction, and attitudes towards societal institutions.

Developing belonging in Amsterdam and Berlin

The possibility of living at least some time in Berlin or in Amsterdam was the goal of emigration for many of our interlocutors. Nevertheless, big differences can be seen between the sense of belonging among Poles in Berlin and Poles in Amsterdam. Poles in Berlin expressed their emotional bond with the place and community in not only local terms but national as well, through statements such as:

Germany somehow became a home to me. (Basia)

Somehow, I felt so good here. (Karolina)

This is my second homeland. (Piotr)

Their sense of belonging was also evident in the ways they described their identification. Many Poles in Berlin said that they did not feel German, but they no longer felt exclusively Polish. One of the women I interviewed put it this way:

I have already taken roots here. I have a partner. His parents help me, they live next to us. This is really my family. (…) And it is so that I really feel Polish and German, because I was born there (in Poland), I have a family there, nothing will ever change that, but the mentality I have … I know German law better, I know German institutions, I live with a German guy, his parents are like my family. I never intend to return to Poland in my life. (Kasia)

With the help of social assistance in Germany, Kasia completed a German language course, got a council flat and underwent psychotherapy, thanks to which she managed to start the studies she had long dreamed of. She called Germany her ‘mother and father.’

None of the interlocutors in Amsterdam, even those who had lived there more than 20 years and who have Dutch partners, said they felt Dutch. They identified themselves only as Polish nationals. I assumed one factor influencing this perception of national identity might be the possibility of having dual citizenship in Germany. In the Netherlands one usually has to renounce their original citizenship to receive Dutch citizenship. There are exceptions, such as having a Dutch spouse can qualify one for dual citizenship. Alina decided to have dual citizenship. However, she refers to this decision as to a ‘transaction’:

The decision about this second citizenship was a typical transaction that made my life easier because I had the opportunity, because I was in a relationship with my partner and I could choose whether I wanted it or not and I said that the comfort of my life will be a bit higher if I have this passport, because when I travel, I always take the Dutch one because nobody stops me anywhere. The child also has a Dutch passport, so it is also easier in this respect. But in my heart, I have never felt Dutch and I will never feel Dutch. I always said I was Polish and it would stay that way. (Alina)

For Alina, Dutch citizenship did not change her emotional attitude towards the Netherlands. Robert noted that having Dutch citizenship does not affect the attitude of the Dutch officials towards its holder: No matter how long you'll be here, you'll always be in second place.

The undertone of the above statements illustrates the emotional differences between the interlocutors when they talk about how they feel in Berlin and Amsterdam. Poles in Berlin used emotionally charged expressions such as ‘home’, ‘feel included’ and ‘rooted’, while Poles in Amsterdam usually said they felt comfortable in Amsterdam. Their comfort is built more on economic security and a high standard of living than on the social and cultural belonging so clearly evident among Poles in Berlin. Migrants’ sense of belonging was based to a large extent on the feeling of being included socially, culturally, and spatially. Based on the interviews I noticed that city itself was perceived as inclusive or not, so below I describe how sense of belonging was shaped by three recurring factors in the interviews: people, culture, and city.

People

Quotes about Dutch citizenship show that the mere recognition of Poles as Dutch citizens is not enough for them to feel part of this society, as the society's attitude is not inclusive. Poles in Berlin, unlike Poles in Amsterdam, often used the term ‘I feel included’ or ‘I found my place here’.

The Germans have such a sense (…) they have a greater sense of group. And really, such a daily exchange of pleasantries, even in the offices (…) And so you don't feel like this alienating effect is so painful. I have the impression that more than once in Poland I felt more like a stranger than I do here. (Artur)

But I kind of feel more German than Polish in Berlin. Here, people are open and they accept you as you are. (Hania)

In Amsterdam in turn, the interviews were dominated by stories about the closed and inaccessible attitude of the Dutch, with whom it was difficult to establish friendships. Polish migrants in Amsterdam expressed a sense of loneliness and alienation in interviews, even the long-established ones like Alina, who had been living in Amsterdam for 10 years; she has a son there, and had a Dutch partner:

The Netherlands is a very closed country, you probably heard a little bit too. (…) The Dutch are generally known as very liberal, open-minded, but if you go deeper into it, this is not how it looks at all. (…) And those social circles in general, it is also like everyone was super nice and smiling, but that was it. We would talk, but you wouldn’t enter their circle of friends. And you can still really see it now.

Ewa believes that her difficulty getting closer to Dutch people results mostly from their attitudes towards Poles:

- I mean, when it comes to Dutch culture and the Dutch themselves and their attitude towards foreigners, I don't like it a bit and I know that most people feel that way.

Did you feel this attitude?

- I think the Dutch are said to be open, but that's not true. I feel this openness and this warmth, for example, very strongly in Germany, when I enter a store, but here … but maybe it is because of their culture, that they’re brought up in a kind of cold way. And they relate cooler to each other and also to other people. And they don't establish such close relationships. So, these are cultural differences.

Do you have any closer contacts with the Dutch?

- I mean, only through my colleagues from work, right? When I studied here, too. However, you can see that they treat Poles a little worse.

The lack of feeling of being included was reinforced in some cases by the sense of being discriminated against by the Dutch. Małgosia, who works for an international Dutch company, recalls: When I started with the Dutch-Belgian team, it was a kind of mobbing, I was asked if my husband is good at needlework, because every Pole is a good carpenter.

It is worth noting that around 2000 when the rapid influx of mostly low-skilled Polish migrants was taking place in the Netherlands, concerns over immigrants and their integration arose in the country. Unfavourable reactions to Poles of the public and in the media were visible. Public debate was heated up by the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) led by Geert Wilders, who complained that immigrants were the cause of social and economic problems. In 2015 PVV opened a hotline where people could complain about trouble caused by Polish migrants (Peperkamp 2018). Poles in Berlin, however, a group that has been embedded in various social groups of this city for generations now, no longer experience intense and public discrimination as the relatively new Polish emigrants in the Netherlands. However, they encountered similar wave of discrimination in the 1980s and 1990s when they came in large numbers to perform mainly low-paid jobs in Germany. In my current interviews, Poles in Berlin did not mention experiences that would indicate that they feel discriminated against in Berlin.

The research shows that Polish migrants in Berlin have maintained extensive social networks which include Germans, Poles, and immigrants of other nationalities. Our interlocutors maintain long-lasting and meaningful relationships, while participating in everyday interactions with people they encounter on buses and in stores or cafes, which are less significant but important for their well-being and integration. Most of the migrants I interviewed emphasised that moving from Poland to Berlin resulted in the enlargement of their circle of friends. The social networks of Poles we interviewed in Amsterdam are significantly smaller than those of the Poles we interviewed in Berlin. They include mostly other migrants, rarely the Dutch. Even for people who have lived in the Netherlands for many years, it was difficult to build lasting and meaningful relations with the Dutch. Our interlocutors described their various efforts to meet new people and become involved in social activities such as signing up for sports or language classes, going out to various events, and trying to make friends with colleagues. The lack of concrete results of their efforts caused disappointment with their migration situation. Despite long and laborious attempts to enter Dutch society, most of our interlocutors were unable to establish lasting relations with the Dutch. Relations between Polish and Dutch women proved to be particularly difficult. This was problematic even for women who have lived in the Netherlands for many years and are in relationships with Dutch men.

Culture

Sandra, who moved to the Netherlands with her Dutch husband, tried to explain why she would not call her relation with a Dutch woman a friendship: I don't know if it is a matter of culture or personality, but for example I have a close friend, a Dutchwoman, and in comparison with my relationships from Warsaw I would not call her a friend or a close friend, but I know that she treats me as a friend. I can really talk about everything with my friends in Warsaw, but with my Dutch friend no. Say if one of my Polish friends is trying to get pregnant, we could talk about it, which month it is, and all that. Here people just don’t talk about it.

For many of our interlocutors, their relations with Dutch people are not deep and close enough to be satisfying. From the story above it looks like Poles have a different way of understanding relations than Dutch people. This is the often cause of cultural misunderstandings. The interviews show that not only Poles’ incomprehension of the natives’ way of life but also their lack of interest in Dutch history and culture was one of the main factors impeding the sense of belonging among Poles in Amsterdam. Our interlocutors often described Dutch customs as incomprehensible. One theme that arose several times in the Amsterdam interviews concerned disappointment with the lack of Dutch hospitality at parties. Marta described her first meeting with her in-laws:

I get coffee and my mother-in-law goes to the sideboard, takes out a box of cookies, approaches everyone with this box, gives one cookie to everyone, closes the box and puts it back in the sideboard. My jaw just drops. What’s that? I can't take a second one? No, I cannot.

Language has proved to be another strong factor influencing a sense of belonging. Lack of proficiency in the Dutch language certainly affects the feeling of exclusion among Poles in Amsterdam. This is evidenced by numerous quotes from interviews:

Sure, it would be nice to live in an English-speaking country. I experienced culture shock when I went to the States, walked the streets, and understood people. I felt at home. I could do anything, and here there is always a language barrier. Amsterdam is nice because people want to speak English with you here, but when I call someone and say a few sentences in Dutch, that is enough to convince them to talk in English with me. (Magda)

Although most of our interlocutors in Amsterdam mentioned the possibility of using English there as a factor in their choice of this city, they admit that not knowing Dutch is tiring in everyday life. Some of our interlocutors put a lot of effort into learning the Dutch language, but only some of them were familiar with the history and culture of the Netherlands. After 13 years of living in Amsterdam, Ania still does not speak Dutch. She described the moment when she was migrating from Poland do the Netherlands:

It was in 2004. I remember checking the Netherlands in an Encyclopaedia. And then I found out that there is a language like Dutch. (Ania)

Having no Dutch language skills makes forging closer relationships with the Dutch more difficult. Ania, despite having a Dutch partner, speaks English to him. Most of her friends are other migrants she met in the international company where she works.

Living in Berlin did not require a lot of cultural adaptation from our interlocutors because, as they pointed out in interviews, it did not differ much from life in Poland. Germany is well-known to Poles as a neighbouring country with a shared history, to which Poles have been migrating for centuries. Poles know Germans not only from stories heard from their relatives and friends who migrated to work or to study there, but also from history lessons. German is a language taught in many Polish schools. The Poles we interviewed usually migrated to Berlin already knowing at least a bit of German or learning it quite quickly on the spot. They generally understand the behaviour and customs of Germans. Most of the interviewees emphasised that in Berlin they feel as if they were in Poland. This feeling is facilitated by the geographical proximity of both countries. In many interviews, interlocutors describe a kind of closeness between the two nations, which turns out to be important for them. This is well-illustrated by the expression of one of the migrants who considered immigrating to Berlin or Amsterdam, and eventually chose Amsterdam. Her choice was determined by her knowledge of English, which according to her was more widely used in Amsterdam than in Berlin:

And I like Germany a lot because this country reminds me very much of Poland, I feel just like I do in Poland there. When it comes to culture, everything reminds me of Poland there. (Ewa)

I understand this society well, I am good in this culture and I am good in Polish culture. And it is so comfortable. (Kinga)

Knowledge of German language and culture facilitated the establishment of contacts between our interlocutors and Berliners.

City

The sense of being included was also reinforced by the character of the city itself. When Poles in Berlin explained their attachment and liking for this city, they mainly pointed out: cultural diversity, mutual respect, tolerance, and a sense of social equality. These values give them a sense of freedom, a sense that they can be who they want to be there because they are not judged by others. Ela's statement well reflects what others said about Berlin: Well, the most important thing for me here is, I don't know how to put it … having such freedom, that I can do what I want and no one will pay too much attention to it or judge it. There is a lot of access to what your soul desires (a Polish saying): to cultural events, to … contact with many cultures, multiculturalism, openness to people, tolerance. I think these are great values ⁣⁣here. And also, people's respect for each other, whether in a workplace or among friends and tolerance for other, different opinions and such a laid-back attitude here in this respect. I think that people clash less, and focus more on their hobbies, on their free time, on friends. These priorities are a little different [than in other cities]. It’s not just about making money, but also living here and paying attention to how you live.

The rich cultural life of the city and inexpensive access to it is another value of living in Berlin often mentioned in the interviews. It allows migrants from various social groups, with or without social, cultural, or economic capital, to participate in the social and cultural life of the city. Hence the cultural potential of the German capital makes the city inclusive. By participating in events, migrants get to know new people, adjust themselves to the culture of the city, learn its customs and language, and build their attachment to the place.

The structure of Berlin was another thing about the city appreciated by Poles. As Agnieszka pointed out, individual districts resemble separate small cities:

I really like the greenery in this city, the availability of lakes, the availability of nature in general. That everything is close and accessible. Urban infrastructure, too. (…) And also that there is no main centre but that it all breaks down into individual districts that are like micro cities in a big city.

Districts that resemble small towns, often with their own market, parks, shops, and cafes make their inhabitants attached to them. At the same time, the good public transport in Berlin makes the districts well-connected with other parts of the city. This spatial planning of the city increases our subjects’ sense of community and locality.

Poles in Amsterdam also emphasised its cultural diversity and rich cultural life. They appreciate the daily kindness of its residents, the habit of smiling at each other, greetings, and small talk with strangers on the streets. They stressed that this is unlike the Polish way of life. I assume that affection for the city and the desire to live in it has caused migrants to willingly take up some of its prevailing customs. They enjoy the idea of using a bicycle as a main mean of transport; more often than in Poland they play sports, spending time outdoors regardless of the weather (even though they were not used to it in the rain or wind, which is typical weather for Amsterdam). Like the Poles in Berlin, Poles in Amsterdam like the structure of the city. While in the Berlin interviews complaints about the size of the city arose, in Amsterdam the average friendly size of it was appreciated. To sum up, Poles we interviewed in Amsterdam liked the city. However, again, the language they used to describe the merits of this city was not as emotional as in the case of the descriptions of Berlin.

The study demonstrates the crucial role of sense of belonging in shaping the experience of integration. Poles in Berlin feel emotionally bonded with the city and people there. They appreciate local values and culture. Poles in Amsterdam did not express as much attachment to place and community as the Poles in Berlin. Poles in Amsterdam more often consider returning to Poland or emigrating to another country, while the vast majority of migrants in Berlin are planning their further life in this city. When talking about their life in the city, Poles in Amsterdam focused mostly on their economic comfort. They praised the working conditions and opportunities for professional development in the city. However, their social life is more modest and less satisfying than the social life of migrants in Berlin. Also, understanding natives at the cultural level and knowledge of the Dutch language and customs turned out to be more incomprehensible and problematic for migrants than they had assumed before emigration.

Sense of security and stability

It is worth emphasising sense of security is a topic that often spontaneously emerged in the interviews in both cities. This sense of security was evident mainly on the economic level, and it was provided by job security, satisfying earnings, the social systems which includes financial help in case of unemployment and help with job seeking, the housing situation, and the free and reliable healthcare systems. Trust in societal institutions, which occurred on the national more than on the local level, with their efficiency and long-term support gave interlocutors a sense of stability.

Our interlocutors in Amsterdam expressed a high sense of security related to the economic and social situation in Amsterdam. They described the standard of living in the Netherlands as high and were satisfied with their earnings. Asked about how their lives changed when they arrived in Amsterdam, most of them answered they could afford much more than they did in Poland. They do not have to limit themselves during everyday shopping like they did in Poland, and they travel frequently (several times a year) and go out to restaurants, bars, etc. Poles in Amsterdam save more money than our interlocutors in Berlin. The interviewees in Amsterdam have bought their own apartments more than those in Berlin. Although the price of real estate in Amsterdam is high, the state has created favourable conditions for their purchase for people who live and work in the Netherlands. Purchase of real estate is also facilitated by financial stability and permanent employment. In addition to a high economic standard of life, our interlocutors expressed a strong sense of professional security. Poles appreciate local labour laws and the Dutch attitude to work, which allows for work-life balance. Asia, when asked what she understood by her high standard of living in this city, replied:

In general in my opportunities here, like the fact that I can even consider buying a flat at all, where it is probably impossible in Poland. I have never experienced this feeling of being able to buy an apartment by myself. I have never considered buying a flat or house there, or anything, but I know from my friends and family how it looks (…) It may sound very shallow, but it is very important to me. The second thing is that life is so well organised here and I really like it, everything is clear and understandable. It’s about issues like your residence, landlord's rights, employee’s rights, maternity leave, your rights as a mother. I do not quite know much about early school education here, I admit honestly, but I know that academic life here is so friendly to people.

The above statement touches on the security of the housing situation, stable employment, a clear definition of the employee, and maternal rights. Transparent laws, clear organisation of social life, high wages, and the opportunity to buy an apartment were often mentioned by interlocutors in Amsterdam.

Like the Poles in Amsterdam, those in Berlin were also satisfied with their economic situations, even though their earnings and standard of life in Berlin was lower than Poles in Amsterdam. Thus, when asked about changes to their economic level of life after moving from Poland to Berlin most of interlocutors said they had not noticed significant changes. However, similarly to the Poles in Amsterdam, Poles in Berlin admit they could choose whatever they wanted when shopping for groceries. They can also eat out and go to bars, concerts, or the cinema more often than they did in Poland. On the other hand, fewer people said they had savings, and the vast majority of the interlocutors in Berlin rent apartments, with only a few of them considering buying one. They also travel less frequently than Poles in Amsterdam. Most described their job situation and earnings as satisfying. Interlocutors often referred to Berlin as a ‘city where you do not come to make money’, stressing that their immigration to Berlin was not motivated by the chance to earn a high income. Their satisfaction with the economic situation in Berlin also means satisfaction with their work, contacts with colleagues and supervisors, labour laws, and employee's rights. The following quotes show the general tone of statements about life in Berlin:

Berlin is a city where you can live comfortably. Because first of all, it is close to Poland, second, rents are still relatively low. This is also changing now, but still. You can live here quite comfortably and know that it is a stable system. When starting a family, this stability is quite an important argument. (Mariusz)

One has a feeling that if you do not need a lot of money, you can work part-time in this city, you can live peacefully for the national minimum wage and you can afford a comfortable life (…) (Adam)

Feelings of safety and stability are also strongly associated with a general trust in the social system. Poles in Berlin showed their confidence that Berlin is economically a safe place. This feeling is well-reflected in the statement of a 60-year-old immigrant who renovates apartments: Berlin is a social (welfare) city, a city of freedom. No one will starve here. People from all over the world live in peace. In Berlin, I feel a free man. (Janusz)

Although interlocutors referred to safety and stability primarily on an economic level, the interviews showed that socio-cultural factors also enhanced their security. Stable and meaningful relations gave migrants a sense of support. In many of the Berlin interviews, the figure of a German friend came up. The interlocutors recalled stories of friendships with Germans to whom they feel indebted for support in the initial period of emigration or help in finding a job. To some extent, Poles’ sense of security in Berlin was also reinforced by Berlin’s geographical proximity to Poland, and thus the possibility of prompt contact with family or returning to Poland in times of difficulty or loneliness. This aspect was emphasised in many conversations. The geographical proximity and the ability to quickly connect with family and friends in Poland gives migrants a sense of mental security.

It is worth noting that Poles in Berlin expressed a similarly strong sense of security and stability as Poles in Amsterdam, although their economic position related to earnings and career opportunities was not as high as those we interviewed in Amsterdam. Trust in societal institutions was similar in both cities as well.

Conclusions

This study on Polish migrants in Berlin and Amsterdam has found three main factors corresponding with social, cultural, and economic integration which affect sense of belonging. The first is maintaining diverse social relationships, both meaningful and incidental, with other migrants and with natives. The second factor is proficiency in the majority language and familiarity with the dominant culture. The third is attaining a satisfying economic level of life and trust in social systems. These first two factors greatly affect feelings of inclusion, and to a lesser extent a sense of security and stability. The third economic factor shapes one’s sense of security and stability. Among these factors, the study also highlights the role of contextual factors which can hinder or facilitate migrants’ belonging through community, culture, and space. These factors are attitudes of the host society, cultural differences between migrants and host society, and the characteristics of a particular city such as opportunities to participate in the city’s cultural and social life, as well as its cultural and ethnic diversity, migration history, and structure.

Previous research mostly concerns issues related to integration, sense of belonging (Yuval-Davis 2006) or identification (De Vroome and Verkuyten 2014), analysing the impact of particular cultural or social factors like relationships among migrants and natives (Valentine 2008; Wessendorf and Phillimore 2019). Researchers rarely focus on the subjective dimension of integration related to the emotions experienced by migrants in various spheres of life. In this study, I look at sense of belonging in a broader way, taking into account feelings of inclusion, identification and sense of safety and stability and relate them to a sense of integration.

The results of this study are in line with previous research, mainly quantitative, which proved socio-cultural factors like language proficiency, familiarity with host culture, and diverse relationships with other migrants and natives to be important conditions for developing a sense of belonging and identification (Constant, Kahanec, and Zimmermann 2008; De Vroome, Verkuyten, and Martinovic 2014; Djundeva and Ellwardt 2020). The absence of place-belongingness causes a sense of loneliness and alienation (Antonsich 2010). There is also a growing body of research pointing to the crucial role of contextual factors in migrants’ integration and sense of belonging (Castañeda 2018; Foner et al. 2014). The current study points to the role of the city context as an obstacle or a facilitator in the development of a sense of belonging. For example, economic factors like having a stable and well-paid job without the reinforcement of appropriate contextual factors, like a friendly atmosphere at work and having friends in the office, are not enough to build belonging. Castañeda (2018) came to similar conclusions when researching belonging of migrants as well. Better economic status does not necessarily equate to the sense of belonging of migrants. Poles in Berlin had more extensive and diverse social networks and were more familiar with German culture than Poles in Amsterdam were with Dutch culture, while the economic situation was better among Poles in Amsterdam. Poles in Berlin expressed stronger emotional bonds with the city than Poles in Amsterdam, while feelings of safety concerning economic position and trust in societal institutions was similarly strong in both cities.

The decisive factor for interlocutors’ sense of belonging in both cities proved to be the sum of contextual aspects. The example of Poles in Amsterdam demonstrated that despite integration efforts on the social level, migrants felt rejected by the majority members. In Berlin on the other hand, natives’ attitudes are perceived as open to migrants, reinforcing the sense of inclusion in this city. Cultural differences, difficulties with learning Dutch, and the attitude of the Dutch turned out to be obstacles on the way to successful subjective integration among Poles in Amsterdam. Contextual factors like attitudes towards migrants, the dominant culture, and city characteristics can be influenced by migrants to a limited extent, and it is a time-consuming process which can last over generations. My interlocutors, despite being white Europeans of relatively high socioeconomic status, which makes them a more privileged group of migrants than the more numerous minorities in Berlin or Amsterdam, still have limited influence on these contextual factors.

It is critical to further investigate how integration is experienced by migrants and the contextual factors which stimulate or hamper it. When these aspects are neglected, integration becomes an uneven concept that diminishes the psycho-social needs of migrants. Better understanding of migrants’ experiences and feelings provides a more complete picture of their life conditions. I argue that sense of belonging is crucial for the success of the entire process of integration of migrants, and it thus needs to be thoroughly analysed. Enriched with this knowledge, we could create a better migration policies and cities friendly to all residents.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the project team as well as members of the CMR’s Socio-Cultural Research Unit for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre (NCN) under Grant Opus 10 project number 2015/19/B/HS4/00364 [The impact of wealth formation by economic migrants on their mobility and integration: Polish migrants in countries of the European Community and Australia].