Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe - Multiple Choices

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Migration through Gender, Age and Class Perspectives
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Most of my elderly informants are couples. Only
a small number of them live alone, usually due to divorce
or the death of a spouse. The middle-aged informants are
mostly single and have never been married. Although there
are some exceptions, my respondents tended to be middleclass
or lower middle-class people. They were often house
painters, nurses, public officers, or accountants. While all
the middle-aged work with computers as self-employed people
in Hungary, the retired elderly informants do not hold any
post-retirement jobs. There are also a small number of artisans
who recruit customers living in Germany, Hungary, and
other nearby countries. The majority of the migrants come
from large cities like Munich, and they tended to settle in
smaller villages and towns of the hilly area in Somogy.
THE NEW MIGRATORY PATTERN AND THE
CHANGING EUROPEAN CONTEXT
The last few decades have brought numerous
significant changes in Europe, which affected recent migratory
patterns between Germany and Hungary. The disintegration
of the communist bloc by the beginning of the 1990s and the
present integration of several Central European states
(among them, Hungary) into the European Union (EU) has
given rise to an altered institutional context. The political
change of 1989 made it possible for foreigners to purchase
homes in Hungary. The recent alignment with EU policy has
further facilitated the settlement of EU citizens in the country.
Within this legal framework, the new settlers are able to manage
their practices between their German and Hungarian residences;
it allows them to obtain medical, financial, leisure, as well as
other commodities and services in both places.
While recent changes in the institutional framework
have created the objective possibility for the relocation of the
new settlers, economic factors appear to be similarly important.
Although the German welfare system was thought of as one
of the most generous during the first half of the twentieth
century, economic changes of recent decades have led to
a set of 'sweeping reforms'. These reforms concern retirees,
the unemployed and self-employed people the most. In such
a context, the relocation of practices between Germany and
Hungary became, for certain groups of Germans, a strategy
to maximise consumption.
Thus, they receive their proper welfare assistance
from Germany, which they spend in a place where prices
are relatively lower. Because of their German pension, they
can afford more types of goods and commodities in
Hungary than they could in Germany. They can also receive
types of services (medical, recreational, leisure, etc.) that
they hold to be important for retaining a certain quality of
life, which have become endangered by the German welfare
reforms. Moreover, they are able to obtain their own luxurious
house, which they could hardly dream of in Germany. As
one of the informants explained:
Look! Here I can have a huge family house, which is
mine, and which I could rebuild the way I wished to.
In Germany, this would have been impossible. There,
I could only rent a flat. I would have never been able
to afford such a house there. Also it costs much less
to sustain such a house, the heating, the water,
everything costs a lot cheaper here.
What makes this settlement strategy an attractive
alternative for certain Germans is that the institutional and
legal frameworks provide the possibility for them to acquire
services and goods in both places.
Nevertheless, these economic considerations
have an importance only in relation to the dominant attitudes
and ideas of Western post-industrial societies, which
encourage the consumption of certain goods and services
as part of a particular life-style. Attitudes toward old age
have changed significantly in recent decades. It is now
perceived as an active 'golden age' in which one can enjoy
activities and fulfil dreams that were unattainable earlier in
one's life. Moreover, leisure activities such as recreation
and health resorts have recently become highly valued by
all generations, including the elderly. As a consequence
of these changes in values and dominant attitudes that
are inextricably linked to the ideas of welfare in Western
societies, the regular use of health care, recreation and
other leisure services have come to be seen as central for
the attainment of a high standard of living. Such changes
have triggered new forms of mobility, like international
retirement migration or counter-urbanisation.
PRACTICES AND EXPERIENCES
OF THE GERMAN MIGRANTS
The most apparent aspect regarding the age
structure of the migrants is that the majority are retired
elderly. They receive a monthly pension that is outstandingly
high by local standards. This secure source of income
coupled with their relatively good health affords them greater
independence from local conditions, when compared with
those enjoyed by labour migrants. Possessing an unconstrained
amount of free time and a relatively high income,
they are able to pursue numerous leisure and recreation
activities. Most of my informants reported going to thermal
baths several times a month for various types of body care
and recreation. They often participate in cultural events and
take trips in the region. Thus, they seem to pursue an
amenity-led life that resembles tourism in many ways.
In contrast, the situation of the middle-aged
migrants is somewhat different. Although they also receive
some social assistance (for up to two years) from Germany,
they usually spend it on the renovation of their house. They
keep their self-employed status, finding it much easier to
pursue work in Hungary than in their former place of living.
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Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe: Unpacking the Diversity