Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe - Multiple Choices

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Migration through Gender, Age and Class Perspectives
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44
Yet, because of their work and financial situation, they
cannot afford to participate in local events to the degree to
which the elderly Germans do and consume personal care
services only rarely. On the other hand, the nature of their
work makes them look for customers among either foreigners
living in Hungary or other non-Hungarians living abroad.
In this way, they are often more integrated with the foreign
population in the region than the elderly group.
Another point of divergence between the experiences
of retirees and labour migrants arises from the way
that locals perceive them. Compared to many labour
migrants, the retirees are not seen as a threat to the saturated
labour market. On the contrary, German retirees are often
welcomed as potential employers, since they usually
employ local people for renovation, maintenance work or
gardening. In this respect, the experiences of the middle-aged
German migrants are rather similar to their elderly mates.
Although the local youth face serious unemployment in
the region, they usually do not perceive the middle-aged
German settlers to be endangering their position. In fact,
the work of the self employed Germans fills in a gap
in local services (i.e. responding to the needs of the new
foreign population). For example, in smaller towns or villages
hardly any services or information are available in foreign
languages.
Language is reported to pose the greatest difficulty
in the lives of the new settlers, as none of my interviewees
spoke Hungarian, and only a few people among the local
Hungarians speak a foreign language. This poses difficulties
especially in relation to administrative issues, as an elderly
informant explained:
It's really hard to learn about our rights, or get
anything administrative arranged. One has to go after
everything to learn about our rights and possibilities.
But the language is the biggest problem, people do
not speak German. Not even in offices. So I usually
ask P. who is a Hungarian who speaks German, to
come with me and help, when I need to settle some
administrative matter.
Although many elderly Germans try to learn
Hungarian, it proves to be difficult at their advanced age.
The situation is similar for the middle-aged; their
Hungarian also remains at a very basic level because they
usually only have contact with other foreigners.
Another problem that arises from the specific age
structure of the migrants is the possible worsening of their
health or the death of a spouse. German migrants are
setting up new homes a long distance away from their
relatives; this makes regular care by their children hard
or even impossible. Although none of my informants
reported a worsening of their health condition, I have been
told of several cases in which a person's spouse had died
during their residence in Hungary. In each case, the
widow/er remained in Hungary in spite of the obvious
difficulties that accompany living alone in a foreign country
at an older age, where language problems severely limit the
number of people with whom one can communicate. One
possible reason for this is that the large amount of money
that the foreigners have invested in the renovation of their
Hungarian homes, which could not be converted back to
cash without a large loss of investment due to low housing
prices in the small villages. As an informant whose spouse
died two years ago put it:
No, I did not think about going back. Here is this
big house, fully equipped. I have friends here, my
neighbours are good, and I have my husband buried
here. And what would be there for me in Germany?!
I could not obtain a house there from my money.
The social status of the migrants appears to be connected
to the age structure. The elderly receive a constant high
income, and can therefore have a more affluent lifestyle
than the younger self-employed people. Due to the relocation
of their practices, the German elderly migrants actually
experience a considerable increase in their social status.
They were previously part of an extensive lower middle
class in Germany and most were unable to own a flat or
a house. But in their new living environment, they appear
as well-established wealthy people who can afford to buy
almost anything. They own large houses, which are fully
equipped and luxuriously renovated, and they consume
goods and services that most locals can rarely afford.
Thus, they experience a considerable increase
in status when compared with their previous situation,
and this new status is quite high in comparison with most
locals. Such a difference in social status is also apparent
in terms of housing and lifestyle. German migrants live in
luxurious houses, which stand out among the homes of
the locals, which tend to be in a very bad condition. The
younger locals are often unemployed and live off social
assistance. The local elderly also live a much more modest
life compared to their German counterparts. This can be
best demonstrated by the difference in the amount of their
pensions. While the minimum pension in Germany is six
hundred Euros, in Hungary it is only around two hundred.
This enormous difference in income often leads to a negative
perception of new settlers by local inhabitants, who
often perceive the foreigners as showing off and as being
inconsiderate because they can afford to pay for anything.
In this respect, the social status of the German selfemployed
people is much nearer to that of the locals. They
do not have money for luxurious houses and live similar
lifestyles to the local people of their age.
Migration Processes in Central and Eastern Europe: Unpacking the Diversity