——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— <strong>Migration</strong> through Gender, Age <strong>and</strong> Class Perspectives ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— F<strong>in</strong>ally, it is important to underl<strong>in</strong>e the differences <strong>in</strong> dest<strong>in</strong>ations, targeted by elderly German migrants. Tuscany, the coastal regions of France or Majorca have been, for some decades, the popular dest<strong>in</strong>ations of the more affluent among the Western elderly. However some post-communist countries seem to have emerged as preferable targets of the less well off <strong>in</strong> these societies. While the more well-to-do German elderly can choose to settle on the Mediterranean coast, the lower middle-class Germans can only afford to settle <strong>in</strong> Hungary or other countries with similar economic conditions, where the hous<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> liv<strong>in</strong>g costs are still considerably lower than <strong>in</strong> Spa<strong>in</strong> or Italy. Alex<strong>and</strong>ra Szõke The author graduated <strong>in</strong> cultural anthropology at the University of Miskolc, <strong>and</strong> obta<strong>in</strong>ed an MA degree at <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Europe</strong>an University <strong>in</strong> Budapest, Department of Sociology <strong>and</strong> Social Anthropology where she is now pursu<strong>in</strong>g her PhD deal<strong>in</strong>g with issues of development <strong>and</strong> the potential of rural localities for rejuvenation <strong>in</strong> Hungary. She can be contacted at: xale@freemail.hu. CONCLUSION It appears that the recent settlement of Germans <strong>in</strong> south-western Hungary differs significantly from other more widely discussed migratory forms (i.e. labour migration). The factors that have contributed to its recent emergence are qualitatively different from those that <strong>in</strong>duce labour flows. Moreover, the specific age structure <strong>and</strong> social status of the German migrants greatly <strong>in</strong>fluence their practices <strong>and</strong> experiences, which <strong>in</strong>evitably differ <strong>in</strong> comparison to labour migrants <strong>in</strong> general. Furthermore, differences of age <strong>and</strong> status result <strong>in</strong> a significant variety of situations <strong>and</strong> practices <strong>in</strong> which German migrants f<strong>in</strong>d themselves. I suggest that migration studies should pay more attention to these difference-produc<strong>in</strong>g factors, so that they can better underst<strong>and</strong> new forms of mobility. FURTHER LITERATURE ABOUT THE TOPIC •• K<strong>in</strong>g, R., Warnes, A. M. <strong>and</strong> A. M. Williams (1998). International retirement migration <strong>in</strong> <strong>Europe</strong>. International Journal of Population Geography, 4, 91-112. •• Truly, D. (2002). International retirement migration <strong>and</strong> tourism along the Lake Chapala Riviera: Develop<strong>in</strong>g a matrix of retirement migration behaviour. Tourism Geographies, 4, 261-281. •• Williams, A. M. et al. (2000). Tourism <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational retirement migration: New forms of <strong>and</strong> old relationship <strong>in</strong> southern <strong>Europe</strong>. Tourism Geographies, 2, 28-49. 45 1 Names of the <strong>in</strong>formants have been changed. 2 This group is important because ethnic Germans used to be a significant ethnic m<strong>in</strong>ority before the forced displacements <strong>in</strong> 1946-47 <strong>in</strong> Hungary. Recently, many of their descendants have returned to Hungary, apparently display<strong>in</strong>g a different migratory form that can be termed 'ethnic migration'. <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Processes</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Central</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong>: Unpack<strong>in</strong>g the Diversity
03 Refugees <strong>in</strong> <strong>Central</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong> 46 <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Processes</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Central</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong>: Unpack<strong>in</strong>g the Diversity