PhD thesis final - Royal Holloway, University of London

Chapter 4- Home, domesticity and belongingfamiliarity and security, but such familiarity also makes them feel that their lifestyle inTaiwan is continued and re-emplaced.However, there are also Taiwanese expatriates who are not overly concerned and putless effort into transferring their possessions to their new dwellings in China, but simplyrelocating with some necessary items, as Fred‘s experience exemplified:I agree that certain objects or a piece of furniture [brought from Taiwan] to decorate theflat may make it look better and make home a more enjoyable and warm place. I didn‘t dothat; I came here with a suitcase full of my clothes and some daily supplies. I don‘t havemuch stuff because what I think is, one day, I will be assigned to other sites and when ithappens, I don‘t want to be bothered again with moving a lot of stuff. Also, if I have a lotof stuff, what should I do when I have to move? Bring them with me to anywhere, ortransport them back to Taiwan? Both are not good solutions, I just cannot throw them awaybecause they mean something to me.(Fred, a single production management section manager living insuburban Shanghai for 3 years, in his 30s)Such practical thinking was shared by some of the employed respondents, as theyexplained that, as Fred‘s extract shows, it is unwise and laborious to relocate with toomany household possessions to each post because IT people‘s career lives (just like theindustry itself) are full of variables and are so fast-changing that they never know whereand when they may have to leave to go to another site. The transient nature of their postand changing career trajectory had caused many of my respondents to apply a strategyto be like ‗mobile people‘ (Jim, a single male department manager relocated to Kunshantwo years ago, in his early 40s) who are able to ‗create a home anywhere‘ (Casper, an122