What is it about?

This chapter examines how people decide to move abroad in search of a different or better way of life. Rather than focusing only on economic opportunities or practical considerations, it explores the powerful role of imaginaries: socially shared ideas, dreams, images and stories about what life might be like elsewhere. Drawing on ethnographic research among Belgian lifestyle migrants living in Tanzania and Chile, the chapter shows how migration is often motivated by hopes for self-realization, personal transformation and a more meaningful existence. However, migrants frequently discover that reality does not match their expectations. The study argues that migration is not a single event but an ongoing process of "becoming," shaped by aspirations, social inequalities, opportunities and unexpected challenges. By examining both successful and difficult migration experiences, the chapter demonstrates how people's visions of a better life influence where they go, how they settle, and how they make sense of their journeys.

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Why is it important?

This chapter makes a distinctive contribution by showing that migration is driven not only by material factors but also by powerful cultural imaginaries. While research on lifestyle migration often emphasizes personal choice and lifestyle preferences, this study reveals how individual dreams are embedded within broader social narratives that celebrate mobility, self-discovery and transformation. The chapter also challenges overly romantic views of lifestyle migration by examining uncertainty, disappointment and even failure. Through detailed life histories from Tanzania and Chile, it demonstrates that aspirations for a better life do not always lead to the outcomes migrants imagine. At a time when mobility is increasingly celebrated as a route to personal fulfillment, the chapter offers an important reminder that migration involves risks, inequalities and constraints, as well as opportunities. Its focus on the relationship between imagination and mobility remains highly relevant for contemporary debates about migration, globalization and social aspiration.

Perspectives

From my perspective, this chapter represents an effort to place imagination at the center of migration studies. Too often, migration is explained through economic indicators, policy frameworks or demographic trends alone. While these factors matter, they do not fully explain why people become attached to particular destinations or why they believe that moving elsewhere will improve their lives. I was interested in understanding how collective visions of "elsewhere" shape personal decisions and how migrants negotiate the gap between imagined futures and lived realities. The stories of the Belgian migrants in Tanzania and Chile illustrate that mobility is a deeply human endeavor, driven by hope, desire and the search for meaning. At the same time, they remind us that migration is never entirely a matter of free choice. People's aspirations are always shaped by social structures, unequal opportunities and culturally circulating ideas about what constitutes a good life.

Professor Noel B. Salazar
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

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This page is a summary of: Migrating Imaginaries of a Better Life … Until Paradise Finds You, January 2014, Nature,
DOI: 10.1057/9781137328670_6.
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