Hunting a ‘good life’:young lifestyle migrants in Finnish Lapland

• Published in: Polar Geography
• Main Author: Adams, Ria-Maria
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Lifestyle Migration; Finnish Lapland; adventure tourism; Arctic Youth; Wellbeing; Arctic immigration; youth well-being; /dk/atira/pure/person/fieldofscience2010/5/14/4; name=Social and Culture Antropology; Arctic; Polar Geography; Lapland
• Online Access: https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/603ad3e3-0164-487f-90c8-d3f282dfcce9; https://doi.org/10.1080/1088937X.2023.2182383; https://lacris.ulapland.fi/ws/files/36832558/Hunting_a_good_life_young_lifestyle_migrants_in_Finnish_Lapland.pdf; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149042050&partnerID=8YFLogxK; http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85149042050&partnerID=8YFLogxK

This article focuses on young lifestyle migrants in Arctic Finland, individuals who can be described as active agents of their own fate in having made a conscious choice to move to a place they consider worth living in. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research, the study brings to light newcomers’ motivations for migrating to a geographically remote area and discusses structural conditions that support the process of moving to Finnish Lapland. The search for personal wellbeing and a desire to construct “authentic” lifestyles in rural environments emerged as driving factors for young people who consider moving to the Arctic. While access to nature and nature-based leisure activities proved to be the most attractive feature of the region, opportunities to work in the tourism industry, well-connected transport infrastructures and educational opportunities also figured significantly in the migrants’ decisions. Social media channels play a pivotal role as a platform promoting their lifestyle. In engaging regularly with young people who have moved to the Arctic, where they pursue their chosen lifestyle in a harsh climate with high living costs, the research challenges the prevailing argument in the lifestyle migration debate whereby middle-class people move to places with lower living costs and sunny climates.