To Go or To Stay? The Motivation Behind Immobility in A Hungarian Micro-Region

Abstract

While the motivations behind rural mobility have been extensively studied, the factors determining immobility are less discussed. In this study, we applied a quantitative and qualitative methodology built on a theoretical framework based on the literature to analyse primary and secondary data to answer the following question: What factors play a primary role in someone from a relatively disadvantaged rural area deciding in favour of immobility? Our results showed that those who remained in the region surveyed had the resources to build a life elsewhere, but family ties, property, or the fact that the way of life they desired in the city could not be realised bound them to their homeland.

Keywords

• rural immobility
• social network
• quantitative and qualitative (mixed) research methods
• hungary