From City to Village

Migration Motivations and Lifestyles of Young Graduates in the Northern Great Plain Region

Abstract

This study examines the migration motivations and lifestyle characteristics of young graduates moving to rural villages in the Northern Great Plain region of Hungary. It aims to explore how lifestyle, value orientations, and identity-related factors shape residential decisions beyond classical economic explanations. The empirical analysis is based on 45 semi- structured interviews conducted with degree-holding individuals under the age of 40. The findings suggest that choosing a rural place of residence is a complex decision-making process in which lifestyle functions as a key integrative dimension. Four ideal-typical groups are identified: the locally attached, the familists, the lifestyle migrants, and the arrived. These groups differ in their social backgrounds, value systems, and life strategies, highlighting that rural space carries diverse meanings for young graduates. The results contribute to refining theories of amenity and lifestyle migration by demonstrating that rural relocation is not solely driven by economic rationality, but is closely linked to the redefinition of quality of life, place attachment, and individual life strategies. The study advances the understanding of counter-urbanization processes and underscores the importance of incorporating lifestyle into migration research.