A-12/15 Moving to the countryside? The case of second home users in Norway
Different forms of rural mobilities, such as everyday travels, commuting practices, business trips, tourism, and short- and long-term migrations, have emerged as a key topic in rural studies. The article discusses the views of second home users in Norway concerning long-term migration to their second home locality as permanent residents. Analysis of large-scale, quantitative material that constitutes a statistical representation of the Norwegian second home population reveals that a preference for translating circular recreational mobility (the use of second homes) into permanent and long-term migration (residency) is widespread among second home users. Further analysis suggests that such rural migration preferences are related more to actors’ everyday life challenges than to amenity and quality-of-life motivations. As a consequence of these findings, the author suggests that rural municipalities attempting to attract second home users into becoming permanent residents need to reorient their policies. Norsk geografisk Tidsskrift – Norwegian Journal of Geography. DOI: 10.1080/00291951.2015.1040832