Networks among retired British Women in the Costa Blanca :
insiders, outsiders, ‘club capital’ and ‘limited liability'

Ahmed, AAI

Abstract

Much has been written on the subject of Intra-European retirement migration spanning a range of disciplines
including social policy, sociology, geography, migration studies, tourism, social gerontology, sociology and
anthropology. Such movement — predominantly from northern to southern Europe — has largely been attributed to
increased life expectancy, early retirement, greater affluence and previous tourism experiences. Historically,
migration to Spain centred on the Costa del Sol and more recently the Costa Blanca; the Spanish Costas remain
popular destinations for British retirees. This area is populated by large numbers of migrants who have retired, often
early, and bought ‘a place in the sun’. Focusing on retired British migrants in new social and cultural contexts, I
explore how a degree of superficiality or ‘sense of belonging’ to networks is sufficient to enable retirees to thrive in
their new country. Although bonding social capital is often associated with migrant populations, I highlight how
retired British women utilize ‘club capital’ — denoting looser, superficial linkages — and how their social networks
are characterized by ‘limited liability’. Adopting a structural narrative approach, I examine how retired migrants
from the UK to Spain pursue their interests and on what premises

Citation

insiders, outsiders, ‘club capital’ and ‘limited liability'. Urbanities - Journal of Urban Ethnography, 2(2), 95-112

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Deposit Date: Jan 8, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 8, 2013
• Journal: Urbanities
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 95-112
• Publisher URL: http://www.anthrojournal-urbanities.com/docs/urbanities_n3.pdf
• Related Public URLs: http://www.anthrojournal-urbanities.com/index.html