Then and Now: Romanian Returnees Contemplating Future Migration

Despite the emerging consensus that return does not necessarily bring an end to mobility, returnees’ future migration aspirations have received limited attention. Our article contributes to this under-researched area by examining how return migrants view future migration, based on 97 in-depth interviews with Romanian returnees from four European countries. We focus on young, working-age returnees, who are nevertheless well settled in their work and domestic lives. Comparisons between “then” and “now” are at the heart of participants’ reflections and draw attention to two temporal dimensions that become entangled in their future mobility considerations: prior migration experience, and life-course transformations. We show how returnees’ experiences of difficult and precarious work conditions, marginalization, and social isolation abroad, place important limits on migrating again, and generate specific parameters for future mobility, in conjunction with present family commitments and life-stage norms and aspirations. Future migration is thus often conditioned on preserving family unity and “decent” work opportunities, which reflect one's skills but also protect one's economic stability and wellbeing. The findings advance understanding of return and migration aspirations more broadly. Contrary to common assumptions, they show that prior migration experience does not simply facilitate but can also temper and recalibrate future migration aspirations, in conjunction with life-stage considerations. The findings additionally enrich the understanding of intra-European mobility dynamics, bringing in returnees’ perspectives, and revealing important temporal limits to European free mobility.