What comes after voicing: understanding the drivers of immobility and strategies for coping with a dissatisfying status quo

Existing literature often conceptualises emigration as a response to dissatisfaction with the societal status quo, particularly when attempts to voice change are perceived as ineffective. Yet, even under conditions of dissatisfaction and increasing feasibility of movement, the majority of people do not migrate. This raises a fundamental but relatively underexplored question of why people stay, highlighting the need to advance and refine our conceptualisation of immobility. Our study provides insights into this question by drawing on post-2019 Hong Kong. We conducted in-depth interviews with 24 adult Hong Kong residents who participated in the 2019 social movement (a manifestation of dissatisfaction) but remained in the city five years after the event. We examine their drivers of immobility and strategies for coping with a dissatisfying status quo. Low readiness due to personal accumulated investments and strained financial circumstances emerged as key drivers of involuntary immobility. Voluntary immobility was driven by factors including perceived economic opportunities and embeddedness in the home context, concerns about language barriers and discrimination at potential destinations, and not yet having started a family. These observations suggest that migration intentions are not static. We also identified responses to dissatisfaction beyond physical departure (i.e. emigration). Neglect and goal adjustment were observed among involuntary stayers, while compliance was observed among voluntary stayers. We discussed their implications to the literature.