In search of a good life: Class, consumption and gated communities in lifestyle migration in Asia

Abstract

Much has been written about 'lifestyle migration' and flexible citizenship in the West, where mobile individuals have been characterised as relatively affluent individuals, international retirement migrants, second homeowners, or as residential tourists. In contrast, our ESRC/HK Research Grants Council funded project explores the emerging trend of lifestyle migration where people move from developed economies to less developed economies in East Asia (Malaysia, Thailand, China), for leisured or other non-permanent forms of migration. This paper considers some of our preliminary findings on cross-border lifestyle migration between Hong Kong and mainland China under the current 'one country, two systems' regime. One of the distinctive characteristics of lifestyle migration in China is the rapid expansion of residential tourism where flagship projects of high-end gated communities have been aggressively promoted by property developers. These mega-projects of exclusive housing compounds exemplify the ways in which the private sector, lifestyle migrants and local residents have imagined, prod...