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In Search of a Place Like Me: Making Sense of Character, Boundaries and Later-Life Mobility Pathways in Southeast Asia

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Retirement Migration to the Global South
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Abstract

Paul Green draws on longitudinal research involving later-life foreigners based in Penang, Malaysia, and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, and examines self, mobility and place-making processes through the conceptual lens of character, providing an analytical framework for understanding how individuals make sense of and build rich, diverse and shifting connections between self and place. Understanding character on these dialogic terms he draws attention to the theoretical, historical and social relevance of boundaries, which provide a basis to make sense of how and in what ways later-life foreigners build and value relations across self, other and otherness in lifestyle destinations. He suggests that conceptual framing of self, place and boundaries is crucial as it illustrates how character-driven mobility choices impact in variable ways, across time and in place, on experiences and perceptions of ageing, health and belonging.

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Green, P. (2022). In Search of a Place Like Me: Making Sense of Character, Boundaries and Later-Life Mobility Pathways in Southeast Asia. In: Schweppe, C. (eds) Retirement Migration to the Global South. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6999-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6999-6_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

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