“I have already imagined my life elsewhere” : a bottom-up perspective on youth outmigration

Abstract

<div lang="en" class="abs"><p class="abs_header">Abstract</p><p>Youth outmigration is a topical issue that underpins the transformation of sparsely populated regions worldwide. Leaving the home region and migrating to urban areas has become a compelling discourse, sometimes an unquestioned path, among young people in many post-industrial countries, including Finland. This chapter provides a bottom-up perspective on outmigration through the insights of young people in rural northern Finland and discusses regional sustainability perspectives linked to young people’s mobility. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and 23 qualitative interviews with 15–16-year-old youths, it is shown how young people negotiate their mobility based not only on structural possibilities like education but also with respect to how they position themselves in the local communities and construct their sense of (not) belonging. This chapter highlights the importance of understanding young people’s experiences and agency in the context of rural depopulation.</p></div>