Lifestyle migrants in Datça

Official URL: https://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b2486490_(Table of contents)

In this thesis, I take a generational perspective towards lifestyle migration to understand the current internal migration flow among the post-80s generation from big cities to Datça, a coastal/seasonal town located in the Aegean region in Turkey. Taking “lifestyle migrants” as a generational unit according to Mannheim’s terminology, I first describe the reasons and motivations for the post-80s generation to decide to migrate to Datça, arguing that the decision to leave big cities is not a random choice and should be understood as a response to their experience with and relationship to the modern in Turkey. I then transition to acclimatization processes and means of subsistence in Datça, and I argue that living in Datça requires establishment of symbolic and social boundaries, regulation of social relationships, and composition of social, symbolic, and economic capitals. Finally, I conclude by analyzing the gentrification and personal change aspects of these migrants’ narratives, and I argue that lifestyle migrants are critical of the gentrification processes in Datça, and that they perceive Datça as a place to learn