Retirement Migrants and Dependency: Caring for Sun Seekers

This book tells the story of what happens when the “adventure” of living in Spain turns complicated due to the emergence of care needs derived from loss of autonomy. This book tells the story of what happens when the “adventure” of living in Spain turns complicated due to the emergence of care needs derived from loss of autonomy. It investigates the care strategies of retirement migrants that must navigate a foreign welfare system and a different “culture of care”, and how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the difficulties they experience accessing care services and information. The book condenses the results of a 4-year (2019-2022) research project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science under the title “Retirement migration and the Social Services” and applies a mixed methods approach that combined statistical analysis of secondary data; telephonic interviews with the coordinators of Social Services in more than 80 Spanish municipalities with a high presence of retirement migrants; ethnographic case studies in four municipalities (observation, interviews, focus groups); and an online survey with social workers. Inés Calzada is Associate Professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.