“Finding home”: Affective geographies of regional youth (im)mobilities

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to contribute to a growing body of literature that explores the affective geographies of young people’s internal migration decisions using mobilities/immobilities as our conceptual framework. As such, our focus is not only on why young people choose to leave their hometowns but also why some choose to stay. By paying attention to young people’s experiences of being away, we also shed light on why some young people choose to return to regional areas having left for a time. In emphasising the affective, material, and embodied dimensions of these experiences, the affordances of rural and urban places are also brought to light. Fifty young people aged between 18 and 34 year..