Living the Dream?

1
Living the Dream?

• Child Migrants
• Experiences of Rurality
• Naomi Bushin
• University College Cork

2
Pattern of Child Migration
Gain
No Change
Loss
Figure 1 1 to 15 year olds internal migration
figures for LAs in England and Wales (Census
2001).
3
For the Sake of the Children?

• Parallels between rural idyll and childhood.
• Countryside as an appropriate family
  environment means that more people are choosing
  to leave the city for the countryside (Valentine
  2000).
• Deconstructing the notion that families move to
  the countryside for the sake of the children
  many motivations and what are childrens
  experiences?

4
Methodology

• Contacted families through primary and secondary
  schools, posters in youth clubs and churches,
  letters in newspapers.
• In-depth qualitative interviews, 1.5 to 4.5
  hours, with parents and young people
• 37 families
• 72 young people aged between 5 and 18.
• Interviews with nine community leaders working
  with young people/families across Devon.

5
Primary Motivations for Migrations

• 4 broad categories
• Lifestyle factors 22 families
• Employment 9 families
• Family fragmentation 5 families
• For the sake of the children 3 families

6
Reality of Rural Living?

• Increased parental anxiety over childrens
  safety, leading to a reduction in childrens
  range from the home in rural areas (Valentine
  1997).
• Rural spaces where children can play away from
  the adult gaze is being encroached upon by other
  rural land users (Matthews 1999).
• The restraints of rural living for some young
  people results in their oppression (Valentine
  2000).
• Teenagers living in rural areas may be
  marginalized in their rural communities (Matthews
  et. al 2000 Jones 1999).

7
Isolation

• NVB So is there anything you miss?
• Patsy Ummnot being able to get out so much on
  the
• weekends. I still go out but not as much as I
  used to. I
• used to go out with my friends to the cinema but
  I
• havent been once since I moved here. Im
  used to
• jumping on a bus and being there in 20 minutes,
  you
• know. I cant get out of here at the weekends as
  much.
• Dad We would always take you. But the thing is
  you
• wouldnt want me to take you.
• Patsy No, cos youd make a prat of yourself!
  Theres
• just nothing to do in the villageapart from
  going and
• sitting in the park and getting cold.

8
Isolation

• Jane If you havent got parents who are willing
  to
• run you around everywhere then you really are
  stuck!
• The school bus drops you off, thats it. You
  cant go
• anywhere until Monday morning when the bus comes
• to pick you back up again. We have to get on and
• make our own entertainment, cope with things on
  our
• own.
• Clare Its annoying cos before I could walk to
  the
• station from our old house so I could get on the
  train
• and go shopping and stuffround here we all rely
  on
• our parentsthere are only two buses a week you
  see.

9
Activities

• Ben There never used to be
• like youth clubs and leisure
• centres right by where we
• used to live. I mean there
• were but we couldnt get to
• them on our own.
• Rebecca There were but it
• wasnt safe to go by
• ourselves but this one is just
• at the bottom of the town and
• so we can all walk down
• there altogether.

10
Activities

• NVB So what sort of things do
• you do?
• Jacob Just go to the skate
• park and stuff.
• NVB Oh right.
• Jacob Or to the dirt track for
• the bikes and thats quite good
• as well. And then we just go to
• the shops sometimes. Or hang
• about outside the fish and chip
• shop.

11
Parents Views

• NVB Are there many teenagers
• here?
• Mum You dont see many.
• Dad No, we dont.
• Mum Im not sure what they do.
• NVB Theres no youth clubs?
• Mum No. I mean when ours get
• to that age I dont know what
• theyll do.
• Mum Theres lots to do for
• younger children but not a lot for
• teenagers, thats why we chose
• a small town rather than a
• village.

12
Outside Space

• Freedom and fresh air
• NVB What sort of thing do you do now that you
  didnt
• before?
• James Were outside more I guess. I do more
  things
• outside like climbing and walking a stuff.
• NVB Do you like living here?
• Chris Yes, definitely. Ive got much more space.
  Also,
• down at the bottom of the field theres a wood
  and a
• stream going through it so when my friends come
  over I
• do survival and lots of different things like
  that.
• But

13
Contested Space Inside and Out

• Kate We go to the football club but its not
  open
• everyday and sometimes they chuck us out for
  being too
• noisy. Every time the police come round we say
  Where
• do you want us to go? and they say Were trying
  for
• you. But nothing ever happens. The people that
  come
• out and tell us to move on a usually quite
  reasonable
• apart from the man who comes out with his cricket
  bat!
• They do say they're trying to get things. Its
  not really
• fair cos the little kids never get told off and
  they play ball
• games on this little grassy bit where it says no
  ball
• games and when we go and play ball games there
  they
• call the police on us.

14
Contested Space Inside

• NVB So how would you
• describe living here?
• James Its like an idyllic village
• really.
• Alex Theres a post office and
• a pub with pool. Although the
• landlords not very happy with
• us at the moment because we
• go in get a glass of coke and
• then take up the pool table for
• the next ten hours!

15
Youth Cafés
16
Skate Parks
Police Station
Skate Park
17
Teen Shelters
18
Country Childhood Idea

• Mum I wanted the children to enjoy their
  childhood. I
• wont say things are any less dangerous here than
  they
• are in Kent but obviously you dont have to
  contend with
• traffic and I never liked the children going out
  because I
• was worried that something was going to happen to
  
• them, so they were restricted. But here they can
  just go
• up into the fields and at least I know they are
  relatively
• safe here so thats comforting. I think times
  have
• changed so much now that they dont seem to have
  a
• childhood. Theres so much pressure put on them
  that I
• thought, well, lets take a step back from it and
  let them
• enjoy life while they can.

19
Keep Dreaming?

• Lifestyle for parents, impact for children not
  always thought through
• Only two buses a week isolation and lack of
  transport
• Nowhere to go contested spaces
• Community-led provision