The immigration of Italians to Valencia: Beyond economic migration

Abstract

This article presents a study on the immigration of Italians to the city of Valencia over the last decade. The main objectives of the study were to analyze the demographic composition and the motivations of displacement. The study has been carried out with a mix-method including statistic data analysis, digital ethnography and in-depth interviews. The results indicate that this is a migratory flow composed of young adults, alone and with parenting families. The causes of migration are not strictly economic, but related to the search for a better quality of life, in which elements such as the possibility of having more and better public services (health, education, transport, etc.) and a stricter respect for the rules that regulate coexistence stand out. The main conclusion is that classic migration theories are not able to explain this emerging flow.