HOMECOMING OR ADVENTURE? MOTIVATIONS OF POLISH RETURN MIGRANTS WHO GREW UP ABROAD AND THEIR DETERMINANTS.

The aim of the article is to analyse various motives and circumstances of return migration present in the narratives of Polish migrants, who grew up abroad and as young adults returned to their country of origin. It shows how the migration experiences in childhood and adolescence may affect subsequent attitudes and plans. I distinguish four types of return migration based on the main motives that guided the interviewees in their decisions: 1) return as a family strategy, 2)sentimental and patriotic return, 3) romantic return, 4) escapist return. Within each type I explain the processes that led to the decision and the expectations which accompanied it. I point out how these depend on: the stage of life in which the migration occurred, its length and nature and the parents’ attitude towards the Polish culture. The article is based on 17 in-depth interviews with Polish return migrants. The interviewees spent all or a significant part of their childhood in different countries of the western cultural sphere. Among them were two individuals who had spent some time in Arabic countries, although they attended international schools. The length of their emigration varied from 6 to 20 years, and the age upon return to Poland was 16 to 27.