Diverse paths: the elderly British in Tuscany

This paper investigates the life, migration and retirement experiences of elderly British residents of Tuscany and its adjacent districts. Because of the long historical presence of the British in Tuscany and the variety of settings in which they live, it is very difficult to generalise about older British people in this region. Common features tend to be high levels of education and ‘culture’, and a history of prior international mobility. Many pathways have led the elderly British to Tuscany; only a minority have simply migrated from the UK on retirement. Four very different types of data are presented in this paper: historical material extending back to the Grand Tour, official statistics on the size and distribution of the British in Tuscany, questionnaire data from a survey carried out in late 1995, and selected depth interviews with individuals who are broadly representative of different life-histories and migration trajectories. Key themes explored include class background, reasons for migration to Tuscany, previous connections to Italy, post-retirement behaviour, integration and future plans. The findings challenge some commonly-held ‘expectations’ about the nature of retirement migration.