Rise (and Decline) of European Migrants in Greece: Exploring Spatial Determinants of Residential Mobility (1988–2017), with Special Focus on Older Ages

Aging, European Union consolidation, and human mobility across countries are three entangled processes making the Mediterranean region of Europe an attractive retirement place thanks to mild climate and lower costs of living. Residential mobility of retired workers in Europe has grown rapidly since the 1980s because of increased wealth, transportation improvements, and flexibility of working lives. However, residential mobility after retirement was occasionally investigated in relation with economic cycles; recession was hypothesized to negatively impact residential mobility from Northern/Western/Central Europe to Mediterranean countries. Considering economic and population dynamics over the last three decades, the present work documents the drastic reduction in the number of European immigrants in Greece after the 2007 recession, with the exception of retirees. Job shortage and worse socioeconomic conditions were demonstrated to alter settlement patterns and location preferences of migrants at both younger and older ages. Results of our study suggest a rethinking of the role of spatial planning and developmental measures in local communities less organized to host increasing flows of retirees from Northern Europe. Being increasingly required to provide services for aging population, social policies should reconcile retirement migration with internal demographic dynamics and the specificity of local contexts, promoting finely tuned taxation systems and appropriate spatial infrastructures.