Structural narrative analysis: Understanding experiences of lifestyle migration through two plot typologies

U.K. retirees who move to the Costa Blanca in Spain can be described as “lifestyle migrants.” “Lifestyle migration” has recently been conceptualised as “a quest” for a better life and migrants reflect and construct their experiences through common quest narratives. For many, the quest is fulfilled and they find a new home in a new country. However, for some, the quest is not a success and they return to the United Kingdom. Migrants for whom the quest is not fulfilled also reflect and construct their experiences through shared narratives and these can be understood as narratives of voyage and return. The focus of this article is on how a structural analytical narrative approach centering on the plot typologies, the quest, and voyage and return can illuminate decision making processes and experiences of migration and settlement for a sample of retired British women living in the Costa Blanca in Spain