How Age and Life Stage of Relocation Fosters Social Belonging: Comparing Two Groups of Older Migrants in the United States

Abstract

Abstract Objectives The presumed “ossification effect” of the past on older generations remains influential in the scholarship on aging and migration, orienting scholars to highlight the vulnerability of senior migrants in new societies. As a result, the ability of older generations to adapt to receiving societies has been underestimated and largely undifferentiated, and little is known about how age and life stage at arrival matter for how older individuals manage later-life transitions across borders. Methods This article compares 2 groups of Han Chinese senior migrants: recent arrivals (who migrated to the United States later in life) and long-term residents (who migrated to the United States during adulthood). We draw on 112 qualitative interviews and 4 years of ethnographic observation in 2 northeastern cities in the United States. Results We argue that the life stage at arrival, coupled with class (dis)advantages, are central to analyzing the diverse ways older migrants stake claims to their belonging to American society. We offer the concept of “economies of belonging” to delineate the ways recent arrivals and long-term migrants anchor themselves socially and emotionally in the United States. Discussion Through examining the social relationships and state-provided resources that recent arrivals and long-term migrants use to cultivate social belonging and justify their social membership in American society, our analysis reveals that both groups of older migrants have preconceived American dreams before they emigrate, but their age at arrival offers differential opportunities to fulfill those dreams and influences how a sense of belonging unfolds later in life.