Living (in) Mexico City: Living space and perceived space of a group of highly skilled migrants

From a qualitative perspective, the article (i) analyzes the ways in which a group of highly skilled Spanish migrants perceive, value and represent lived spaces, and construct a sense of place in Mexico City, (ii) explores their identification with the city and their places of residence, their interpersonal relations, leisure, links with the country of origin, and plans for the future, and (iii) assesses how useful the resulting insights are for an understanding of migration and settlement in Mexico. The article is based on extensive fieldwork in Mexico City (May-September 2005) which consisted of 29 in-depth interviews with highly skilled Spanish professionals. The article concludes that these migrants establish relations with places of proximity, even if this does not necessarily imply a clear sense of belonging, and regardless, these geographical links only partially explain these Spaniards intentions to stay in Mexico. © 2008 by the Latin American Studies Association.