Unraveling the Influencing Factors Behind Urban-to-Rural Migration among Artists in Rural Skåne Region

Abstract: Counterurbanization has become a phenomenon in recent decades. Despite, more people choose to live in big cities. Urban crisis-related population disparities pose serious societal problems. Traditionalists assume people follow the perceived greater employment opportunities in urban areas to pursue wealth and monetary gain. However, while some decide to live in cities, others prefer non-urban areas. Those who are not tied to companies and organizations such as artists are freer to choose a place to live, including deciding to settle down in a more rural area. This study is interested in investigating artists who move out from big cities to countryside. Most of the previous studies focused on the urban perspective and the loss of opportunity when opting out of major metropolitan, more are centered on location and socio-cultural perspectives. Little is known analyzes at the individual level, especially from exurban lens in rural perspective. This study aims to untangle the complexities behind urban-to-rural migration by examining influencing factors and perceived personal values by exploring the justifications of exurban artists. It is analyzed through migration theory, specifically the influencing factors and values associated with migration that are justified by studying their accounts. To investigate these factors, qualitative research methods was carried out which were adopted an ethnographic orientation through 15 in-depth interviews, observation and go-along approaches. The findings lead to nine driven themes. It is also found that respondents place a high importance on comfort, stimulation, autonomy, affiliation, and morality values. One of the interesting findings from this study is that market comes to rural artists because art market integrates with tourism market due to rural infrastructure. This empirical evidence disproves the widely held belief that economic opportunity occurs only in large cities.