Project Details
Description
This small-scale research project (2027/2028) investigates how lifestyle migration and transnational forms of living shape wellbeing in Southern Thailand. The study adopts a comparative design focusing on Western lifestyle migrants in two contrasting destinations: Phuket, a highly intensified global tourism hub, and Koh Lanta, a more peripheral setting associated with softer tourism dynamics.
The project focuses on everyday practices and subjective experiences of wellbeing among Western lifestyle migrants in both destinations. These experiences are shaped by commercial and social configurations that enable and organize migration, thereby influencing and conditioning individual quality of life. Particular attention is given to how these structures shape mobility trajectories, settlement patterns, and access to resources such as housing, healthcare, and social networks.
Methodologically, the project follows a sequential mixed-methods design. First, a quantitative survey based on established dimensions of quality of life identified in prior research is conducted to compare wellbeing outcomes across Phuket and Koh Lanta. In a second phase, follow-up qualitative fieldwork with migrants and local stakeholders deepens the analysis of subjective wellbeing and the role of mobility structures in shaping lived experiences.
By integrating wellbeing research, tourism studies, and the analysis of mobility structures, the project contributes to a nuanced understanding of how transnational mobility environments shape quality of life in major tourist regions in Thailand.
The project focuses on everyday practices and subjective experiences of wellbeing among Western lifestyle migrants in both destinations. These experiences are shaped by commercial and social configurations that enable and organize migration, thereby influencing and conditioning individual quality of life. Particular attention is given to how these structures shape mobility trajectories, settlement patterns, and access to resources such as housing, healthcare, and social networks.
Methodologically, the project follows a sequential mixed-methods design. First, a quantitative survey based on established dimensions of quality of life identified in prior research is conducted to compare wellbeing outcomes across Phuket and Koh Lanta. In a second phase, follow-up qualitative fieldwork with migrants and local stakeholders deepens the analysis of subjective wellbeing and the role of mobility structures in shaping lived experiences.
By integrating wellbeing research, tourism studies, and the analysis of mobility structures, the project contributes to a nuanced understanding of how transnational mobility environments shape quality of life in major tourist regions in Thailand.
| Short title | Lifestyle Migration and Wellbeing in Southern Thailand |
|---|---|
| Acronym | WELLMOLIFE |
| Status | Active |
| Effective start/end date | 1/10/26 → 30/09/28 |
UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This project contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth