The Nonchalant Migrants: Americans Living North of the 49th Parallel

This paper reverses the conventional migration lens to focus on the understudied case of a growing population of Americans in Canada. What motivates these native-born US citizens to migrate; how do they adapt to life north of the 49th parallel; what is the nature of the ties they maintain to their US homeland? Drawing on fieldwork in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver, this paper identifies similarities between Americans and other migrants, but also points to a pervasive attitude of nonchalance as a notable difference. Examining migrants of relative privilege in North American helps refine theory rooted in assumptions of marginalization and advances analyses of continental integration.