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UMI Dissertation Publishing AN ANALYSIS OF THE PROCESSES AND OUTCOMES OF ELDERLY MIGRATION TO SMALL PRAIRIE LAKESHORE COMMUNITIES IN THE INTERLAKE REGION OF MANITOBA Giovanni Spina A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Environment and Geography University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba ©January, 2009 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-53010-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-53010-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES COPYRIGHT PERMISSION An Analysis of the Processes and Outcomes of Elderly Migration to Small Prairie Lakeshore Communities in the Interlake Region of Manitoba BY Giovanni Spina A Thesis/Practicum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree Of Doctor of Philosophy Giovanni Spina © 2009 Permission has been granted to the University of Manitoba Libraries to lend a copy of this thesis/practicum, to Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to lend a copy of this thesis/practicum, and to LAC's agent (UMI/ProQuest) to microfilm, sell copies and to publish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research, and may only be reproduced and copied as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright owner. Abstract The primary objective of this study is to further our understanding of elderly mobility by investigating the processes and outcomes of the migration of older people to lakeshore retirement communities located in Manitoba's Interlake region. The conceptual framework of the present study specifically incorporates elements of both migration decision-making models and place attachment/integration models. Four research questions were derived from the conceptual framework respectively concerning elderly migrant profile characteristics, the elder's decision to move, the elder's relocation decision-making process, and elderly migration outcomes. A sequential four-stage survey design included: (a) a questionnaire/interview survey of elderly migrants; (b) in- depth life-history interviews with elderly migrants; (c) a questionnaire/interview survey of community leaders; (d) two separate focus group sessions including both elderly migrants and community leaders. Two non-probability sampling procedures (i.e. convenience sampling and snowball sampling) were utilized, generating a total of 34 elderly migrants and 10 community leaders. The analysis of data involved the use of both descriptive statistical techniques and qualitative methods. In particular, key variables were specified for each research question and organized hierarchically into variable groups and mega themes. The results of the analysis disclose that a large majority of elderly respondents were "young-old" amenity migrants with strong ties to Manitoba. However, the respondents differed with regard to the number of residential moves made throughout the life course, and their amount of previous place experience within the study area. Both push and pull factors i played major roles in elderly migration decision-making, particularly proximity to urban centres, while spousal input and previous place experience were also important. My findings suggest that community leaders and elderly migrants were in general agreement about key issues facing newcomers to the study area. However, the migrants were generally satisfied with their moves to communities in the study area and had no migration intentions for the future. Taken together, these results may be viewed as evidence of the successful place integration of elderly migrants within semi-rural retirement communities located in a cold Canadian climate. To conclude, policy interventions should be directed toward maintaining sustainable retirement communities to facilitate the integration of older migrants. ii Acknowledgements This study represents several years of work and was only possible with the assistance of many individuals. First, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Geoffrey C. Smith, for his direction in the development of this thesis. His patience as an advisor has been particularly invaluable in the completion of this research which will always be appreciated. I would also like to thank the members of my committee. Appreciation is extended to Dr. Geoffrey Deverteuil who offered me direction throughout the research process. I would also like to thank Dr. Laurel A. Strain for her assistance as a member of the examining committee. Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Kevin E. McHugh for serving as the external member of my doctoral committee. I am also grateful to the respondents who participated in this study. I appreciate their willingness to participate in one or more stages of data collection and discuss the topics discussed in this thesis. I would also like to thank members of the Department of Environment and Geography head office for their generous time and assistance as I prepared this thesis. Special thanks are extended to administrative assistant Aggie Roberecki, office assistants Candice Ludwig and Valerie Smith, and graduate program secretary Pat Gutoski. Special recognition must be given to our department cartographer Doug Fast for his preparation of the figures. Finally, I would like to thank my parents and sister whose continuing support has been essential to my completion of this long journey. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii APPENDICES vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Objectives of thesis and organization of chapters 1 1.2 Elderly migration: An overview 5 1.3 Theoretical background and research questions 10 1.4 Research contributions and policy relevance of thesis 13 1.5 Summary 14 CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 16 2.1 Theoretical foundations of elderly migration 16 2.1.1 Typologies of elderly migration 16 2.1.2 Models of migration decision-making 20 2.2 Spatial patterns of elderly migration moves 25 2.3 Migration decision-making factors 28 2.3.1 Profile characteristics of elderly amenity migrants 29 2.3.2 Role of amenities in elderly migration decision-making 31 2.3.3 The role of kin in elderly moves 32 2.3.4 The search process and movement distances of elderly migrants 35 2.3.5 The elder's previous place experience and place attachment 38 2.4 Elderly seasonal migration 42 2.5 Economic and social impacts of elderly migration 50 2.6 Contribution of the study to the literature 57 CHAPTER 3. THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 60 3.1 Theoretical foundations 60 3.2 A model of the migration process and outcomes of elderly movers to regional retirement communities 64 3.2.1 Overview of conceptual framework 64 3.2.2 The conceptual framework and research questions 67 3.3 Summary 72 iv CHAPTER 4. PROFILE OF THE STUDY AREA 73 4.1 The study area 73 4.1.1 Gimli 76 4.1.2 Winnipeg Beach 78 4.1.3 Other communities 80 4.1.4 Rationale for the selection of the study area and study communities 81 4.2 Summary 82 CHAPTER 5. DATA SOURCES AND DATA COLLECTION 84 5.1 The survey design and sampling procedures 84 5.2 The survey instruments and overview of data collection procedures 95 5.2.1 The survey instruments 96 5.2.2 Overview of data collection procedures 100 5.3 The survey stages 101 5.3.1 Stage 1: Main questionnaire/interview survey of elderly migrants 102 5.3.2 Stage 2: In-depth life history interviews with elderly migrants.. 103 5.3.3 Stage 3: Interview/questionnaire survey