Migratory Factors and Patterns among New Chinese Migrants in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Thailand

Abstract

This article aims to illustrate the settlement perspectives on transborder mobility among new Chinese migrants in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Thailand. The results draw on the research results from mix-method approaches: a questionnaire, in-depth interviews, and academic documents. The research finds two specific characteristics of new Chinese. The first traditional group projects social escalating for economic attractiveness and lifestyle advantages. Most contemporary Chinese in Thailand are categorized in this set, such as language teachers, interpreters, and investors. The second group, higher in number and tends to increase from the attractive state policies, is called "Geoarbitrage", or those who gain advantages from the lower cost of living in a smaller town like Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. This group includes retired people, a digital workforce, freelancers who earn their income abroad, and parents who accommodate their children to study at international schools. The behavior of Geoarbitrage migrants is close to the concept of flexible citizenship from their individuality and flexible decisive migration and closely integrates into the global cultural system. Both groups decide Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai as their destinations from geographical proximity, cultural linkage, social perception, and low cost of living. These rationales and behaviours affirm the differences between South-North and South-South migration that the latter pattern is more associated with social factors than the former.