Springer Moving UP North: Immigrant Experiences of Professionals in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

This monograph presents the migratory journey and personal experiences of immigrant professionals who live and work in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan – a remote region of the United States which heavily relies on a group of professional immigrants to provide various services to the local community. Professors, physicians, engineers, remote workers but also foreign spouses of local residents tell their stories and provide a unique perspective on assimilation, cultural adjustment, and making home away from home. Transnational migrants transcend national boundaries in search of better educational, professional, and/ or personal opportunities and experiences. In the United States, most current research focuses on chain migration and more specifically laborers and/or undocumented immigrants mainly in urban area contexts. There has also been vast literature that focuses on socio-economic polarization in the context of global elites who influence urban areas. But little attention has been given to professional immigrants who settle in small towns and rural areas of the United States especially in the North. The book is composed of 12 chapters: in addition to introductory and summary chapters, ten chapters are focused on individual experiences of international professionals. The chapters tell a story of transnational immigrants who live and work in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Each chapter is based on an interview with an international professional who lives in the region: some of the immigrants have been in the area for a couple of decades and others are newcomers.