A PLACE IN THE SUN - INTERNATIONAL RETIREMENT MIGRATION FROM NORTHERNTO SOUTHERN EUROPE

International retirement migration (IRM) is a significant feature of t he changing map of Europe. it has important implications in terms of t he redistribution of both hearth care and social costs, and incomes an d wealth. This article considers four aspects of IRM. The first consid ers the limited literature on this under-researched topic and identifi es the distinctiveness of both its international and European features . The second reviews the existing statistical data for north-south IRM in Europe, particularly from the UK to Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spa in; it establishes both the scale and the geography of these migration s. In the third section we investigate some of the major influences an both the volume and the spatial pattern of IRM. Finally, in the fourt h section, a brief review is presented of the economic, social and cul tural implications of IRM for both the emigrants and their host commun ities.