The changing rural idyll and the ideal migrant: The case of Scotland during COVID-19

Abstract

The paper revisits the concept of the rural idyll and introduces the idea of an “ideal migrant”, asking how the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted people's preferences and the implications for rural communities. Drawing on in-depth interviews with rural stakeholders in Scotland at two points during the pandemic, we show that aspects of the rural idyll became magnified. Furthermore, the rural idyll became accessible to some city escapees as a result of a new culture of working from home. While this trend has potential to address longstanding issues of rural population decline, it is also introducing new challenges in the form of rising house prices and displacement of people in key roles. In response, a narrative is emerging around the “ideal migrant” desired by rural communities. Ideas of both the rural idyll and the ideal migrant are exclusionary and power-infused, and the paper discusses these and the implications for post-COVID-19 rural repopulation in Scotland.