This document outlines a study examining how mobility contributes to stability at the individual, household, and community levels in rural areas. It analyzes interviews with 9 couples where the male partner engages in long-distance commuting for work. Mobility enables familial stability through financial benefits and time with family on weekends. However, it challenges civic participation as women have limited free time due to household responsibilities during partner's absences. Mobility thus both supports stability at the household level and undermines it at the community level.

1. Using Mobility to Gain Stability
Household Strategies and Rural Futures
Deatra Walsh
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
York University
Outline
‐ Purpose
‐ Key Concepts
‐ Research Context
‐ Research
‐ Analytic Foci
‐ Conclusions

2. Purpose
‐ To demonstrate how mobility contributes to
dimensions of community, household and
individual stability and instability;
‐ To illustrate cases where mobility is the chosen
mechanism through which stability is negotiated
at the individual and household level.
Making Sense of the Literature
Community
Temporary
Migration
Mobility
Individual

3. Key Concepts
‐ Mobility
‐ Stability
‐ Rural
Key Concepts
‐ Mobility
‐ Stability
‐ Rural
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4. Key Concepts
‐ Mobility
Ability to remain in the same relative
place or position in spite of disturbing
‐ Stability influences
‘Fixedness; not fluidity’
‐ Rural (OED, Online)
Key Concepts
‐ Mobility
Ability to remain in the same relative
place or position in spite of disturbing
‐ Stability influences Resilience
‘Fixedness; not fluidity’
‐ Rural (OED, Online)

5. Key Concepts
‐ Mobility
‐ Stability
‐ Rural
Research Context
‐ Long‐distance employment travel in NL
patterned, sporadic and
prolonged absences away
from one’s place of
residence for at least one
night that include traveling
distances greater than 100
km.
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6. Research
‐ Nine couples from the
Lewisporte Area with LDC
partner (male)
‐ Semi‐structured interviews
with women (aged 25‐34)
‐ Biographical, household
approach (Halfacree and Boyle, 1993)
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Analytic Foci
‐ Fluidity
‐ Familial Stability
‐ Community (In)stability?
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7. Analytic Foci
‐ Fluidity Four of the nine couples moved back to
the rural study area with the knowledge
that the male partner would be
‐ Familial Stability
commuting.
‐ Community (In)stability? sold our house and we made
When the housing market went up, we …
enough off of it to come back and build this house and own it (I15).
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Analytic Foci
‐ Fluidity The money was a big issue and like spendin’
time with the kids on the weekends cause
he worked every single weekend … there
was no time whatsoever like with the family
‐ Familial Stability … (I31).
‐ Community (In)stability?
They leave for work at like five o’clock in the
morning and some nights they don’t get
home until ten o’clock at night … we could
have been home and he could have seen
her on the web cam more then he seen her
in Alberta (I7).
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8. Analytic Foci
‐ I don’t have the time or the commitment to do
Fluidity
that (I11).
I got workin’ full time, child, and bein’ home by
‐ Familial Stability
myself, I don’t have time for much else in my life
right … so no I’m not involved in anything no (I16).
‐ Community (In)stability?
As [he] gets a little older, I might get
involved in the church groups (I15).
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Conclusions
‐ A great degree of household fluidity; support for the
mobile rural
‐ Familial stability sought through long‐distance
employment travel arrangements
‐ Civic sector community stability challenged through
work arrangement and women’s hh responsibilities
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9. Thank you
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Using Mobility to Gain Stability
Household Strategies and Rural Futures
Deatra Walsh
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
York University
deatraw@yahoo.com