Under strings of lights in a garden outside Cedar Falls, twenty-three members of the Halvorsen family gathered at one long table in August, the first time in four years that all three branches had been home at once. Cousins who had last met as toddlers were now teenagers, comparing accents.
For many other families, the summer looked different. A survey by the foreign ministry’s office for citizens abroad suggests that 38 percent of the roughly 410,000 citizens living in other countries came home for at least a week this summer, down from 44 percent last year.
The cost of the trip
Money is the most common reason. Ferry fares into Port Alden rose by about 12 percent this season and airfares on the busiest summer weeks climbed further, the survey found. For a family of four, a return trip now often costs more than a month’s rent.
We came every single summer for nine years. This year we did the math and invited my parents to visit us instead.
Ivana Halvorsen, a nurse who has worked abroad for nine years
School calendars also play a part. Children who grow up abroad increasingly attend summer camps and clubs there, and parents report that teenagers are less keen to spend weeks in a village where they have few friends.
Roots on both sides
Researchers say the shift reflects a slow change in how emigrant families see themselves. Many who left for work in their twenties have now bought homes and built careers abroad, and the trip home has become one holiday among several rather than an annual pilgrimage.
For the first generation, coming back was proof that they had not really left. Their children feel at home in two places, and they choose.
Dr. Mateo Rusk, migration researcher at Elmbridge University
Yet the pull remains strong for many. Weddings, christenings and the care of aging parents still bring tens of thousands home each year, and towns in the Valley Region and along the coast depend heavily on their spending.
Shop owners in Coastal Region villages said August trade was quieter than usual. The government says it is considering discounted ferry passes for citizens living abroad and their children, with a decision expected before next summer’s booking season opens.
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