This paper explores the role of lifestyle in migrant destination choice, using the example of expatriates’ intentions to return home. Much of the previous research on migrants and destination choice has occurred within the fields of geography and demography, while research on lifestyle and factors that matter to families has tended to be within the work-life literature. Using the specific case of New Zealand expatriates returning to New Zealand, this paper represents an attempt to bring together these bodies of work to further explore the reasons migrants with families move to particular destinations.

The analysis examines the degree to which expatriates report “lifestyle” as the reason for their return, then attempts an analysis of the concept of lifestyle with attention to the variables that matter to expatriates with families. As such, the paper explores the intersection between migration decisions and work-life variables. Finally, the paper concludes with a proposal for the development of a more nuanced set of indicators to measure the lifestyle factors that are relevant to the decisions of expatriates.

Key words: migration, expatriates, families, lifestyle, indices