Drawing on a survey of 406 British home owners in France, this study examines the origins, destinations and reasons for purchasing homes in rural France. In doing so it compares first home retired households with their pre-retirement counterparts and with second home owners who are retired. No notable differences are found in the geographical distribution or reasons for selecting home locations between these groups. However, patterns of retirement migration to France do appear to differ from intra-national long-distance migration within Britain and North America. Pointers to these differences are given and suggestions for future research are made. In addition, despite family visits and the friendship that people find in their recipient French communities, it is suggested that potential problems could arise for residents in relatively isolated rural communes. More research is needed to assess whether the positive attractions that are drawing retirement migrants from Britain to France will outweigh the negative consequences of their new home location.

Personal development through the lifespan takes place in the context of the family, which is itself changing over time. Change occurs at three different levels – the institution of the family, dyadic relationships within it, the developing individual. Change at different levels and affecting different individuals is sometimes coordinated but often unsynchronised, with consequences for family members' sense of control and well-being. Using autobiographical material from the Mass-Observation Archive it is possible to examine a range of subjective experience, some of it illuminating themes in the literature of social gerontology, some of it prompting new lines of enquiry. The use of autobiographical material is justified by its richness and capacity to illustrate the uniqueness of experience. The case study method is appropriate for the study of sensitive issues, ambiguous concepts and uncharted areas of experience.