Social Networks and Local Incorporation-Grounding High-skilled Migrants in Two German Cities

The global connection of production and labour markets intensifies circular migration patterns and mobile lifestyles. Highly qualified migrants play an increasingly prominent role as illustrated by policy initiatives to recruit skilled professionals. So far there is little evidence about the relationship between mobile groups and urban development processes. It remains unclear to what extent mobile lifestyles and the maintenance of transnational ties affect local incorporation patterns. Our paper has two main objectives. First, it examines the role of specific settings for 'grounding' high-skilled migrants. We particularly focus on social networks such as work environments, migrant communities and web-based social networks. Second, it discusses if the city context influences the modes of incorporation. The paper draws on qualitative interviews with high-skilled migrants from non-European countries in two large German cities with divergent development trajectories. Our findings show that local social networks are important settings for facilitating the incorporation of high-skilled migrants. While the comparison indicates some variations between the two cities, the overall patterns of local incorporation are relatively consistent.