The aim of the thesis is to investigate swedish lifestyle migrants living in Barcelona, the reason for the migration and how they affect and experience the ongoing gentrification of the city. The research method was qualitative with interviews. Four swedish lifestyle migrants that have been living in Barcelona for 2 to 14 years were interviewed. The interviews focused on the interviewees migration and lifestyle, housing situation and their experience and perception of Barcelona and its inhabitants.The result showed that the swedish lifestyle migrants moved to Barcelona because they were longing for a new lifestyle, rather than there was a reason they moved to Barcelona specifically. The swedish lifestyle migrants experience the gentrification of Barcelona through social resistance from the locals. With this, the open climate within the international community results in a self-segregation. In the beginning, the swedish lifestyle migrants usually live in the most touristic, central parts of Barcelona. After establishing an everyday life, the swedish lifestyle migrants tend to move to less touristy, but still central areas. By doing so the swedish lifestyle migrants affects the gentrification of the city by contributing to the displacement of the locals and changing the social atmosphere of the area.

Spain is a popular residence for Swedish lifestyle migrants. One of the largest groups among these migrants consist of retirees, seeking sun, an improved lifestyle and lower cost of living. Costa del Sol, is among the most cherished places to move to, where swedes reside alongside Brits, Germans and other Scandinavians. Here you can find Swedish doctors, a Swedish school and several Swedish media outlets. Prior studies have found these migrants to maintain strong connections to their home countries, maintaining habits and way of life – with little or no integration to Spanish society.  Where previous research has answered questions about integration and transnationalism, this study contributes to an understanding of the role of media. Using a qualitative interview-based methodology, it regards media use among Swedish retirees residing permanently on Costa del Sol – aiming to explain motivations and disclose reasons behind habits. Nine interviews were conducted through a lens of Uses & gratification theory. The interviews regarded their media consumption of various outlets, including news media and entertainment media in various languages, as well as local news media in Swedish found on Costa del Sol. Additional contextualization and compilation of previous research provided further comprehension of Swedish society in southern Spain.  Results found that keeping up with daily events in Sweden is a core motivation for media consumption. Staying informed about your home country was found to be considerably more important than the new one, apart from local news consumption. Media consumption achieves multiple gratifications, motivating an overall high consumption of many different media outlets. Several sub-themes were discovered and categorized within McQuail:s Uses & gratification definitions of entertainment, social relation, identity and surveillance. These were interpreted, analyzed and compared to previous research.