Abstract
This ethnographic study was carried on a group of Western migrants to south of Spain, a small region in Andalusia - La Alpujarra. Contrary to prevailing anthropological theories of migration, these migrants do not follow mainstream flows, i.e., towards more developed urban centres, to maximize their economical value, but do the opposite; they try to live on less with a different view on standard of living, ascribing value to open spaces and self-organized time instead of to new cars and careers.
Luxury is being redefined. As only qualitative research can reveal the nature of this kind of migration, the methods of Material Culture were used both in the ethnographic work and analysis.
Focusing on the houses of Western migrants different strategies were observed, such as bricolage, the virtue of doing with things, lack of false sentiment, and creativity. These strategies help people to move easily within Europe and settle down in the rough conditions of La Alpujarra.