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The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the crucial role of the regional dimension for economic, social, and environmental development. Sustainable development may be linked to migration management to strategically disperse international migrants to regions in need of ameliorating rural challenges. This paper explores the features affecting international migrants' intentions to move to rural areas, such as Alentejo, Portugal, based on a set of micro-, mezzo-, and macro-sociological migration theories to support policymakers. This paper addresses the following research question: what motivates immigrants' decisions to move to rural regions, such as Alentejo, Portugal? Practitioners (n = 8) and migrants (n = 15) were interviewed, and then a thematic analysis supported by MaxQDA 2022 was conducted. The results suggest that there is a set of motives for international migrants to move to rural areas and smaller cities based on multilevel factors, both economic and non-economic, such as the following: employment availability and promises of work; lower living costs compared to bigger cities; quality of life; local services support; and echoes of the country of origin. Migrants' networks and seeking greater opportunities were consistent motives. The pull to rural areas, however, is a side effect of the attraction of Portugal and Europe as destinations. The conclusions highlight implications for policy and practice on migration and local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the study of migration has shifted its focus from an individual perspective (on those who emigrate) to also include their integration networks in the country of destination, it is also necessary to consider the dynamics with their families in the country of origin. With an integral focus on the analysis of Portuguese transnational families, this paper aims to reflect on how the connection between those who emigrate and those who stay can promote greater resilience, presenting best practices for interventions among these dynamics and generations. Using a post-positivist paradigm and semi-structured interviews, we developed a qualitative approach with three exploratory studies: (1) Portuguese young adults living abroad (N = 22); (2) parental figures living in Portugal with adult children living abroad (N = 20); and (3) experts in the fields of academic and psychosocial work with similar people (N = 8). The data were analyzed using N-Vivo software (ed.11 and 14). The general results lead us to reflect on the dynamics of relationships, where digital and face-to-face spaces participate simultaneously, even though there are different challenges and ways of using digital means. We also found a change in expectations regarding the norms and values perceived by this generation of emigrants, which leads us to consider the importance of intercultural values since transnational families greatly increase transculturality, which can promote resilience among these groups. The data also alert us to the need to train intervention professionals in multidisciplinary areas, always taking the cultural context into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]