Immigrants' Mental Understanding of the Pull and Push of the Destination and Origin of Migration: A Case Study of Immigrants in the North Persian Gulf District of Tehran

Most of the research concerned with the role of pull and push factors in migration, have often employed the positivist and quantitative approach, usually ignoring the mental interpretations of migrants towards the pull and push factors of origin and destination. This study used the qualitative method and the sample size comprised of 23 individuals who were selected by theoretical sampling. Interviews were analyzed using the conventional content analysis technique. According to the participants' point of view, factors related to economy, livelihood and job were the main reasons to migrate from suburbs to the capital city. However, after migrating and settling in the destination, various factors may become pull or push factors compared, which have little relationship with the economic theories of migration. The above-mentioned changes can be explained by the way of life in the community and society, or in other words, living in a small and micro-scale social environment as well as living in metropolises. As a general conclusion, it can be expressed that the pull and push factors of a place do not relate only to the condition of the place per se, rather they are in connection with both the other place and in a mechanism of comparison that will be formed in the individual's mind.