Older residents’ experiences of islandness, identity and precarity: Ageing on Waiheke Island

Abstract

Island living can entail many difficult or challenging experiences for individual residents, as well as for island communities at large. We use a multifaceted understanding of precarity and resilience to conceptualise these island challenges, as experienced by older island residents. We focus on Waiheke Island, an offshore island that sits within the greater Auckland area, where experiences of entangled precarities can be observed. Our work explores older renters’ experiences on Waiheke Island in order to understand how uncertainties related to ageing, housing and community may influence experiences of islandness, especially as the island’s community and environment change in response to recent influxes of tourists and new residents. By reviewing local media reports and conducting two phases of interviews with older renters, we investigate the intersecting precarities of island residence, rental tenure and older age in this rapidly changing island context. Findings illustrate the complexity of home, community and identity-related aspects of island life. Participants’ experiences of islandness were influenced by multifaceted precarities in their personal situations and in the broader island community. Despite these challenges, older island renters drew resilience from their enjoyable engagements with places and people, and their emotional attachments to their island home.