Close by distance : Norwegian vacationers' establishment of second homes in Natal, Brazil

Abstract

This study takes a closer look at a Norwegian establishment of second homes in the area of Natal in Brazil. It sets out to answer how such settlements takes place in its context, compared to how it was seen in its initial motivations for procurement. Further the study looks to the establishment of second homes in own country when explaining how the constructions of a home was made, by the owners. Explicit emphases are put upon what degree nationality played in the second home settlement in Brazil and furthermore how a certain Norwegian-ness was an important part in the implementation of familiar traits from the owners’ primary home. Through an outline of the social interaction between Norwegians and a local community, the study reveals that the second home functioned as a way for the owners to keep what was of familiarity close to them and what was of unknown character at a distance. In that way, this study claims that the establishments of second homes in Brazil was created by its owners on a background of contrasting the familiar with the unknown, in a particular search for safety.