Counter-urbanization and “return” to rurality? Implications of COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria

The studies of the movements between the city and the village generally (especially in Southeastern Europe) refer to analyses of the processes of urbanization, and rarely focus on the so-called counter-urbanization. However, over the past decade, the increasing environmental sensitivity of a part of the urban population in active age, as well as the emergence of social movements that promote a slow and environmentally friendly lifestyle have intensified the anti-urban trends. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the measures introduced to limit its spread have created a new social reality in which people continue their lives in ways that for many differ from the previous routine, influencing also the mobility patterns. Hence, the article aims at analyzing the urban-rural migration in Bulgaria within the context of the current coronavirus crises. Our thesis is that the pandemic enhances internal mobility in the medium term, since the physical distancing motivates people to spend more time outdoors and away from the urban environment. At the same time, some of them are able to seek spatial freedom in rural areas due to the opportunity to work and study from distance. In this respect, the ethnographic case studies presented in the text show the peculiar impact the constantly alternating imposition and lifting of certain restrictions has on the mobility decision-making and lifestyle of individuals and entire families.