“Here, I Have My Neighbors”: Social capital, welfare, and aging-in-place among older migrant women

Aging-in-place is a central concept in gerontology, yet its underlying assumptions about family support, territorial stability, and care provision are increasingly challenged in contexts of migration. This study examines how aging-in-place is constructed through social capital and welfare structures among older migrant women living alone. Drawing on in-depth interviews with eight widowed migrant women aged 65 and older residing in Germany and the Netherlands, the article adopts a life-course and transnational perspective to explore later-life living and care arrangements. The findings show that aging-in-place is not primarily sustained through kin-based care, but through locally embedded social capital developed over time. Participants actively reconfigured social support after widowhood, shifting from family-centered ties in the country of origin to neighborly, peer-based, and civic relationships in the host country. Neighbors emerged as key sources of everyday support, safety, and belonging—often more central than adult children. Welfare regimes further shaped these experiences by providing formal resources that women strategically combined with informal support to maintain autonomy. By centering the voices of older migrant women, this study contributes a gendered and relational understanding of aging-in-place that moves beyond narratives of dependency and isolation. It highlights the interconnected roles of social capital, place, and welfare in later life and calls for aging and care policies that recognize non-kin networks, welfare and diverse life-course trajectories.