Motivations for young university graduates to live in the countryside in the context of rural development policies in Poland

This article is devoted to young adults (aged 25–34) who have completed higher education and live in rural areas in Poland. The primary objective of the article is to analyze their motivations for living in the countryside and the consequences of such a decision for local rural communities. The issues raised are of key importance for the future of rural Poland. Current rural development policies, although often vague, emphasize the urgent need for further modernization of the Polish agricultural sector and the creation of more non-agricultural jobs at the local level. Rural development will only be successful if it is a process led by local communities, which requires the involvement of rural residents themselves, who have the appropriate knowledge and skills. The content of the article is based on the results of a qualitative study conducted in ten purposefully selected rural communes located in different regions of the country. This study shows that the young graduates interviewed, when choosing to live in the countryside, were primarily guided by their attachment to their native village and the bonds with people living there – family, friends, neighbors. Economic factors were also important, but they were not given priority. The analyses also showed that the identified types of motivation of the respondents to live in the countryside are correlated with their level of involvement in the local community.