Abstract
Moldova is one of the smallest and poorest European countries, with one of the highest migration rates in the world. While actual migration figures are difficult to obtain, due to the fluctuating and often illegal nature of Moldovan migration, it is an ever-present fact of life in Moldova with about, according to some estimates, a third of the adult population working abroad, often ‘leaving behind’ children in the care of relatives, neighbours or in orphanages. This paper investigates how such high migration rates affect Moldovan family life and personal definitions of identity and success. It highlights the personal quests of the young Moldovan population, particularly college students, and pays particular attention to the young adults who are children of migration themselves, with many of them having grown up with one or both parents working abroad during part or all of their childhood and adolescence.