<p>The aim of the present research is to investigate the reasons for emigration versus staying in Hungary by examining the less conscious layers of decision-making and motivation, specifically the subjective meanings attributed to life abroad and life at home, in Hungary. The Associative Group Analysis technique (Szalay &amp; Brent in Journal of Social Psychology 72:161–187, 1967) was used in this study. Participants were asked to provide free associations to the stimulus words “Living in Hungary” and “Living abroad”. The study involved a matched sample of 102 Hungarians living in Hungary (HH) and 102 Hungarians living abroad (HA) and applied a double perspective to reveal how they mutually perceive life in Hungary and life abroad. A strong national culture context effect (Strauss in Cross-Cultural Research 43:183–205, 2009) was found, reflecting a shared meaning making of two groups of the same nationality by birth but making different life choices in terms of their place and context of life. Both groups of participants attributed more negative meaning to “Living in Hungary” compared to “Living abroad”. While both groups demonstrated attachment to Hungary in terms of Hungary being their home and homeland the HH group showed stronger patriotism and national identity. The perception that living abroad is unpatriotic emerged in their subjective meaning-making. Helplessness and depression characterizing living in Hungary also may contribute to immobility. In contrast, the HA group expressed less patriotism and stronger dissatisfaction with Hungarian politics. These findings could contribute to a better understanding of the psychological factors influencing migration and mobility especially from post-communist countries. </p>