Perception of the Experienced Feelings of the Villagers at the Sale of the Land to Strangers

The purchase of high-value land in rural areas in the north of the country by non-native residents and the construction of luxury villas by them has increased sharply in recent years. These constructions, together with the presence of strangers as new residents in the villages and their coexistence with the locals, have led to significant changes in village lifestyles. These changes have different consequences and impacts on the lives of villagers, causing them to experience different or contradictory feelings and perceptions of the continued presence of strangers in their villages. Therefore, using this phenomenological approach, this study seeks to understand the different feelings of villagers towards the presence of strangers in the village. Through interviews with 32 research participants selected on the basis of two types of available samples and purposive samples with maximum diversity, this study addressed the lived experiences of villagers in eight villages in Fuman Town in Gilan Province by analyzing their experienced feelings towards strangers living temporarily or permanently in the village. The results of this study showed that the presence of strangers in the village caused unpleasant feelings among villagers, such as conflict, discrimination, anger, humiliation, regret, and dissatisfaction. The result of these unpleasant feelings are also consequences such as the duplication of the rural way of life, the ownership of the strangers, the aggravation of social inequalities, the collapse of the current rural economy, and the increase in the desire of young people to emigrate.