Till Kathmann examines the decision-making process between leaving and staying, as well as the reasons for migration among the increasing number of German emigrants in recent years. To do this, the author relies on a qualitative study with two waves of surveys, in which potential migrants were investigated both before and after their emigration. It is shown that the decision to emigrate is made when living conditions in the home country offer little or no protection against precarious situations. Consequently, predominantly economic reasons are decisive for emigration and shape parts of the migration movement of Germans.