Using original survey data on subjective expectations, I examine how expected career and non-career returns shape migration choices among highly educated young adults from lagging regions in advanced economies. I document strong trade-offs between professional and personal life returns across three counterfactual migration scenarios. A life-cycle utility model shows that non-career factors drive migration choices and welfare, explaining why short-term migration is preferred over long-term migration. Removing short-term migration benefits shifts more short-term migrants to staying than to long-term migration, with responses varying by ability. Policy simulations show promoting short-term migration is three times more cost-effective for high-ability stayers than long-term migrants. A follow-up survey confirms that initial expectations strongly predict realized migration choices and outcomes.Presented at: SAEe (Valencia, December 2022), SOLE (Philadelphia, May 2023), BSE Summer Forum (Barcelona, June 2023), Workshop on Subjective Expectations (Bocconi-Milan, June 2023), Workshop on Migration and Family Economics (IESEG-Paris, June 2023), EEA-ESEM (Barcelona, August 2023), EALE (Prague, September 2023), WB-IDB HUMANS Seminar (Washington, March 2024), CUNEF Universidad (Madrid, April 2024), Jornadas de Economía Laboral (Barcelona, July 2024), CERGE-EI (Prague, December 2024)