It's come up on another thread and it's an interesting topic on several levels- a very large number of Americans (some say two million) are already living permanently in Mexico having decided for a variety of reasons that they preferred living in Mexico to staying in the US Some are now estimating an additional six million will move south in the next few years as they reach retirement age- some (perhaps many) of whom will be "economic refugees" who have found retirement too difficult to fund in the US or simply calculated they could live better in Mexico on the same money Others will have found the issues relating to health care easier to manage in Mexico than in the US where health insurance can be either unaffordable or unavailable at any price if one is in poor health There may be still others who have simply found they preferred the style of life or the culture more appealing than what prevailed back home It's a comment of some kind on any country when large numbers of its citizens have left- wish to leave- or are considering leaving: exactly what it says is subject to discussion The other side of the coin- the attractiveness of Mexico as a destination for living- also plays a role with for example Mexico's immigration law providing a relatively easy path to residency for retirees There has been a response to this flow of people south as reflected in the article which CancunCanuck called our attention to and has been quoted in many forums recently including this one- http://www.bajawine.info/2010/04/fo...-u-s-mainstream-media-has-mexico-under-seige/ ____________________
Very interesting stuff, V! Many of my American friends are moving/have moved to Costa Rica. Couldnt find the link again(saw it some 17 months ago...), but it showed that there were quite a few waiting "in line" in immigration from USA to Costa Rica. Im talking hundreds of thousands... Sweden is also losing more and more inhabitants each year. For a small country with approx. 9.4-9.8 million inhabitants, its quite astonishing that around 1 million Swedish Citizens live abroad. Some 900 of us are here in Mexico, mostly DF and Monterrey, but also a few in Morelia and Cuernavaca.
Great point. I think the US is great. God knows the US has given me so many opportunities, and I loved growing up there. Still, I think the exodus towards Mexico, especially in terms of retirees, shows just how unnecessarily stressful it is to live in the US. (I never noticed it until I moved here) I follow a lot of blogs written by ladies in the States, and in general they just seem so much less satisfied with life, and constantly kinda stressed even though their lifestyle/job doesn't necessarily call for it. Bloggers who live in Mexico are always doing something apart from their routine, and even though they face difficult issues, there just seems to be an overall positive attitude, I've noticed. Americans for some reason just stress out more, and I think Mexico is a great place to learn to just go with the flow and enjoy every moment... all for a low, low price. I'm actually surprised more people I know don't consider it. My dad is about to finish a 4 year seminary program at the age of 57. he hasn't admitted it out loud yet, but it seems my parents are seriously considering moving to Merida. I think it would be a great choice Sorry if the post was a bit long... I always have a hard time putting that sentiment into just the right words. I know how I feel, but it's so hard to explain sometimes.
If Mexico (as in the Government of) was smart... which as we all know is questionable.. they would be running thousands of advertisements all over the US to entice the HUGE retiring age crowd who really don't have enough savings to live comfortably in the US. (yes, I know they run a few ads for tourism and such, but I'm talking a really big marketing campaign directly targeting retirees.) Now, I'm the first to tell you Mexico has serious problems, but for the most part the violent ones don't seem to directly affect us foreigners. At least no more than crime affects the average person in the States. If Mexico gets serious about it they can probably prop their whole economy up on American retirees in the long term. Start by making immigration a 5 year thing or so for people living here as retired so that issue won't detour people with the yearly hassle, enable direct ownership of land, make some attempt to keep the police from robbing the tourists (or anyone for that matter) with cameras in cars and real punishments.. not just firing them so they can work in the next town or come back in 3 months! and last but not least get ride of the F&#@ing topes! :icon_mrgreen:
Let's talk about the wonderful weather, and a friendly population. As a Canadian looking at a reasonably-close retirement location that's warm in winter, there's US spots like Florida, Arizona, etc. Or there's Mexico. We chose Puerto Morelos, Mexico, and along with the warm weather, we got a VERY friendly people. They're not all stressed-out trying to keep up with the Joneses, and I wonder if they even realize what a vicious-circle that is: to work, work, work just to have luxuries, and then there's no time to enjoy them. Simplicity is its own reward, and we have unlearned that in our media-propelled consumer-drive. We're glad we chose Mexico!
We would like to move to Mexico but we have the reverse of most with the cost and availablity of Medical care. We have Medicare and Tricare for Life and, so far, neither pays directly to Mexican hospitals. Tricare would pay 75 - 80% but you pay up front and they reimburse. Plus the cost of wifes meds for her RA is too expensive and some is unavailable in Mexico.
