Boomers in Mexico
The US Department of State estimates that out of the approximately four million Americans living overseas, between 600,000 and one million are in México – up from about 200,000 a decade ago.
Many of the residential areas are gated communities much like the communities north of the border. Most of the American residential areas are beachfront properties at prices much lower than state side. Most recently in, an estimated 100,000 Americans have created the first North American land rush of the 21st century.
In the last decade, an estimated half million American Baby Boomers have moved permanently to México, making the United States’ southern neighbor the country with the most U.S. expatriates in the world. Not since the conclusion of the American Civil War — when thousands of Southerners emigrated to México — have so many Americans moved to México. Officials at the American embassy estimate that there are “officially” more than 600,000 American citizens living permanently in México, but concede the actual number is closer to 800,000. Treasury Department officials in Washington estimate that the number of Treasury checks — Social Security, Veteran Administrations, tax refunds — sent to México is “in the ballpark of 750,000.”
The reason so many Americans and Canadians choose México is because they can drive to México in a car. A bigger reason is that México is a bargain compared to the USA and Canada. Mexico is rich with history, steeped in culture having perhaps a more pronounced culture than any other nation in Latin America. México has great food, great architecture and many areas with an excellent climate. México is modern, with better highways than many parts of Latin America and an infrastructure that allows foreigners to connect via telephone and Internet to the rest of the world. This level of infrastructure isn’t available in Nicaragua, or in Guatemala, and this is a very important determining factor for the boomer retiree who doesn’t want to be inconvenienced by inconveniences.
