International Retirement Migration: A Case Study of US Retirees Living in Mexico

[jim and nena]

I haven't found any studies (whose data I trust) on retiring in Panama but this study from 2004 covered many of the topics about retirement that are discussed here daily.

International Retirement Migration: A Case Study of US Retirees Liv...

The read is a short one, 22 pages.  Just long enough for a morning coffee.

jim

[The Boquete Handbook]

Jim, do you have the website for this? I could not open the file online, kept shutting the browser down.

gracias,

dlh

[Mateo]

"kept shutting the browser down"

In my case, my local viewer scrunched all the words together.

Anyway. one way to handle that is to take the title, in this case "International Retirement Migration: A Case Study of US Retirees Living in Mexico¨ and stuff the whole thing into a Google search box.

The result will look something like this:

Then click on "Quick View".  Worked for me.

[The Boquete Handbook]

Got it.Gracias. dlh

[Mateo]

Thanks. A good read.

It would be so cool if someone did a similar study, but restricted it to San Miguel de Allende. From the outside looking in, one gets the impression that San Miguel de Allende is now très chic.

If that is true, then one could contrast the income levels and such.

Besides, a retirement destination whose claim to fame used to be that it was the place where Neal Cassady died but has become a World Heritage site has to be interesting.

[Mateo]

While glancing around for something about the Ajijic-vs-San Miguel invidious distinction, I stumbled across this admittedly anecdotal treatment of the "backlash" issue. Please note that it is several years old.

From: http://www.banderasnews.com/0503/nr-expatriates.htm:

Ironically, the influx of people from north of the border is sparking a kind of backlash - against Americans among Americans.

San Miguel de Allende may be the most American town in the country. About 10 percent of the residents are American. Most stores price their wares in dollars. English is heard everywhere.

"Americans have been coming here for years," said Daniel Scher, a businessman in the town. "Now it's a crescendo."

The Americans in San Miguel are the ones who regularly oppose allowing chains such as McDonalds and Starbucks to move in. And they frown on the idea of building a freeway to better connect San Miguel to the rest of the country.

Residents of Ajijic share those sentiments.

"There's a growing sense here," said Karen Blue of MexicoInsights.com, a Web magazine published in Ajijic, "that it's time to shut the door to outsiders, bolt it and throw away the key. But these are just people being selfish - because the flow will only grow."

[Darlene Lindholm]

http://web.mnstate.edu/robertsb/308/internationalretirementmigratio...

I downloaded the .pdf and will send it to you via email as well.

[The Boquete Handbook]

Gracias Darlene! I got it.

dlh

[wryawry]

Personally, I found this "scientific study" to be the single most boring thing I've endured since, well, the LAST 'scientific study" I had to endure .....

[David van Harn]

Thanks, Jim.  Excellent reference. 

I discovered, researched and considered Ajijic on Lake Chapala about 45 miles north of Guadalajara, but decided to not even visit there to check it out.  Lake Chapala is Mexico's largest in surface area, but is shallow, polluted, and has many problems.  I don't want to live near a body of water that I cannot enjoy. Although Ajijic seemed to be a good place for American expats to live, I wanted a nicer physical environment.

In contrast, my research on Boquete was all positive, which led me to visit and check it out.  I found the climate of Boquete very appealing, and my exploratory 4-month visit confirmed my choice.  The many fresh, gurgling streams, drinkable water, clean air and ideal temperature range are perfect for my tastes, and the local culture and excellent, friendly expat community won my heart very quickly.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Lake Chapala. 

The city Guadalajara, Jalisco, has relied on Lake Chapala as a principal source of water since the 1950s.^[3] Shortly after, a few consecutive years of poor rainfall dramatically decreased the water level of the Lake. The level rebounded until 1979, when Lake Chapala's water level rapidly began decreasing due to increases in urban water consumption.

Erosion due to deforestation along the Lake as well as the Lerma River has led to increased sedimentation of the Lake, also contributing to loss of lake depth. The shrinking depth has also raised the Lake's average temperature, resulting in increased evaporation.

Simultaneously, the waters of Lake Chapala are polluted by municipal, industrial and agricultural wastes, coming primarily from the Lerma River. The increased presence of nutrients from the pollution combined with the warmer water has been a boon to an invasive species of Water Hyacinth. The water hyacinth further exacerbates the problem of a shrinking lake depth through its own consumption of the water.

The increase in water pollution coupled with the increased presence of water hyacinth has had devastating effects on the ecology of the lake. Fish stock has decreased dramatically and some endemic species (e.g. a fish colloquially known as 'white fish') are on the verge of extinction. Contaminated fish stock has also posed a serious threat to the health and livelihoods of people who depend on the fish for food and their livelihoods.^[4]

 

[Thomas Bonham]

In other words, the lake works as a visual aide to sell real estate....

Mexican realtor: "And over here you have a view of Lake Chapala."

Gringo:  "Oh, wow!  cool!"

...although in practical reality, it's just a toilet bowl.  Thanks for the heads up.

[wryawry]

What did lil' Kim Jong Phukt have to opine?

Ever curious,

wry

[Dale Thomas]

Jim, I was unable to find it on Netflix.  I wonder if it has been dropped.  Do you remember when you saw it?

Thanks!