MEXICO CITY--In the last decade, an estimated half million Americans moved permanently to Mexico, 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 Mexico -- have so many Americans moved to Mexico.
"A generation ago, older Americans would move to San Miguel, or Lake Chapala, or Mexico City," says Joann Andrews, who has lived in Merida, a large city on the Yucatan peninsula, since the 1950s. "But now, there are Americans setting down roots throughout the entire country. Americans have finally discovered the beauty of their most populous neighbor."
Officials at the American embassy estimate that there are "officially" more than 600,000 American citizens living permanently in Mexico, 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 Mexico is "in the ballpark of 750,000."
In Baja California, an estimated 100,000 Americans have created the first North American land rush of the 21st century. In the Yucatan peninsula, there are more Americans retirees than in some cities in southern Florida.
"When I first moved to Mexico, my family and friends thought I was nuts," says Skip Connors, a Vietnam veteran who has lived in Mexico since the 1990s. "But the quality of life I enjoy here, the friendships I have made and the peace of mind that I have living where people treat each other with respect and decency has saved me."
For decades, most Americans living in Mexico were retirees. But something of greater consequence than American-style retirement communities is taking shape. Mexico is confronting the cultural and socioeconomic impact of "Generation Gringo": young, working-age American migrants who are starting families
2007-04-15
11:19:06
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21 answers
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asked by
Rikjard M
2
in
Politics & Government
➔ Immigration
The largest number of Americans outside the United States live in Mexico. According to American Citizens Abroad, there are more than 1,000,000 Americans living in Mexico.[3] http://www.aca.ch/amabroad.pdf
2007-04-15
11:20:45 ·
update #1
http://www.aca.ch/amabroad.pdf
2007-04-15
11:21:40 ·
update #2
The Americans-in-Mexico Reports of the new estimates are muddying-up the waters of the discussion, but post-September 11th immigration rule changes in Mexico hold the promise of producing more reliable demographic information about all foreigners in Mexico, not just Americans.
Discussing these new estimates at a September, 2001 meeting of The American Society in Mexico City, Universidad de las Américas-Puebla, social anthropologist Professor Mary Alcocer-Berriozábal, Ph.D., reported that research she conducted for her doctoral thesis (University of Kansas, 2000) indicated that the number of U.S. citizens living in Mexico is 1 million, and that 600,000 of those live in Mexico City.
Originally estimating that 600,000 Americans resided in Mexico, Professor Alcocer changed the number to 1 million. Describing the methodology of arriving at her initial projection, she said, "According to the 1994 and 1995 Statistical Abstract of the U.S., there are 2,301,000 American citizens ...
2007-04-15
11:25:32 ·
update #3