By Jack Cumming
In a 1992 presidential debate, Ross Perot warned that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would result in a “giant sucking sound” as American jobs would move south. Without going into whether he was right or wrong, there has been a movement among some aging Americans to relocate to Mexico as an affordable alternative to aging in the United States.
In the Mail
Recently, I received an email from a woman who had considered CCRC life in the United States but decided on an alternative. “I want you to know that I have found a northern Mexican community for a green house. I have bought two condos and have a deposit on a third. They are all in a high-end community called Costa Divina (near the town of Rocky Point). The condos are next to each other, all on the beach and world world-class golf course. One of the condos is for my advocate, who will be my daughter’s substitute.”
She was referring to the Green House Project originated by Dr. Bill Thomas. I very much appreciated her reminding me of the Mexican alternative, which has attracted many Americans and Canadians to retire there. In the United States, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports:
“… that immigrants comprise a large and growing role of the direct care workforce providing LTC services, particularly in home care settings. Restrictions on immigration and mass deportations could lead to reductions in immigrants available to fill these roles, which would exacerbate workforce shortages, making it harder for people to find caregivers for themselves and their loved ones.”
An Immigration Alternative
An intriguing alternative might be to reverse the migration. Instead of immigrants coming to the United States to care for Americans, Americans could emigrate elsewhere to places with willing workers. That would spare those south-of-the-border migrants from having to face a hostile border. It could also bring the economic value of American retirement wealth to Mexico, Dominica, and other aspiring nations.
Since I live in California near the border with Mexico, I was aware that there is an American retirement colony in Rosarito, Mexico, south of San Diego. Meghan Markle’s father is famously in one of them. Many of the “ex-pats” living there come to San Diego for Medicare-funded healthcare. My correspondent’s choice, though, led me to look more deeply into the phenomenon of Americans going south to find affordable retirement living.
Caring For Our Parents
In the course of that research, I stumbled across a fascinating video, titled “Why We Left Our Dream Life in Mexico and Returned to the U.S.” The video provides a window into how one middle-class couple lived the Mexican option, found it excellent, but then returned to the United States, not for what you might expect, but to care for her mother. It’s the reverse of the old story, “We don’t want to be a burden for our children.” This mother did want to burden her children. My reaction: not all decisions are either rational or wise.
Language is the biggest barrier to the Mexican Dream, but there are others. Many returnees cite a “mañana” culture, fear for safety, and more. Recently, LeadingAge has advocated immigration to offset the workforce challenge in American senior living. The reverse might be easier.
Transplanted Americans
The “reverse” would be to create a self-contained CCRC community, perhaps on the scale of an Erickson community, but located in a labor-rich, attractive Mexican location. As a nation, we have foreign military bases. Why not self-contained retirement communities? Already, cruise lines’ private beach resorts are growing in popularity.
Such an initiative would turn the LeadingAge suggestion on its ear. It brings to mind the oft-quoted maxim, “If you can’t move the mountain to Moses, then bring Moses to the mountain.” Sometimes a challenge calls for a mindset reversal. Maybe the folks in the video cited above should have been the mountain, instead of letting mother hold rock solid.
