By Nataly Mayne | AMAR Association
Studies reveal that Mexico is the 4th most welcoming country to expats out of 64 countries ranked last year. This isn´t very surprising as expats, especially Americans, have been moving to Mexico for retirement for quite some time now. But recent studies have shown that now, the specific demographics of American women and British expats, are increasingly coming to Mexico as well.
The categories that were used for the study in which Mexico ranked in 4th place are as it follows: Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Family Life, Personal Finance and Cost of Living. When it comes to Mexico, the country really stood up regarding the friendliness of its people. While only 42% of expats in other countries mentioned that it was easy to make local friends, 80% of the expats in Mexico were forming friendships with no problem (Nelson, 2019).
And as the expat community grows in Mexico, Janet Blaser takes the opportunity to tell the story from a female perspective. She managed to get stories from several women around Mexico, for them to tell the reasons why they decided to come here, how it has worked for them and how they have felt in their new home. She mentions that the attractive of being somewhere new is that, once you’re out of your comfort zone, is easier to recreate yourself and do little or massive changes that at the end leave you with a new, better you (DeVries, 2019).
Other things that are mentioned in an interview she had with Expats In Mexico, is that, whenever you’re adjusting to a new environment, the precautions are always the same. Many are the news we hear about violence in Mexico, or even their sexist culture. However, many women expats have been able to live comfortably while taking the same safety measurements as taken in other places, as well as they’ve been able to create businesses and have male employees working underneath them (DeVries, 2019).
As for the British expats, there has also been an increasing tendency of them making Mexico their home. Apparently, the recent situation with Brexit might be the reason more brit expats to Mexican beach towns, as they are comfortably similar to what they would find in Spain, Italy or southern France (Yucatán Expat Life, 2019).
However, for British expats, the move might not be as easy as it is for their American friends. Not only because one trip might be long enough, but because more trips than one might be necessary. One of the main tips for brit expats trying to move to Mexico is to visit several times and during different seasons, as to make sure you can handle the temperatures and have everything you might need for those temperatures.
As it has been for several years know, we know Mexico will be waiting for all these new demographics with arms wide open.
AMAR Friends Foundation 
Mexicans ought to say now: “Build the wall”
Maybe right Daniel. The influx of new expats from US and Canada has been significant. Some we have discovered here at Lake Chapala come with a poor attitude and unwillingness to adapt to Mexican customs and traditions. I firmly believe if one moves here, they must leave behind much of the prior lifestyle and be willing to accept Mexico and its lifestyle. My wife and I call ourselves American-Mexicans because we voluntarily chose to leave the US to retire and begin a new life adventure in a new adopted country. So yes a wall, as sad as that sounds, might be good to keep out the undesirable expats from up north.