The ex-pat, romantic as ever
The next time someone tells you to hit the road – and not in a manner that indicates “come right back” – you should know the advice often goes heeded.
It’s more likely, however, Americans are moving from the U.S. because they are looking for a different lifestyle, according to Tai Aguirre, producer of the web- and radio-based ExPat Show.
More than 8 million Americans are living abroad. From Mexico to Australia, they have taken their furniture, families, intellectual property and retirement savings with them. They may be going to a new country, but “they feel very much ‘American’ even though living on foreign soil.” They also get to do something that’s still very much American: “They still pay taxes,” said Aguirre.
While Mexican-American border patrols try to prevent illegal aliens from getting into this country, there are thousands of American citizens crossing into Mexico for an “easier, freer, less expensive way of life.” Aguirre said many Americans have discovered life on the Yucatan peninsula and other parts of Mexico can offer serenity as well as a sense of social security – and not the one with the capital S’s – “something they could no longer find” in the U.S.
“It’s a peaceful place,” said Aguirre, “one that draws many tourists who eventually return to live there because of the lifestyle and the ability to live on a fixed income that would not carry them as far in the U.S. They have been more than enthusiastic about blending into the culture of the Mayan roots the Yucatan offers. It’s a spiritual place, something many are searching for when they move abroad – a sense of serenity and inner peace they can’t find in 24/7 America. And many can connect with it outside our borders. Yet, they retain their American uniqueness and bring our culture to other people.”
Expatriates, says Aguirre, “are really goodwill ambassadors for America.” Their ability to assimilate into the culture while retaining their own native heritage gives people in other countries a sense of what rank-and-file Americans are all about, helping to remove the “ugly American” stigma.
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