Sunday, May 20, 2007

The Young and the Restless

When I started this project, I thought it would lead to new and interesting fields of research: geriatrics, creative aging, and retirement studies, to name a few. As a registered nurse turned academic folklorist, it seemed like a perfect fit. After all, I understand better than most the challeges of aging, and my second career asks people to share their stories. SMA should be my dream fieldsite.

It is, but what I did not plan on encountering here three years ago when I wrote my first grant was that this city is also home to a number of young professionals, people who come here not expecting to retire in their 40s, but to work through their peak earning years. Yes, they want to make a living in Mexico.

My first response to this was, "gee, haven't you seen that line of creative go-getters heading north--they, at least think the opporunities are there, not here." But the reality is that there are many ways to make a living here, and sometimes people make life decisions based on issues other than their income potentials. The coming week promises to give me some insights to the ways that 30 and 40 somethings actually go about it here.

Here is a sample of what I hope to explore:

Couples with young families who do not want to raise their kids in the U.S.

Young singles who are looking for adventure

Young singles who see a remarkable professional opportunity here

People who are developing real estate properties

People who are telecommuters

Of course, I'll also interview the standard retired expats, but I am looking forward to insights from this new, and quite unexpected group of San Miguel expats.

2 comments:

Billie Mercer said...

SMA Gringa, I'll be back in SMA in a week. I know a family with children and also a couple of young singles that you might talk with.
Billie Mercer
You'll find my phone # in Juarde

atapaz said...

Hi Deb,

I'm responding to your question you left on my blog, www.movetogto.com. My wife and I just recently decided moving there is something we want to do so we're still trying to figure out how to go about it. As for income while over there, I plan to keep my job in the US and telecommute. I design and build software systems so fortunately all I need is a high-speed internet connection, a laptop, and Vonage router. My wife is a nurse and doesn't want to be one in Mexico because from what we hear it's not a respected profession over there. So far she's thinking that she might try to find a job teaching English or just working full-time on an internet business. Feel free to contact me at atapazguard-gto@yahoo.com.