Retiring in Mexico, 2

 
 
 
 
 

Vocabulary

 

ideal	viewpoint	established
retire	population	according to
mild	issue (3)	snowball (2)
visa (2)	survive	high profile
a tenth	turn into	colonial (2)
status	paperwork	permission
add (2)	significant	bring/brought/brought
boost	standpoint	empathetic
benefit	round up	practice (2)
benign	legal (2)	kick them out
expat	presence	come/came/come
pants	obviously	begin/began/begun
lay-low	lucrative	catch/caught/caught
topic	vulnerable	caught with his pants down
pain	painless	leave/left/left (2)
dodge	authority	authorities
fine (2)	care (2)	lose/lost/lost
ban	point (2)	come back (2)
illegal	divisive	relaxed (2)
local	depend	come to power
value	castigation	coexistence
bother	base (2)	underground
policy	resident	underground economy
call for	official (2)	live and let live
ace (2)	trade (2)	make up (2)
sleeve	negotiate	up his sleeve

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

San Miguel de Allende is the ideal place for Americans to retire. With a mild climate, direct connections to the US and healthcare far cheaper than back home, the central Mexican town has a well-established expat community.

More than one million American citizens currently live in the country, according to the US State Department. Yet Mexican immigration authorities say fewer than 20% of them have official permission.

American Expat Female: “I’m on a tourist visa.

American Expat Couple, Husband, 1: “So our legal services just right now on the visa that’s issued at the airport for six months.”

American Expat Couple, Husband, 2: “Just laying low, and not being high-profile is the way to survive.”

San Miguel de Allende is home to 12,000 American and Canadian expats who make up a tenth of this pretty, colonial town’s population.

And although many of them are here without official immigration paperwork, in bringing their dollars down to central Mexico they add a significant boost to the local economy.

Ian Clement is an American lawyer who now bases his practice in San Miguel de Allende.

Ian Clement, Immigration Lawyer: “The Mexican government has a very empathetic viewpoint towards those people, and do not just round them up and kick them out.

Because if you are coming down here and your benign presence, and all you’re doing is putting money into the economy then why not have you?

From a legal standpoint, from a tax standpoint, it’s a bad idea because if you do start something, and it begins to snowball, you’re almost caught with your pants down because you’re doing something that’s obviously lucrative.

And so you leave yourself completely vulnerable to castigation.

But for those who come to Mexico to live easily, many here say there are painless ways of dodging the immigration authorities.

Chris Kocher, US expat: “You can go and say, ‘I lost my visa,’ and they’ll fine you. But they don’t care. They don’t get angry to the point where they say, ‘Well no, you can’t come back here in — you’re banned, or anything like that. It’s not like the UK.”

Despite illegal immigration between Mexico and the US becoming a divisive political topic since President Trump came to power local officials in San Miguel say they are relaxed about experts immigration status.

Gonzalo Gonzales, San Miguel de Allende Council President: “Here in San Miguel, we greatly value our foreign community; San Miguel’s economy depends much upon our expat residents. And we do not bother individuals who benefit our society.”

Chris Kocher, US expat: “We do what the Maxwells will do in the States; it’s an underground economy — live and let live.”

San Miguel de Allende’s foreign and Native communities live in peaceful coexistence.

But as President Trump calls for changes to international immigration and trade policy, the American retirees unofficial legal status may turn into the political ace up Mexico sleeve at the negotiating table.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

 

Questions

11th. Eleventh Question. Many US citizens like living in Mexico. True or false? Why have many Americans moved to Mexico?

12th. Twelfth Question. Are all American expats in Mexico legal residents? Did they sneak across the border? How have many come to Mexico?

13th. Thirteenth Q. How do they behave and reside in Mexico? Do the hold wild, extravagant parties and make speak a lot in public?

14th. Fourteenth. The American residents in Mexico are dispersed all over the country. Is this right or wrong?

15th. Fifteenth. Are the residency laws in Mexico strictly enforced? Why have Mexican officials turned a blind eye to US expats?

16th. Sixteenth. According to one American expat, what happens if a Mexican police or official asks for your ID or legal document?

17th. Seventeenth. Do American and local communities have a good, symbiotic relationship?

18th. Eighteenth. Everything between the US and Mexican relations is fine and perfect. Is this correct or incorrect?

 

T. June. There are foreign expat (American, British, Australian, French) communities in my city or country. Yes or no?

U. July. What happens to people in your country when they retire? Do they move anywhere?

V. August. Do (retired) people from your nation have communities overseas? What are some popular destinations?

W. September. Why do they live overseas?

X. October. What might happen in the future?

Y. November. Should there be more freedom of movement, should there be greater restrictions, or should things remain the same?

Z. December. Where would you live to live, if you could live anywhere you wanted? I would like to live in . . . . . . because . . . . .