Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia and Latin America (Rasaala) Vol.1 NO.1 (A Journal of Spread Corporation)

Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia and Latin America (RASAALA)
Volume 1 Number 1 March 2010
Published by SPREAD Corporation
Sustaniable Programs for Reducing Educational and Avocational Disadvantages

www.spreadcorp.org
Editor in chief
Neil Carr
Department of Tourism,
The University of Otago,
P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
neil.carr@otago.ac.nz
Editorial Board
Rachid Amirou Pablo Idahosa

Professeur des universités, Université de African Studies Department,
Perpignan et Paris 12 . Vanier College,
Responsable du département tourisme, ESC York University,
Troyes 4700 Keele Street
Email:rachid-amirou@wanadoo.fr North York, Toronto On. Canada.
Email: pidahosa@yorku.ca
Christine N.Buzinde
The Pennsylvania State University, Edward L. Jackiewicz
Department of Recreation, Park and Department of Geography,
Tourism Management California State University, Northridge, US.
University Park, PA 16802 Email: ed.jackiewicz@csun.edu
Email: cbuzinde@psu.edu
Lynn M. Jamieson
Matt Forss Department of Recreation, Park, and
Private Practice Tourism Studies,
Email: worldmusicman2002@yahoo.com Indiana University - Bloomington, US
Email: lyjamies@indiana.edu
Abdelhadi Halawa
Department of Wellness and Sport Sciences, Tess Kay
Millersville University, School of sport and exercise science,
Millersville, PA, USA. Loughborough University, UK
Email: Abdelhadi.Halawa@millersville.edu Email: T.A.Kay@lboro.ac.uk
Kirsten Holmes Jay Mafukidze

School of Management, University Of Regina, Sask. Canada.
Curtin University of Technology, Email: Jay.Mafukidze@uregina.ca
Australia
Email: K.Holmes@cbs.curtin.edu.au Muhammad Aurang Zeb Mughal,
Department of Anthropology,
Durham University, UK
Email: m.a.z.mughal@durham.ac.uk
Jerome Singleton Iheanyichukwu Nwokoma Osondu
School of Health and Human Performance, Department of History,
Dalhousie University, Geography and Political Science,
Nova Scotia, Canada Fort Valley State University,
Email: Jerome.Singleton@dal.ca Fort Valley, GA 31030
Email: osondui@fvsu.edu
Eileen O'Connor
School of Human Kinetics, Hazel Tucker
University of Ottawa, On. Canada. Tourism Department, University of Otago,
Email: eoconnor@uottawa.ca P.O. Box 56, Dunedin,
New Zealand
Email: htucker@business.otago.ac.nz
Managing Editor
Femi J. Kolapo,
University of Guelph,
Guelph, On., Canada.
kolapof@uoguelph.ca
A Special Issue on Lifestyle Migration
Guest editor, Edward L. Jackiewicz
Table of Contents
Guest editor’s introduction to the special issue on “lifestyle migration” 1-4
Edward L. Jackiewicz and Jim Craine . . . . . 5-29

Destination Panama: An Examination of the Migration-Tourism-
Foreign Investment Nexus
Annie Linderson . . . . . . . . 31-52

To enter the kitchen door to people’s lives: A Multi-Method
Approach in the Research of Transnational Practices among
Lifestyle Migrants
Mari Korpela . . . . . . . . 53-73

Me, Myself and I: Western Lifestyle Migrants in Search of
Themselves in Varanasi, India
Omar Lizárraga Morales . . . . . . . 75-92

The US citizens Retirement Migration to Los Cabos, Mexico.
Profile and social effect
Reviewers for the current issue . . . . . . 93
.
Guest editor, Edward L. Jackiewicz
Department of Geography
California State University
Northridge, CA 91330-8249
Introduction
Growing up in the northeastern United States with its long, cold winters, relatively expensive
cost of living, excessive traffic, crime, etc., the desire to retire in Florida was a dream to which
many aspired. Indeed, many aspects of life, including retirement seemed so much less complex
than they do today. My parents fulfilled their “dream” and relocated to Florida’s Gulf Coast
shortly after I left for university and joined many fellow Northeasterners and Midwesterners
seeking sun, year round golf, early bird dinners, and more affordable living; all of which were
readily attainable. As we entered the new millennium, traditional retirement destinations in the
US, such as Florida and Arizona, began to lose many of the attributes that made them appealing
to retirees in the past and thus the migration flows began to disperse to less traditional
destinations. Moreover, retirement or amenity-driven relocations are no longer just for the
elderly, as this special issue illustrates.
Social Scientists have become increasingly interested in what is being labeled “lifestyle
migrations”. For Benson and O’Reilly (2009: 2) lifestyle migration is the “…spatial mobility of
relatively affluent individuals of all ages, moving either part-time or full-time, to places that are
meaningful because, for various reasons, they offer the potential for a better quality of life.”
Thus, they are not driven by job opportunities or solely by economic reasons that have driven
much of migration throughout history. However, before we settle on “lifestyle migration” as the
accepted definition of this movement, others who have conducted research in this arena have
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 1 - 4

2 Introduction
employed the terms of International Retirement Migration (see Williams, et al. 2000) and
Residential Tourism (see McWatters 2009; Rodriguez 1998), both of which are used in this issue
to describe such movement, although I feel that lifestyle migration is a more encompassing term
and therefore more pragmatic in describing the heterogeneity of this group.
The aim of this special issue is to introduce some of the breadth of research being done
on this topic, broadly defined. The importance of these population movements will continue to
increase as “baby boomers” continue to retire and others sour on life in industrialized countries
and have the means to move abroad. Scholarly research is still in its early stages and thus it
remains a fertile avenue for research. Questions abound as to which destinations are most
popular and are they able to retain their popularity despite increasing competition from locales
throughout the world. Moreover, how long can some countries afford to offer extremely
generous incentives to would-be migrants before social, economic, and environmental stresses
reach their breaking point? A casual review of the demand, i.e. migrants seeking an international
destination; and supply, i.e. places luring potential migrants; suggests that the supply may soon
outweigh the demand jeopardizing the long-term future of this form of development.
This issue illustrates some of the diversity of topics and approaches to research that have
emerged over the past several years. Researchers from various disciplines have taken an interest
in lifestyle migration, which is reflected in the differing approaches to the topic. In this issue, we
hear from geographers, anthropologists, and social scientists as they shed light on the diversity of
the lifestyle migration process in various parts of the world.
The first article, by Edward Jackiewicz and James Craine, examines the surge of lifestyle
migrants relocating to Panama. The focus here is on the national level as they question the
sustainability of the project and whether or not Panama should embrace, i.e. subsidize; lifestyle

Introduction 3
migration as part of their development arsenal. They also bring attention to the dealmakers or
“middlemen” in the migration process, in this case the company International Living, who
specializes in connecting would be migrants to destinations throughout the world.
The second article is by Swedish anthropologist Annie Linderson, who provides us with a
methodological piece on how to do research on this topic. The paper is based on her research in
the Costa del Sol, but its applicability is versatile and could be embraced by those doing research
in Asia, Africa, or Latin America.
This is followed by an article by Mari Korpela using extensive interviews with
Westerners who have migrated to Varanasi, India. Many have eschewed the Western lifestyle
and left with the intention of finding a better life in India and ended up “finding themselves” and
now many of those who leave Varanasi return on an annual basis and have formed their own
community there.
The final article of this issue is by Mexican social scientist Omar Lizárraga Morales who
takes a critical stance on the increasing presence of Americans in the popular tourist destination
of Los Cabos, Mexico. He argues that the growing presence of Americans has resulted in deep
social and environmental problems that jeopardize the sustainability of the region and make it
increasingly difficult for locals to cope due to rising costs of living, environmental degradation
and social exclusion.
References
O’Reilly, K. and M. Benson. 2009. Lifestyle Migration: Escaping to the Good Life? In M.
Benson and K. O’Reilly (eds). Lifestyle Migration: Expectations, Aspirations and
Experiences. pp. 1-13. Farnham: Ashgate.
McWatters, M.R. 2009. Residential Tourism: (De)Constructing Paradise. Buffalo: Channel

View Publications.
Rodriguez, V., G. Fernndez-Mayoralas, and F. Rojo. 1998. European retirees on the Costa del

4 Introduction
Sol: A cross-national comparison. International Journal of Population Geography 4:2 ,

pp. 91-111.
Williams A.M., R. King, A. Warnes, and G. Patterson. 2000. Tourism and international retirement
migration: new forms of an old relationship in southern Europe. Tourism Geographies, 2(1): 28-49.

Destination Panama: An Examination of the Migration-Tourism-Foreign
Investment Nexus
Edward L. Jackiewicz and Jim Craine

Department of Geography
California State University, Northridge
Abstract
Panama has emerged as an important destination for US citizens seeking an affordable

and ‘exotic’ place to invest, relocate or live out their “golden years”. The result on the
Panamanian landscape to date has been uneven and its implications to the Panamanian
economy and society warrant attention. The flow of new residents and money, both of
which have been made relatively easy by liberal government policies, have spurred
growth immediately evidenced by the abundance of half-built skyscrapers in the capital
city and burgeoning non-urban communities complete with golf courses and other
amenities typical of retirement communities in the US. The objectives of this paper are
twofold: first, we aim to build a conceptual framework in an effort to better understand
the myriad of factors that intersect to establish such movements; and second we examine
how this rapid influx of US culture and economics promote and perpetuate what we
argue is a questionably sustainable neoliberal economic agenda.
Keywords: residential tourism, globalization, neoliberalism, Panama
Introduction
Panama is an increasingly important destination for the flows of people, money, and
ideas that circulate throughout the Americas, often with uneven results. Panama has
found, at least temporarily, a niche within the region (and world) as a safe place to invest
and the concomitant economic advantages are now evidenced by rapid commercial and
residential development in the capital city and in more remote yet often more
economically and/or aesthetically desirable locales throughout the country. The country
has established a highly favorable tax climate for investors, including homeowners, while
at the same time launching an extensive marketing campaign in combination with many

6 Edward L. Jackiewicz and Jim Craine
local and foreign private companies to lure tourists and potential long-term residents to
what is promoted as an environmentally rich country friendly to international tourists,
investors, and retirees. Our emphasis throughout the paper is on the growing North
American (primarily US) communities whose inhabitants range from retirees, part-time
residents, tourists, to investors. The intense promotion of the tourism and real estate
industries (not necessarily separate as we discuss later) has obviously hastened human
and capital flows into the country with economic, social and environmental implications.
Indeed, based on a report by Prima Panama, a real estate promotion company, there are
now 107 residential towers of at least 20 stories each valued at $3.2 billion under
construction in metropolitan Panama City alone (see Lakshamanan 2007). The same
report claims there are 11,000 apartments scheduled for completion by 2010. The average
price on a new condo in Panama City is US$289,000, but some luxury places can go well
into the millions. In an effort to analyze the confluence of these activities and their
potential for sustainable, equitable growth in Panama we borrow from several streams of
literature including: globalization/neoliberalism, residential tourism, international
retirement migrant and citizenship/identity. As such our paper is cognizant of the
territorial institutions of governance that regulate these spaces and the extent to which
opportunity has availed itself to all members of society in a democratic fashion.
Situated within these broad frameworks, we tie together several strands of inquiry
that help to define contemporary Panama. Because of this mode of development, Panama
is similar to many countries in the region that have become highly reliant on foreign
investment and the influx of people (i.e. investors, tourists, seasonal residents, and
laborers), a situation that leaves Panama exposed to the uncertainties characteristic of the

Destination Panama: An Examination of the Migration-Tourism-Foreign Investment 7
Nexus
hyper-capitalistic neoliberal world. As such, our focus here is on macro-level
developments with some discussion of local-level phenomena. Panama is by no means
the only country experiencing these trends, but it does seem to be at or near the forefront
of a model of development that is highly dependent on foreign investors, foreign visitors,
and foreign-born residents and therefore could be a “bellweather” for things to come
around the region and globe.
Global-Local Connections
Our discussion of the dominant economic imperative in Panama can be seen in the work
of McMichael (1996: 26-7): “Local processes, and local expressions of globalization, are
then situated in an historically concrete, rather than an abstract context.” We believe this
is a very concise and apt description of the term “new economy” especially as it pertains
to the North American homebuyer’s engagement in a specific economic transaction. One
attribute of a globalized new economy is the extreme hypermobility of capital,
particularly its ability to overcome the historical and political boundaries of nation-states.
A second attribute is the effect of the new economy on spatial outcomes at local scales,
chiefly within the global city that Sassen (1998: 86) describes as “strategic sites for the
valorization of leading components of capital and for the coordination of global economic
processes.” These two characteristics identify both the economic transactions and the
cultural implications of our engagement with these new economies of globalization.
The ability to acquire commodities such as a home in Panama, a process made
easier by the Internet and organized sales forums, is indicative of the changes in scale and
speed that typify globalized financial activities. “Money,” according to Barnet and
Cavanagh (1996: 361), “has become free of its place.” The Internet functions as a site for

transactions, a place completely free of labor unions, minimum wage laws and other
‘encumbrances’, particularly taxes (Mander and Boston, 1996) where North Americans,
as consumers, are able to eliminate any temporal-spatial limitations that interfere with
their desire to purchase a commodity. Buyers are able to largely bypass the normative
real estate agent-facilitated transaction and are thus placed within the nexus of
deregulation – their money has now indeed “traveled faster, farther, and in ways never
envisioned by banking legislation and regulatory authorities” (365). Buyers are capable
of making these forms of transactions because price controls on their desired commodity
have been lifted, creating attractive price differentials. The middleman (i.e. real estate
agent) is transformed by, or at least now subordinate to the Internet or the group sales
activities that are the chief facilitators of such transactions and, at the same time, create a
sub-industry of potential buyer tourism, i.e. those who travel from abroad to tour
potential retirement/investment properties throughout the country. These types of
transactions have contributed to the economic reorientation towards home ownership in
foreign countries brought about by the Structural Readjustment Programs discussed by
Bello (1996). Buyers have become part of the dynamic economic restructuring process –
through the liquidity of capital they have transgressed the local and positioned themselves
within the global. By utilizing the globalizing effects of deregulation, buyers have
contributed to a further loss of significance for the Panamanian state and to the
emergence of the supranational. In this instance, the primary role of the state is as
facilitator by creating an attractive investment/retirement destination.
The new Americanized communities become local expressions of globalization.
The urban developments embodying the sensibilities of the intruders reflect the

Nexus
architectural aesthetics of the home country itself, a landscape that contains several
conflicting elements: contemporary consumer capitalism embodied in modernist
architecture that sweeps away all trace of local history and tradition and local qualities of
space that are to be respected. McMichael (1996: 42) states, “As global integration
intensifies, the currents of multiculturalism swirl faster. Under these conditions, which
include the juxtaposition of ethnically distinct labor forces and communities, the politics
of identity tends to substitute for the civic (universalist) politics of nation-building.” This
concept of speed is common to the creation of North American communities in Panama:
things move too fast – the available commodities are increasingly valorized so there is
little time for contemplation of effect because of the desperation to keep pace with
something that is always on the verge of disappearing. Sassen (1996: 84) comments on
“experiences of membership and identity formation that represent new subjectivities” and
McMichael (48) states “global integration crystallizes the local, even to the point of
generating reaction to global analysis.” The purchases of North Americans present a
struggle for space within the now threatened geographic place of Panama and the
economic, social, and political confrontations within the amenity-rich (which not by
coincidence also investment-friendly) spaces depict the end of history for the
Panamanians. These occupied spaces represent a community struggling to survive a
contested problematic future for a globalized capitalist Panama that is now both
consumer and consumed.
The economic transactions that make Americans part of the new economy has
also given them access to this contested space. Culture has itself become a form of capital
and, like its financial counterpart, culture has become hypermobile and transnational. The

visual expressions of the processes of globalization that are represented by the homes of
the North American relocators resonate with equal intensity to multinational consumers
of the landscape. A landscape that must meet the imaginary of the US retiree ensuring
that their international foray is not too alien. They have thus participated in the new
economy in a multi-level manner. They have used the financial aspects to find
advantageous consumer conditions that are supranational in nature. They have also
redefined local affects, within the contested spaces of the globalized city, through their
representations of America in a Panama that struggles to comprehend its hybrid identity.
Residential Tourism/International Retirement Migration: Structures and Agency
Just as the lines between international tourist and international migrant can get blurred, so
has the terminology surrounding this subject. The two most commonly used terms are
International Retirement Migration (referred to elsewhere as IRM; see King, et al. 1998
for a detailed discussion) and Residential Tourism. We prefer the latter for this
discussion for several reasons as outlined by McWatters (2009): 1) it has a scholarly
tradition in describing the movement of Northern Europeans to Southern Spain (see also
Rodriguez, 2001); 2) their pattern of behavior is often similar to that of tourists; and 3) it
conscientiously drops the word “retirement” because many of these individuals are not
retirees. Another potentially slippery issue is defining who is actually a residential
tourist. For example, some may be seasonal migrants who continue to work in some
capacity either in their host country or are able to work from afar.
The accelerated movement of people from the United States or Canada to Latin
America, is fueled by several interrelated factors. First, many people in the US are
retiring at a younger age and/or living longer with greater resources and in turn greater

Nexus
flexibility with their retirement decision-making. Second, many more people have
greater international experience and familiarity with foreign places which makes places
like Panama more accessible and more desirable. Finally, many traditional retirement
destinations in the United States have become expensive and many are perceived or
experienced as too crowded, thereby negating the major pull factors that initially lured
retirees to destinations like Florida or Arizona. These adverse factors have driven a
greater number of investors/retirees to seek international destinations, as is evidenced by
the recent real estate boom in Panama.
In many ways, Panama has supplanted Costa Rica as the ‘trendy’ place for US
citizens to relocate. In the 1980s, Costa Rica offered many incentives to lure US
investors there but has since rolled back many of these policies to curb migrant flows.
The incentives currently offered by Panama are inspired by 1980s Costa Rica and
include: liberal landownership laws, a one-time tax exemption of up to $10,000 on
imported goods, a tax exemption on newly constructed properties for 20 years and a low
2.1% tax on other properties, low cost healthcare (most US migrants purchase private
insurance), a dollarized economy, not to mention discounts at movie theaters, restaurants,
medical services (e.g. dental, optometry), hotels and resorts, utilities, et al. These
incentives have given Panama a comparative advantage over many of its neighbors; not
to mention the historical linkages to the Panama Canal.
The increasing flow of individuals from the United States and Canada to Central
America in many ways imitates the retirement migration to Florida in the postwar period
but, as is the case with Panama, there are potentially adverse consequences to the local
economy, culture and environment. This is not to say the mass migration to Florida did

not create problems locally but the move further south to Central America represents a
migration stream that is ripe for investigation.
The Individual: tourists, migrants or both?
One of the initial obstacles in doing research on residential tourism is obtaining accurate
and/or reliable statistics. Within the US, the Department of State (DOS) collected this
information until 1999, but has since stopped due to security reasons. Even when they
did collect this information they were little more than estimates based partly on
registration with the US embassy in the host country. Data can be gathered from host
country censuses, but of course they would not necessarily be accurate because many
residents would not be counted, notably those who are part time residents. By any
estimate, the number of US residents in Panama has historically fluctuated due largely to
political events. The Panamanian census reveals an increase of 136% between 1990 and
2000, due likely to the 1989 overthrow of Manuel Noriega and return of former canal
workers and US military personnel who left when the Canal was handed back to Panama
(MPI 2006). There has not been a census since 2000, but by all accounts there has been a
swell in the number of US residents in Panama since that time.
Visa statistics are another way to obtain data on the number of US residents
living in Panama. Of course, these numbers are also prone to inaccuracy as not everyone
needs to apply for a visa as many apply for tourist visas if they live there part-time.
Nonetheless, these numbers highlight that the number of migrating retirees/relocators is
on the rise, as the number of visas issued to US residents more than tripled between 2003
and 2005. Panamanian officials state that US citizens represent 2/3 of foreign resident
visas issued over the past several years and between January 2003 and March 2006 at

Nexus
least 1,379 Americans have received such visas (see Lakshmanan 2007). Granted, this is
not a huge number but it should be viewed as more useful in revealing trends than
enumerating migrants.
Categorizing and conceptualizing this type of movement raises some provocative
questions without easy answers. Are these individuals who decide to buy a home (which,
it should be noted, is often a second home) in a foreign country and reside there for only
several months a year considered a resident of that country? If they retain citizenship and
an address in the US are they migrants or tourists? Neither? Both? With the onset of
globalization and the increasingly free flow of money and people these population
movements are becoming increasingly more complex and difficult to pinpoint. Urry
(1995) has argued the need to examine these leisure-related activities amid the wider
social relations in which they exist, a condition that Williams and Hall (2000: 29) argue is
pertinent to the study of tourism and migration because of their complex causal
connections. Indeed, tourist destinations become relocation/retirement destinations
because they are both often amenity-rich areas.
Much of the previous work on the links between tourism and migration has
focused on how European tourist destinations can become retirement destinations (see for
example Williams, et al. 1997). This tourism-retirement nexus is hastened by second-
home buyers who, upon retirement, turn their vacation home into a retirement home
(Williams et al. 2000). We argue that the popularity of owning a home in Panama is
related to scalar economic and cultural outcomes of globalization. How this process
defines and complicates conceptions of citizenship is much less clear. We believe the
term “residential tourism” functions best in its ability to define conceptions of citizenship

and spaces of contestation. The use of this term within the economies of Panama
transforms the ‘home’ into a commodity that is a part of the much larger rubric of
consumed goods within the global marketplace.
Residential tourism thus becomes a historically concrete outcome, similar to
McMichael’s ‘set of relations’ and based on and constructed by social forces put into
place and supported by a set of capitalist relations driven by the desire to consume and to
own. Residential tourism becomes another industry designed to perpetuate the hegemony
of the Northern capitalist economies. For Panama, the subordinate cultural and historico-
economic relationship complements the First World notion that buying and selling is
‘natural’ and that Panama is thus more ‘natural’ in this respect than the United States.
Spatial availability in destination countries like Panama are often the result of the
inequalities of the historical processes of capitalism and are, according to Wijers (1998:
71), “relegated to the informal and unregulated labor market – without rights and without
protection [where] more dubious and unprotected labor markets have developed
internationally.” Residential tourism becomes, then, an economic manifestation of desire
that constructs the spaces of Northern pleasure and fantasy.
Linking Tourism and Retirement
We argue that there is a strong connection between tourism and relocation/retirement in
both the economic and social spheres. Panama emerged from the Noriega era embracing
a new economic model that included promoting tourism and attracting investors from the
United States and Canada. To see the effect of this model one has only to note that the
number of international tourist arrivals (it is logical to assume that investors/relocators
are part of this trend and data on them alone is not available) increased from: 345,000 in

Nexus
1995; 534,000 in 2002; and 795,000 in 2006. Once a tourist arrives in Panama, it is near
impossible to avoid being bombarded by the real estate mania sweeping the country. In
addition, even a cursory exploration of Panama-related websites will reveal a link to or
information about living in Panama, further illustrating the dramatic effects and
prominence of this new economic phenomenon.
Panama’s National Tourism Council was founded in 1983 to promote tourism and
like many government agencies began to lose its power as a result of the recent shift
toward neoliberalism and the concomitant increase of tourism investments that allow
tourist exemptions from import duties, income, and real estate taxes--pull factors that
have helped open the door for the residential tourism increase. Thus, as soon-to-be
investors from the United States and Canada were looking for options outside normative
communities the Panamanian government was creating an enticing environment for
potential investors and residential tourists. Not surprisingly, opportunists seized the
moment to connect the two.
It is important to note that the Panamanian government has not made the investor
friendly policies uniform throughout the country. Rather they have identified certain
areas as “tax free zones” as illustrated by the map below, which not surprisingly
encompasses the most aesthetically pleasing and tourist friendly locales throughout the
country. The subsequent description of each of these areas highlights their amenities.

Figure 1. Panama’s Free Zones.
Zone 1, La Amistad: Located in the provinces of Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro, characterized by the presence of La
Amistad International Park and Baru National Park. The structure is composed of 61attractions (47 are natural and 14
are cultural) which make this zone propitious for ecological tourism. The main areas of this zone are concentrated in
Boquete and to a lesser extent Cerro Punta, Volcan and the Sereno River.
Zone 2, Bastimentos: The province of Bocas del Toro has one of the largest Marine Parks in the country which
includes beach areas, reefs and the presence of the Afroantillian culture which is most present in the architecture of
the city of Bocas del Toro. The tourist areas of this zone are made up of 78 attractions (58 are natural and 20 are
cultural), predominating sandy, white beaches and crystalline waters which are ideal for diving and ecological tourism.
Zone 3, Arco Seco: The Arco Seco is conformed by the coastal areas of the provinces of Herrera and Los Santos,
unique for their traditions and socio-cultural events which attract large amounts of visitors.
Zone 4, Farallon: Farallon includes 80 kilometres of Pacific Coast, distributed between the provinces of Panama and
Cocle. Its tourist potential is comprised of 24 natural attractions of which 17 are beaches and the
remaining attractions are in the area of the Anton Valley for ecological tourism.
Zone 5, Metropolitan: The principal attractions are related with Panama City, shopping, business activities, historical
and cultural attractions as well as the natural parks that surround it. This zone has 126 attractions (72 are natural and
54 cultural).
Zone 6, Portobelo: Portobello is located in the province of Colon; it consists of beaches and innumerable diving
areas, a National park and an assembly of Historical Monuments. Zone 6 accounts for 82 attractions (54 are natural
and 28 are cultural) mainly reefs for underwater explorations and ruins of the forts of Portobelo.
Zone 7, San Blas: The Caribbean of the Kunas, an exotic place due to its islands and areas of corral reefs and white
sandy beaches guards one of the most traditional and native of the Americas.
There are 200 attractions in this zone (173 are natural and 27 are cultural). Its potential is characterized by more than
300 coral based islands and associated white sandy beaches.
Zone 8, Archipelago de Las Perlas: Composed of more than 30 islands and 83 beaches in the Pearl Island
Archipelago, complimented by ample coral reefs and innumerable sport fishing areas. Zone 8 is made up of
136 attractions all of which are natural, characterized by beaches and fishing spots.
Zone 9, Darien: The tourist potential of this zone is made up of 72 attractions (39 natural and 33 cultural). The main
attraction is the Darien National Park declared by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve ideal for the ecological and
adventure tourism, additionally it integrating the indigenous groups that live in this zone.
Source: http://www.panamarealtor.com/real-estate-law-incentives/projects-in-special-
tourism-zones

Nexus
Who’s behind the push?
While nearly all of the big real estate companies (Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Re/Max
to name just three) from the United States now operate in Panama, one particular
company, International Living (www.internaitonaliving.com), maintains a niche by
connecting potential residential tourists to desirable destinations around the globe,
including Panama. Created in 1979, International Living now plays a vital role in
promoting real estate investments around the globe, including Panama, as evidenced by
their advertising slogan: “Living better, for less, overseas.” Although one of the
company’s primary interests is to increase investments in Panamanian real estate,
International Living also offers a wide variety of travel activities including river rafting
and various sight-seeing adventures, as well as touring residential communities, thereby
making an explicit link between tourism and migration.
International Living has also contributed to the increase of investments in
Panamanian real estate by offering a complete range of housing from luxurious houses to
apartments, from properties in metropolitan Panama City to properties in the foothills of
the mountains to multi-acre beach lots. Panamanian real estate is especially presented as
more affordable and more desirable than other places in Central or South America due to
the fact that foreigners in Panama are offered the same property ownership rights as
Panamanian citizens in addition to the low price of property insurance and lower taxes
are all presented as incentives appealing to potential retirement migrants from the United
States and Canada. As a result, Panama has been ranked by the International Living

Newsletter as the world’s best place for Americans to live abroad, an accolade that
further contributes to the increase in residential tourism to Panama.
In addition to the aforementioned amenities geared to investors and retirees,
Panama has the additional pull factor of numerous U.S.-standard healthcare facilities
staffed with U.S-trained, English-speaking doctors that are readily available and easy to
access. Panama’s modern technology infrastructure also helps ease the transition for
Americans moving into a new environment and lifestyle. Panama has easily accessible
satellite television and high-speed, voice-over Internet. Although technology is beneficial
for communication it nonetheless has the potential to distance them from the Panamanian
people, culture, and lifestyle.
Thus, for many expatriates, Panama is the perfect place to enjoy a low cost of
living, a booming economy, and a government that supports business and foreign
investment. However, how is this all benefiting Panama and how long will it last? The
country is posting tremendous growth numbers in real GDP (7.5% increase in 2007), but
distribution remains an issue and the separation among class and ethnic lines is of great
concern. In fact, 40% of Panama’s population lives below the poverty level and their
wealth distribution is second worst in the hemisphere, next to Brazil. This situation is all
too characteristic of the endemic neoliberal economic policies introduced by the
Panamanian government in the 1980s and 1990s, especially those emphasizing
privatization and market competition, that threaten lower income communities in Panama
and elsewhere throughout the region. The separation of classes, often easily visible on
the landscape, is becoming increasingly evident as new high rise residential complexes,
gated communities, and resort areas typically have a strong security presence, either

Nexus
through gates and/or security guards, effectively separating them from the local
population.
One of the distinguishing features of the Latin America society at-large is its stark
and widening socio-spatial differentiation that caters to the elites, and in this context
including the transnational residents. For example, in his research on Managua, Rodgers
(2004) argues that with this new pattern of segregation in cities dotted with walls and
enclaves, public space is eroded and those living on the “inside” feel little responsibility
for those on the “outside.” This would be particularly true for Anglo residents who can
easily escape the local realities of Latin America while being surrounded by people of a
similar background inside the gated community, elite high-rise, or isolated rural enclave
thereby challenging or at least questioning the notion of citizenship or belonging.
Of Citizenship
Exactly what is meant by the term ‘citizenship’ is open to many definitions and meanings
within the various political nation-states and cultures of the world. Sennett (1994: 310)
endows citizenship with a particular freedom, “the ability to move anywhere, to move
without obstruction, to circulate freely, a freedom greatest in an empty volume.” Mitchell
(2000: 138-39) directly links citizenship to freedom of individual movement within the
spaces of the landscape. This type of citizenship is based on the externalization of those
deemed ‘undesirable” and can be accomplished through “design or through law
[enforcing] the fact that such exclusions are seen as a wholly desirable aspect of
citizenship.” Holston (1998) draws on T.H. Marshall’s work on the civil, social and
political rights of citizenship and sees citizenship as a ‘membership’ in or of a political
unit (usually the nation-state) that secures certain rights and privileges to those who fulfill

certain obligations. Thus citizenship becomes a concept that formalizes the conditions for
full participation in a community such as the residential tourism communities of Panama.
Within these concepts, tensions and spaces of resistance are created between local,
national and supranational units. There are continuing struggles to maintain power over
defining the rights of citizenship and the economic forces necessary to maintain those
rights. People can create their own, alternative spaces of citizenship which either
challenge or reinforce the inconsistencies and inequalities built into the political systems
of nation-states at any scale.
Economically, residential tourist citizenship takes one of two forms. One, membership in
a political unit gives an individual (or even a group) the ability to fully participate in
society that brings with it the protection of property rights and personal wealth. By
participating in the economy (as consumer or producer), members are guaranteed the
rights and entitlements contained within the free market society. A second form sees
market inequalities denying some members their citizenship entitlements. This allows the
state to intervene and offset these inequalities thereby ensuring the opportunity and the
right of everyone to participate in the complete range of social activities.
For residential tourists to be citizens (not necessarily in the legal sense) there must
be some degree of interaction within the economic structure of a larger membership-
providing entity. In Panama, these interactions are often controlled by the “third party” or
the dealmakers who bring the investor and property together thereby easing the
transaction process, but at the same time minimizing or eliminating the degree of
interaction typically characteristic of the road to citizenship, in a formal or informal
sense. Becoming part of the community allows residential tourists to recombine what

Nexus
their new culture has differentially transmitted to them, create new value from these
recombinations and make the new value available to each other through exchange.
Growth, either personal or some form of nationalism, comes from the differences in the
transmission of culture facilitated by the entitlements of citizenship, but if those
exchanges are minimized then how do we come to understand these interactions?
Cosgrove (1989: 123) states, “Any human intervention in nature involves its
transformation to culture, although that transformation may not always be visible,
especially to an outsider.” Most humans live in societies that are divided – by class, caste,
gender, age, and ethnicity or even physicality. Citizenship, as Mitchell has stated, is often
grounded in exclusionary practices, intentional or otherwise. An economically dominant
group like residential tourists will seek to establish its own experience of the world as the
objective and valid culture of all people. Power is then sustained through the reproduction
of culture. This is clearly shown in the residential tourism industry, be it through
gentrification (or redevelopment), through modernist urban constructions such as the
high-rise condominium boom in Panama City, through one-size-fits-all architecture that
inhibits bodily motion, and through the struggle to obtain a livable wage. If anything,
residential tourism is a good indication of the varying interpretations and forms of
citizenship and how there can be great differentiation across political boundaries (formal
or informal) and at any scale or economy. Also worthy of consideration, but beyond the
scope of this paper, are the perceptions of Panamanians and residential tourists have of
each other. Do the Panamanians view the hundreds of foreign residents housed in the
mountain enclave of Boquete as citizens? Similarly, do the new residents care to be
considered Panamanian while they are insulated in their community protected by the

security of their American neighbors, gates, and guards? Also, one must consider the
role of the Panamanians who build, clean and protect these properties. Obviously, there
is the necessary employee-employer capitalist relation, but within these communities who
is the insider and who the outsider?
According to Kempadoo, paraphrasing Marx (1998: 25, n.6), “humans make their
own history, but not in circumstances of their own choosing.” The ways in which
Panamanians produce and reproduce their social, economic and political life emphasizes
this interwovenness of human agency and social structure helping to make clear the
contested and problematical nature of the domain of the residential tourist. Panama, for
some Panamanians, is becoming a marginalized economic endeavor complicated by the
unavailability of those most affected to provide a voice offering a more provocative
reading of the Panamanian landscape.
The popularity of residential tourism defines the concept of neoliberal
reterritorialization in two ways. The economies associated with the industry reinforce the
dominant capitalist social constructs of globalization and illustrate the commoditization
of Panama and its consumption by a Northern hierarchy. Promotional web pages on the
Internet are clearly a site of capitalist desires in which space (in its globalized
hybermobility) is easily transported to or visited by participants in the economies of
residential tourism. Appadurai (1996: 35) likens these to ‘mediascapes’ that, “tend to be
image-centered, narrative-based accounts of strips of reality, and what they offer to those
who experience and transform them is a series of elements . . . out of which scripts can be
formed of imagined lives, their own as well as those of others living in other places.” The
removal of the physicality of the transaction complicates issues of this imagined

Nexus
neoliberal utopia even more. No matter the space, be it real or cyber, Panamanians are
deprived of a voice or, as of yet, are unable to be heard within the discourses that attempt
to speak for them. This absence of a voice, although defining in one way, complicates
matters of transnational landscapes in others. To attempt to provide a voice without
having existed within or experienced the social, political and economic life of the
Panamanian is yet another exoticizing of the Other based in Western neo-colonial
traditions.
Seen as a form of neocolonialism, the formation of these residential spaces would
seem to indicate a growing awareness of the vulnerability of the disenfranchised to the
desires of a residential tourist capable of exploiting deficiencies in the Panamanian
economies. This further exposes the problem that markets are by nature indiscriminate
and inclined to reduce everything – including Panamanian territory – to the status of
commodities. Those commodities are often held to have little or no value to their
previous occupants – especially when based on economic class or race – and are excluded
from newer postcolonial social formations that treat them as waste products better used
for profit-based ventures within capitalist economies such as residential tourism.
Clearly, Panamanian land (and the residences on that land) has a historical
meaning that can embody histories from personal scales to international scales. This land-
home dialectic has economic meanings that can embody conceptions of both slavery and
privilege but can also contain meanings relating to cultural imperialism. The ability of the
Panamanian individual to contest any question of ownership as articulated by the state
might result in a resistance to the homogeneity created by the new reterritorialization.
The neocolonial retirement communities transcend scale, to realize an ‘imagined

community’ thereby enlarging scalar space from the Panamanian local to the
international residential tourist industry. That industry imposes its own meanings of land
ownership onto the landscape by incorporating narratives of desire and consumption into
the transactional process and Panamanian meanings and histories are often lost in the
objectification of the desires of the capitalist North. Thus, transnational residential
tourism can inflect these formations only by a transgression of meaning – local histories
and personal meanings are now reinscribed on Panama and its new occupants.
A Bit on the Local by way of Conclusion
What this rapid transformation is creating is an unsustainable pattern of development that
is prone to crises and disenfranchisement, and that is ultimately leading to economic and
social decay. The fickle nature and local hardships resulting from this 'fast' capitalism is
well documented (see for example the Asian and Argentine crises during the last decade).
The amenities that are luring investors and migrants into Panama is being replicated in
many areas throughout the world as evidenced by the International Living website where
places from Uruguay to Bulgaria to Vietnam are advertised. Thus, there is obvious
competition and once the potential profit in Panama becomes minimized or superceded,
new opportunities will avail themselves and the dollars and people will likely follow.
Latin America has a long history of 'boom and bust' economies that historically
involved agricultural and mining activities. We are even witnessing it now with the loss
of maquiladora jobs to lower cost markets such as China. There is no reason to believe
that the same will not occur with the residential tourism model. Perhaps it is best to
recognize the tourist-residential experience as an export vulnerable to shifts in global
demand and the vulnerability of these markets, since they are as reliant as activities

Nexus
beyond their borders as they are on activities within the host country. Again, note how
quickly temperaments toward Argentina changed once their economy hit a bump in the
road and investment fled the country and is still slow to return.
While the emphasis of our argument is at the macro- or national scale, the
emergent spatial pattern within the country is revealing. Panama City remains the hub of
most real estate activity, particularly that which caters to entrepreneurs who in turn serve
foreign clientele. It is also the 'jumping off' point for most visitors to the country and the
majority spend at least a day or two there to experience the Canal and other urban
attractions before heading off to the rainforests, islands, and/or rural communities. The
few skyscrapers that dominated the skyline of Panama City a few decades ago were
referred to as the “cocaine towers” due to the belief that they were built on cocaine
money laundered through real estate purchases during the Noriega regime. They no
longer stand alone as new investment has poured in building office towers and high-
priced mixed-use condominium/retail developments. Now the many unfinished buildings
represent the new flood of money from eager investors looking for the next investment
opportunity. On the rapidly growing outskirts of Panama City, there are high-priced
residential communities sprouting up complete with the services designed to
accommodate the new residents such as schools, shopping areas, and improvements to
the local infrastructure. Prices in these exclusive neighborhoods can easily reach
US$500,000, although a similar place in South Florida or Southern California could fetch
three times as much. At the same time, older areas of the city are slow to improve as
many neighborhoods are neglected.

As a final point, it should be noted that this model of development also has its
critics within Panama. The “boom” is certainly underway as evidenced by the small
retirement haven of Boquete in the Chiriqui province near the Costa Rica border (see
McWatters for a detailed chronicling), which is expected to add at least 5000 more
retirees in the next 15 years, creating serious social and economic concerns. One of the
pressing issues is employment. Ruben Lachman, President of the consultancy Intracrop
(as quoted in Batista 2007: 78), adds that “..in Boquete alone there will be the need for a
workforce of 25,000 by 2008, while seven years ago only 6,500 people were employed in
this area.” In Panama City, Jose Bern of Empresas Bern, a large hotel and real estate
firm, said one of his biggest problems is finding enough workers to complete the projects
(as quoted in Lakshmanan 2007). This type of growth puts enormous pressure on the
local environment and culture. The potential negative impacts are amplified because, as
Raisa Banfield, a local architect, puts it “…no plans of organization or long term
sustainability have been implemented” (quoted in Batista 2007: 78).
Another leader in the international retirement migration is movetopanama.com.
The services they provide include: real estate advisory, insurance and immigration
assistance. Similar to other companies, they organize tours to urban and rural residential
communities. Panama is also aided by the positive press it has received over the past few
years, often hailed as the best or near the best places in the world to retire. They have
capitalized on the baby boomer population that is now reaching retirement age, but that
demographic bubble has its limits. As Mario Vilar, owner of Move to Panama,
comments “we cannot expect a 20-year boom in residential tourism. Being conservative,
I give it ten more years” (as quoted in Batista, 2007: 79).

Nexus
References:
Bakhtin, M. 1981. The dialogical imagination. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Barnet, R. and J. Cavanagh. 1996. Homogenization of global culture. In The case

against the global economy, ed. J . Mander and E. Goldsmit, 71-77.
New York: Sierra Club Books.
Bello, W. 1996. Structural adjustment programs: “Success” for whom? In The case
Cosgrove, D. 1989. Geography is everywhere: Culture and symbolism in human

landscapes. In Horizons in human geography, ed. D. Gregory and R. Walford,
118-135. Totowa, NJ: Barnes and Noble Books.
Gregory, D. 1994. Geographical imaginations. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers
Hardt, M and A. Negri. 2000. Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Harvey, D. 1973. Social Justice and the City. Baltimore: John Hopkins University
Press.
__________. 1990. The condition of postmodernity. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell

Publishers.
__________. 1996. Justice, nature and the geography of difference. Cambridge, MA:
Blackwell Publishers.
__________. 2000. Spaces of hope. New York: Blackwell Publishers.
Holston, J. 1998. Spaces of insurgent citizenship. In Making the invisible visible,

Ed, L. Sandercock, 37-56. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Kempadoo, K. 1998. Introduction: Globalizing sex workers’ rights. In Global sex

workers: rights, resistence, and redefinition, ed. K. Kempadoo and J. Doezema,
1-28. New York: Routledge.
King, R., AM. Warnes, and A.M. Williams. 1998. International Retirement Migration in
Europe. The International Journal of Population Geography 4: 98-111.
Lakshmanan, I.A.R. 2007. Panama on the Rise. The Boston Globe. January 22.
Mander, K. and A. Boston. 1996. Wal-Mart: Global retailer. In The case


McMichael, P. 1996. Globalization: Myths and realities. Rural Sociology. 61 (1): 25-55.
McWatters, M.R. 2009. Residential Tourism: (De)Constructing Paradise. Buffalo, NY:

Channel View Publications.
Migration Policy Institute. 2006. America’s Emigrants: US Retirement Migration to

Mexico and Panama. The Migration Policy Institute.
Mitchell, D. 2000. Cultural geography: A critical introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell

Publishers.
Panama Realtor. N.d. Tax Incentives for Projects in Special Tourism Zones, pp: 1-2.
Retrieved July 16, 2009 from: http://www.panamarealtor.com/real-estate-law-
incentives/projects-in-special-tourism-zones.
Rodgers, D. 2004. “Disembedding” the city: Crime, insecurity and spatial organization
in Managua, Nicaragua. Environment and Urbanization 16 (2): 113-123.
Rodriguez, V. 2001. Tourism as a recruiting post for retirement migration. Tourism

Geographies, 3 (1): 52-63.
Sassen, S.1998. Globalization and Its discontents. New York: The New Press
Scheper-Hughes, N. 2000. The global traffic in human organs. In The anthropology of

globalization, ed. J. Inda and R. Rosaldo, 270-308. New York: Blackwell
Publishers.
Sennett, R. 1994. Flesh and stone: The body and the city in Western civilization.
New York: Norton.
Urry, J. 1995. Consuming places. London: Routledge.
Wijers, M. 1998. Women, labor and migration. In Global sex workers: rights, resistance,
and redefinition. ed. K. Kempadoo and J. Doezema, 69-78. New York:
Routledge.
Williams, A.M. and M. Hall. 2000. Tourist and migration: new relationships between
production and consumption. Tourism Geographies: International Journal of
Place, Space and the Environment 2 (1): 5-27.
Williams, A.M., R. King, and A.M. Warnes. 1997. A place in the sun: international
retirement migration from northern to southern Europe. European Urban and
Regional Studies 4: 115-134.
Williams, A.M., R. King, A.M. Warnes and G. Patterson. 2000. Tourism and

Nexus
international retirement migration: new forms of an old relationship in southern

Europe. Tourism Geographies 2 (1): 28-49.
Zizek, S. 1997. The plague of fantasies. New York: Verso.
Biographies of Authors
Edward Jackiewicz is an Associate Professor of Geography at California State

University, Northridge. His primary research interests are within the broad
spectrum of development and post-development with recent interests in: tourism,
lifestyle migration, and parks as public space. He recently co-edited the book
Placing Latin America: Contemporary Themes in Human Geography (Rowman
and Littlefield 2008).
Jim Craine is an Assistant Professor of Geography at California State University,

Northridge. His current research centers on media geography, particularly the
development of new theories for the visual engagement of geographic
information. He is a co-editor of Aether: The Journal of Media Geography.

To enter the kitchen door to people’s lives: A Multi-Method Approach in the
Research of Transnational Practices among Lifestyle Migrants
Annie Linderson
Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology
Uppsala University
Sweden
Abstract
This article introduces and evaluates an ethnological qualitatively-based multi-method

approach in researching lifestyle migrant’s transnational practices in destinations of
lifestyle migration. Drawing on research of individual and collective practices of
transnationality among lifestyle migrants in a well-established region of lifestyle
migration, a multitude of methods will be discussed and reviewed; participant
experience, serial interviews, observation, walk along interviews and media orientation.
Key words: Lifestyle migration, Qualitative Methodology, Transnationality
It is said that Ethnologists enter the kitchen door to people’s lives in order to
acquire and gain knowledge of what it is like to stand in that other persons’ shoes. It is
there in the domains of the everyday life such as in a kitchen where the concrete daily
activities and conversations serve as the key to an understanding of micro implications
and possibilities that stand in sharp relation to macro structures of global and
international policies.
This article offers an ethnological multi-method approach to use in the aspiration
of entering a transnational kitchen door to lifestyle migrant’s lives in regions of lifestyle
migration. In essence the methodology in question falls under the umbrella of an
ethnography used within Anthropology. However, while the Anthropologist traditionally
has devoted extended periods of time in field in the study of the Other, the proposed
ethnological multi-method approach offers possibilities of entering and reentering the

32 Annie Linderson
field over shorter periods of time through a diverse set of gateways. The methodology
that will be recommended in this article is traced back to the roots of Ethnology in being
a discipline engaged with the cultural study of a daily life familiar to the researcher, often
in the national context of the researcher. Due to a close relation to the object, a diverse set
of methods has been a means to make the researcher unfamiliar to the common and well-
known surrounding and cultural life. In other words, the Ethnologist has had to exoticize
the object in order to distance her- or himself from the seemingly familiar, especially if
studying cultural processes in the own society or among individuals of the same
nationality as the researcher (cp. Máiréad, Kockel, & Johler, 2008). Since a multitude of
methods results in different sets of data, the multi-method approach contributes to a
reflexive, multi-layered and contextualized micro understanding of the phenomenon in
question.
Within research of lifestyle migration the approach aims to highlight different and
tangible components of the lifestyle migrant’s daily experience. To follow is a broad
review drawn on ethnographical research of transnational practices among Swedish
lifestyle migrants that have relocated to the southern Spanish coast, Costa del Sol, which
aims to illustrate possible theoretical definitions of transnational practices and suggest
methods to use in qualitatively-based studies of lifestyle migration in general terms.
Indeed, the methods described below are easily transferable to locales in Asia, Africa or
Latin America. By using the ethnological multi-method approach to enter the kitchen
door to people’s lives, Ethnology can serve as a contribution in researching lifestyle
migration.
To enter the transnational kitchen of lifestyle migrants
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 32

To enter the kitchen door to people’s lives: A Multi-Method Approach in the Research of 33
Transnational Practices among Lifestyle Migrants
To enter the inner domains of a house symbolizes in this case to take up ethnographical
research on transnational practices among lifestyle migrants that has settled down in a
destination of tourism and leisure on a permanent basis. More specifically, the article
proposes views of how to study individual and collective relations to both old and new
country and an emerging transnationality that is practiced through the interconnection.
While approaching the kitchen door of the lifestyle migrants, the transnationality is
defined as practices to be on the one hand expressions in life stories of the transnational
life, and on the other, agency-based practices, found in the making of an everyday life led
in relation to two separate countries. The two categories of practices are considered to be
complementary and enable two different theoretical approaches; narrative analysis and
phenomenology. The intersection of constructivism and phenomenology of lived
experience constitutes a fruitful combination in giving a broad understanding of the
transnational phenomenon of permanently residing in a country, other than the country of
origin (Frykman & Gilje, 2003, p. 9; Frykman, 2006, pp. 69ff). The Swedish Ethnologist
Jonas Frykman affirms this approach by stating that two legs are more stable than one
(Frykman, 2006, p. 70).
The focal concern is practices of telling and making a transnationality from below
(Smith & Guarnizo, 1998a, 1998b. See also Povrazanović Frykman, 2004), among
lifestyle migrants with dual (or multiple) frame of reference. The transnationality can be
expressed and made through organized and institutionalized practices, as well as through
non-organized and spontaneous practices in the everyday life of the lifestyle migrant. The
dualistic or multiple perspectives derive from the general and compassing tendency of
migrations “not [being] singular journeys but tend to become an integral part of migrants’
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 33

34 Annie Linderson
lives” (Faist, 2000, p. 13). The concept transnationality is the result of having acquired
multiple bonds connecting one’s life across the territorial boundaries of nation-states as a
consequence of mobility and migration. The dual (or multiple) frame of reference creates
flows of “things not [only] bodies” (Mahler, 1998, p. 77) across national borders. The
result is a transnational experience embedded with news, memories, and stories between
global, national, regional and local settings. Thus, bodies can be situated on location in
country of residence while being emotionally affected by things or activities concerning
the country of origin in the same degree as if the person would actually be in the old
country. In essence the aim is to study a transnational experience that is expressed and
made, as well as how flows of ideas, values, and cross-cultural expressions affect both
the individual and the collective in the daily transnational life.
Collectively a shared consciousness is created among the lifestyle migrants of
living a similar transnational experience and having a similar dual or multiple frame of
reference resulting in cultural reproduction. A shared transnational consciousness implies
a collectively acknowledged common identity of perceiving a mental state of being at
home and away from home. Together the individuals create a transnational space made
of shared memories, stories, history, and experience (cp. Faist, 2000; Faist, 2004;
Jackson, Crang, & Dwyer, 2004). Furthermore, the transnational cultural reproduction,
associated with two or more places, blend together into a bricolage of expressed
traditions, norms and habitual action within the group. Transnational space, as a
theoretical concept, is by some scholars filled with a similar content as the concept
diaspora. Thus, the concepts, as analytical approaches, are at times used synonymously
(Povrazanović Frykman, 2004; Wahlbeck & Olsson, 2007). That is to say, place-bound
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 34

transnational practices collectively expressed and made create and constitute diasporic
communities (Povrazanović Frykman, 2004, pp. 82ff). The concept diasporic community
is here defined as the establishment and meaning attributed to a collective formation with
connotation to a shared place of origin in a certain geographical territory other than the
origin (for definitions of diaspora, see Safran, 1991; Cohen, 1997). This has relevance
when analyzing and describing shared features and meaning of an imagined or actual
diasporic community that are articulated and practiced among the lifestyle migrants. To
give emphasis on the collectiveness of this dimension the concept diasporic community is
chosen rather than transnational space (cp. Anderson, 1983; Cohen, 1995; Vasta, 2000).
Noteworthy is the fact that the resemblance of such community involves and is
constituted by all types of lifestyle migrants, whether they be permanent residents,
seasonal migrants, second home owners or long-stay tourists (King, Warnes, & Williams,
2000, pp. 43-44). They all figure in the specific articulation of a diasporic community in
destinations of lifestyle migration, when such is set in practice.
As mentioned earlier, the transnational phenomenon derives from at least two
separate localities. Expressed and made transnationality and diasporic experience does
not stop at the borders of a given territory but exceeds to involve multiple places, being
global, national, regional and local. To be contextually sensitive to the multiple places
and structures affecting the transnational everyday experience should, therefore, be a
given ambition throughout the analysis. The ideal is to engage in a multi-sited
ethnography, thus to follow the lifestyle migrant to the multiple sites where they are to be
found (See Watson, 1977; Marcus, 1995; Hannerz, 2003; Hannerz, 2001). However, lack
of time and the practicality of conducting fieldwork might hinder a multi-sited
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 35

36 Annie Linderson
ethnography. It is therefore advisable to strive for a multi-sited awareness even though
the transnational practices originate and happen on one specific site (cp. Kleist, 2004,
Anthias, 1998, p. 564).
The practices are viewed as a process of making the world understandable to live
in for the individual. Thus, it is an everyday process. At times, it is goal-oriented toward
specific results. Often the process is something seemingly unconscious, effortless and
spontaneous (cp. Reksten-Kapstad, 2001, p. 11; Faist, 2004, p. 170). The practices are
considered to be a tool kit of expressions, symbols, and narratives, as well as habits,
skills, and styles, used to order life and orientate oneself in relation to how the life is led
abroad. When the individual uses a tool, he/she also demonstrates the command of a
competence or a capacity that governs the way to act and behave that is suitable for the
given situation, time or place. Thus, this knowledge is a resource for adapting to or
managing a transnational life in relation to and within a group or groups (Swindler, 1986;
Casey, 1996, p. 34; Frykman & Gilje, 2003, p. 48). This makes the practices specific to
context, place and time.
A Multi-Method Approach to the telling and the making
A definition of the practices of transnationality is now given. However, the question
remains of how to acquire the content that is hidden in the making and in the telling. The
ethnological line, as indicated, argues for a multi-method approach filtered through the
reflexivity of the researcher. This signifies that the researcher through a multitude of
methods enter different gateways to capture the activities and perceptions of the
transnational everyday life led by lifestyle migrants in places of lifestyle migration. These
entrances will also put the researcher her- or himself in the light of the study which
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 36

demands a thorough reflexive discussion on the behalf of the researcher in order to draw
attention to the many implications of using a physical and emotional researcher self in the
field (cp. Davies, 1999). By using different and separate methods, entering the kitchen
door of the everyday life offers disparate layers of knowledge and understanding. This
enables a research with a deep and broad perspective. Rather than digging deep in
singular spots, finding more of the same, the multi-method approach opens the
ethnological gaze to new and unexplored terrains which in the long run works
complementary. By constantly removing the focus and positioning oneself sometimes as
an outsider, and then changing to the insider position, the study can be both analytically
enriched and strengthened.
The multiple methods pointed to in this article are as follows: participant
experience, series of conversational interviews, observation, walk along interviews and
orientation through media. Throughout a presentation of each method there is an
aspiration of using and adjusting the methods to the lifestyle migration context of leisure
and relaxation, as well to the specific places of tourist destinations. The context of each
separate lifestyle migration destination generates specific cultural patterns that can be
benefitted from when applying different methods.
Transnational subject
To put a multitude of methods into a practical research approach, the first gateway into
the kitchen of the lifestyle migrant is to use the researcher self as a transnational subject.
Inspired by the phenomenological approach (Frykman, 2006; Frykman & Gilje, 2003;
Bengtsson, 2001) the use of the own actions, interactions, impressions and thoughts of
the transnational lifestyle is a way to gather understanding while residing in a destination
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 37

38 Annie Linderson
of lifestyle migrants during a period of fieldwork. The daily life in field is recorded in a
reflective field diary. Being an insider in this sense is inspired by the well-established
method participant observation but expanded into participant experience (Hansen, 2003,
p. 160). Time and engagement has proven to be vital in participating and experiencing the
transnational reality in situ. Camouflaged by the distinguished feature of a constant
circulation of tourists and temporary or permanent lifestyle migrants in and out of areas
common for lifestyle migration, participant experience as a method is most suitable to the
culture of such regions.
The reception of a researcher in lifestyle migration areas differs but my own
experience is that the sudden appearance of me as a researcher was not being perceived
as anything extra ordinary. I was just like any other person whose motives for dwelling in
the area was seldom questioned or asked for. Certainly for those initiated, my work as a
researcher was looked upon with fascination and curiosity although I was often kept at
arms length outside my role as a researcher. However, this too I found to be a notable
ingredient of the daily life the lifestyle migrants have adopted in my research – the
atmosphere is opened to people of all kinds with a diversity of backgrounds which as
such are generally not of primary interest when getting acquainted with new people. It
seems like the main ambition is to stay present in the here and now, regardless of
previous achievements, networks, or status.
As a result of the welcoming environment, I easily became an actor within the
lifestyle migrant community and found a place where I could make informal contacts and
conversations on a daily basis, above all through institutions with connotations with the
home country of the migrants, like a church and a school. I took part in community
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 38

activities such as singing with the church choir and with a smaller group of vocalists,
made visits to the school and gave a lecture there about Ethnology and my research
project to High School students, participated in the media that was directed toward the
lifestyle migrants, as well as engaged in the different types of social events in the
destination. The type of knowledge gained through this method is a first hand experience
of alterations in the group throughout the seasons, different types of networking within
the group, daily activities and interactions with the host society etc.
In this procedure the researcher self is central in the collection of data which puts
an emphasis on previous knowledge, experience, and the continuous reflexivity of these
factors when using the self as a transnational subject. In my research, I gained help from
my previous experience in the area while being a student of the local language, as well as
conducting fieldwork related to my Master’s thesis. Equally, my knowledge of the
language per se together with living several periods of my life in the country enabled a
pre-understanding of living in the country as a foreign woman. Hence, taking a
transnational stand during my time in fieldwork has not been difficult. It has rather
followed the common order of the lifestyle migration since research has shown it is often
preceded by holidays and other types of travel on location (King et al., 2000, p. 27;
O’Reilly, 2000, p. 25).
Albeit having a general pre-knowledge of the phenomenon as well as the host
country, the same pre-understanding has forced me to strive to frame myself from fixed
notions that I have gained before hand. I have had to put myself curiously anew to dis-
remember or decode myself from preconceived notions of the lifestyle migration
everyday life (Frykman, 2006, p. 68). More so, my gender, age and private
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 39

40 Annie Linderson
circumstances, such as not having children of my own, restrained me to naturally get
access to all events and places of the lifestyle migrant experience. Seldom could I join the
activities of the retired groups on an equal basis as the pensioners. Nor had I access to the
activities for families and small children. Thus, I was left out of the daily interactions and
conversations in cases like the mentioned. At the occasions where I naturally could take
part in such activities, my outsider position was emphasized since ordinary talk differs
depending on the participants’ similarities in age, gender, region of origin, length of stay,
reason for stay, etc. Circumstances like these ought to be taken into account while
interpreting the data of the method.
Finally, it has been important to not seek validation or proof of already defined
perceptions of what living as a transnational might mean to the individuals residing as
lifestyle migrants. The multi-method approach, in its own sense, also hinders
preconceived notions since the main feature of this procedure is a constant shift of focus
along the process. The Anthropologist Michael Jackson encourages the researcher to
leave interpretation and theorizing behind while being in fieldwork (Jackson, 1996, pp.
7ff). Along the same lines, it is important to put an emphasis on the adjustments a
researcher might have to do depending on the local culture and structure within the
lifestyle migrant community.
Serial interviews
A second method focuses on the different kinds of perceptions and meanings of the
transnational experience expressed in life stories. The narratives are told through in-depth
interviews which gives the fieldwork a specific objective. A series of conversational
interviews is proposed with a smaller number of migrants residing permanently on the
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 40

location in question. To give the interviews an in-depth character it is helpful to meet the
informants on several occasions. Each occasion might vary between one to several hours,
depending on the chemistry and talkativeness of interviewer and interviewee. The aim is
to let the interviewees thoroughly tell their emigration experience, their perception of
being in a voluntarily lifestyle migrant position, and their strategies of living their
everyday life in reference to a country of origin different from the country of residence.
Thus, the interviews are considered to have more of a life story character than a
traditional interview (Atkinson, 1998). In my own research each interview has had a
different theme and been designed in an open and explorative manner with an aspiration
to follow the interview where it brought us.
The interview experience turned out to be challenging since what I as a researcher
considered to be transnational in the lives of the respondents often was incorporated in
such a way that it was taken for granted. For example, asking specific questions in
themselves hinted to what I as a researcher considered to be of importance for my
research. Obviously, this led to answers following the same direction. The interview,
thus, shed a light on tangible parts of transnational aspects of the lifeworlds which to the
interviewees was no more than an integrated and naturalized state of being. In this way,
the presence of a researcher interested in the notions of the exile position in relation to a
presupposed stand in-between national cultures in its own sense actualized the sought of
position. Therefore, the ambition was to let the interviewee speak more freely about their
life. My task was, then, rather to follow the threads of narrative that I found important for
the transnational lives the respondents led with additional questions on the topic. I tried to
open the interview in a broad and general manner stating the overall topic we were going
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 41

42 Annie Linderson
to talk about in order to get us started. However, whenever the conversation came to a
halt I had to ask more specific questions to lead us back on the transnational track.
The first conversational interview was, therefore, held in a general manner about
the emigration experience as such. The second occasion was on the other hand
concentrated to the individuals’ connection and contact with host society versus home
society. The third conversation dealt with how to create belongingness and sense of
home. During the fourth occasion we spoke of civil issues such as citizenship, social
responsibility and loyalty to the two countries in question. If there was reason to cut
down the interview sessions the series of interviews was narrowed down to three times,
thus melting discussions of theme three and four together. The interviews took place in
different locations such as cafés, in their work place or in the home of the individuals. All
locations were chosen by the informants themselves.
Meeting several times for conversational interviews has proven to be very
pertinent in many ways. With time, both trust and confidence is built up between the
interviewer and the interviewees. This enables a better understanding of each individual
story and background than had there only been one interview. More so, a series of
interviews gives the researcher the possibility to ask clarifying questions when there is
something uncertain and fill in the blanks in the story being told. Overall, the method of
conducting several interviews with the same persons has proven to be most suitable to the
lifestyles led on tourist destinations. A common feature is the notion of having more
flexible and spontaneous attitude towards time than what the informants thought of as a
general tendency in the home country. Since some have relocated to these types of areas
for the purpose of leading a slower pace of life, far from full agendas and scheduling, the
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 42

choice of method matched the rhythm of the lives of the respondents. It has never been
hard to interfere as many times as needed with the series of interviews. The same order of
conduct will probably not work in a busy city life elsewhere in the western world. To
illustrate this state of being one interviewee, Anna, is a good example. She has adopted
many of the everyday habits of her host society and stressed how much she valued the
different time management experienced in her new country. Therefore, she always asked
not to be called too long in advance since she wanted to do things in line with the mood
she found herself in there and then.
The disadvantages of this approach have turned out to be logistical. Contrary to
the much appreciated impulsiveness of the coastal life, a lot of the time in field the
researcher has to devote to planning and organizing prior to and after the meetings which
is very tiresome. More so, the requirements for successfully conducting multiple
interviews with the same person are talkativeness on the behalf of the respondent, a
shared interest in the conversation, and a good chemistry between the researcher and the
informant. Naturally, these requirements can not always be fulfilled which might
complicate the procedure.
The search of informants can have the character of the illustrious ‘snowball
effect,’ i.e. a very spontaneous, flexible routine of asking random people on location if
they want to be a part of the study. Furthermore, e-mailing companies that address the
lifestyle migrant population where possibly other migrants might work and ask if their
staff wants to participate is another strategy. In addition, asking the interviewees already
engaged in the study if they could recommend someone else willing to be interviewed
can be helpful.
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 43

44 Annie Linderson
In my own research, I realized that it was easier for me to find female
interviewees, who often without a doubt decided to participate. Being a young-looking
female myself, I was perhaps perceived as a daughter or a granddaughter to some of the
elderly female interviewees. For the younger women in the study, I found that they had a
need to talk about their experience abroad and openly stated that as a reason for
participating. The meetings with the women were often of ‘girl-talk over coffee’- nature.
Thus, the occasions resulted in both very unconstrained and open-hearted conversations
about the experiences of the life abroad.
On the other hand, I experienced a greater challenge in finding male interviewees.
Some were very reluctant when I approached them, others even unfriendly. The reason
might be found in the negative and suspicious media coverage over the years in their
home country about the lifestyle migrant phenomenon which might have caused the men
to be hesitant towards a scientific study. The difficulty in finding men willing to talk to
me naturally caused a stress during the fieldwork. Many of the male participants were,
therefore, found with the generous assistance from other interviewees. In sum, the
researcher has to equally be open to the field and let it show the way, as well as have a set
agenda which gives the work a sense of stability (cp. Kaijser & Öhlander, 1999).
Observing and describing
The third method to use is observation. With the gaze of an outsider the researcher can
place her- or himself on separate occasions and on different locations, as well as in
special events connoting the transnational experience for lifestyle migrants. From this
outside position the task is to make descriptions, using the five senses, of both actions
and places on two levels; the overall distanced perspective and the small detailed
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 44

perspective with the aspiration of reaching the close up and personal. This method forces
the researcher to frame her- or himself from the common and taken for granted and take a
closer look at actions and the interactions between, on the one hand individuals and
secondly; individuals and material places. Thus, this is most suitable when describing the
making of transnationality, especially when it comes to specific events such as
celebrations of different types.
Important descriptive material can also be found through this method (and its
methodological cousin; taking visual field notes with a camera) of the specific location
where the transnational practices take place since the practices, as mentioned earlier, are
both context and place specific. Thus, in understanding the transnational phenomenon
and culture on destinations of lifestyle migration, the place in itself has to be scrutinized
which it can be while using a three-fold descriptive system (Bäckman, 2009, pp. 129-
130): 1) material limitations and possibilities of a place, 2) emotional and subjective
values attributed a place (cp. Tuan, 1974), and 3) collective and social representations
and perceptions of a place (Massay, 1994). Hence, observation is used when studying the
first aspect of place, the material limitations and possibilities. In this sense the method
will generate specific descriptive data, which might be perceived as too limited or
narrow. However, in conjunction with other types of methods it is an important
complementary resource. The shift of searchlight from the insider to the outsider position
adds descriptive richness to the analyzed practices.
Walking along
To be able to capture the second aspect of researching place through the above mentioned
system, as well as deepen the knowledge of the transnational practice further, an
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 45

46 Annie Linderson
additional fourth method is insightful; walk along-interviews. Also known as go-along
method (Kusenbach, 2003), and walk-about interviews (cp. Coleman & Collins, 2006),
this method is a mixture of participant experience, observing and interviewing. That is,
the lifestyle migrant gives a guided tour of places and spots important to them and while
doing so tells the researcher their reflections and understanding of their everyday life.
With some this might mean a walk together through their common streets and squares;
with others the method signifies going by car while following their normal everyday
route of life. In a more natural and spontaneous way, the lifestyle migrant can tell stories
about their experience as they come about associatively and embedded in the places
while moving around (cp. Casey, 1996, p. 16). The philosopher Edward S. Casey states:
“There is no knowing or sensing a place except by being in that place, and to be in a
place is to be in a position to perceive it” (Casey, 1996, p. 18). Accordingly, through the
guided tours the researcher can learn and understand the knowledge and meaning
attributed to the place where the lifestyle migrant has chosen to reside. The ideas and
thoughts of the lifestyle migrant can both be traced back in time when events that once
has happened in the urban environment unfolds into memories, as well as remain
experiences that the researcher share together with the interviewee there and then sensing
and moving through the streets and plazas together. Thus, this method opens the eyes to
the streets, the squares, the buildings and the action taken place in this urban setting in
new ways with the interviewees’ competence of the places, their trained eyes and stories
to tell (cp. Kusenbach, 2003, p. 466ff).
More favorably, this method is exercised spontaneously with the informant in
order to avoid tailoring the walk to places the interviewee thinks is suitable for a
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 46

researcher to see. If the walk along-interviews are scheduled before hand, this possibility
ought to be considered. Another approach to avoid tailoring the walks is to ask
specifically for a guided tour of the places of most importance to the person. By
suggesting a planned walk the pitfall of walking along becomes part of the methodology
and can be used in the reflexive interpretation of the data acquired.
Media orientation
A final method is to orientate oneself in the lifestyle migration phenomenon while
continuously collecting, reading and analyzing media in home country and on the specific
location. The issues of concern can be lives led abroad in general, and the lifestyle
migrant community in the region of study in particular. Furthermore, this is a method to
use in order to attain knowledge of collective and social representations and perceptions
of a place, which is the third aspect when studying place as mentioned earlier.
In the wake of the increasing lifestyle migration phenomenon an amount of media
production of different types that addresses the lifestyle migrant might have been
established. The sources of media can involve newspapers, magazines, television
channels, radio stations, homepages, and blogs that can be accessed through Internet.
Their aim can be to cater to the lifestyle migration community in being a link between the
lifestyle migrant population and host society on issues concerning the transnational life
along the coast. More so, the media outlets might mediate practical information on issues
of relocation and adaptation for newcomers or citizens in home society with an interest in
becoming a lifestyle migrant. The material generated from media collection and analysis
forms a base, an orientation and a possibility to keep the researcher up-dated on news and
concerns within the group, especially in between periods of fieldwork. Furthermore, the
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 47

48 Annie Linderson
media coverage of the lifestyle migration communities in the home country gives an
understanding of how the phenomenon is valued, perceived and thought of in the country
of origin. Understanding these points of reference has been vital since the everyday life
led in areas of lifestyle migration often has proved to be viewed through lenses of general
notions and structures in the old country.
The media orientation approach is used complementary in the study of
transnational practices among lifestyle migrants. The data produced forms a background
to actions, interactions and activities that individual lifestyle migrants might engage in
which perhaps is portrayed in media. In addition and as mentioned earlier, the method
deals specifically with collective and social representation of the phenomenon in media.
Both sets of data are imperative in order to contextualize individual’s transnational
experience as well as lifestyle migration as a transnational phenomenon through the
logics of the local, the regional, the national and the global order the migrants live by
continuously and simultaneously.
Inside the kitchen
Entering the kitchen door for a rich and thorough understanding of what the daily
experiences of lifestyle migration is really like, this article is arguing for a plural usage of
qualitatively based methods. Through research of transnational practices, the aim has
been to present how a usage of different methods can serve in the study of lifestyle
migration. Shifting focus through a multi-method approach highlights complementary
and tangible activities and expressions captured while using the kitchen door to the
lifestyle migrant’s transnational everyday life. The methods chosen are suggested to be
carefully adjusted to the constitution and suitability of the cultural patterns of each
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 48

lifestyle migration destination. The adjustments can be both of a trial and error-character,
as well as being the result of thoughtful reflexivity prior to entering the field and along
the process of researching. The presentations of methods have intended to be transparent
in showing both possibilities and constraints of being a reflexive researcher when using
qualitative methods in regions of lifestyle migration.
List of reference
Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined Communities. London: Verso
Anthias, F. (1998). Evaluating ‘Diaspora’: Beyond ethnicity? Sociology, 32(3), 557-580
Atkinson, R. (1998). The Life Story Interview. London: Sage
Bengtsson, J. (2001). Sammanflätningar. Husserls och Merleau-Pontys fenomenologi.

Göteborg:Daidalos
Bäckman, M. (2009). Se med andras ögon. In G. Arvastsson & B. Ehn (eds.),

Etnografiska observationer (pp.117-134). Lund: Studentlitteratur
Casey, E. S. (1996). How to Get from Space to Place in a Fairly Short Stretch of Time.
Phenomenolgical Prolegomena. In S. Feld & K. H. Basso (eds.), Sense of place
(pp.13-52). Santa Fe: NM: School of American Research Press
Cohen, A. P. (1995). The Symbolic Construction of Community. London: Routledge
Cohen, R. (1997). Global Diasporas: An Introduction. London: UCL Press
Coleman, S. & Collins, P. (2006). Locating the field: space, place and context in
anthropology. Oxford: Berg
Davies, C. A. (1999). Reflexive Ethnography. A Guide to Researching Selves and Others.

London: Routledge
Faist, T. (2004). Concluding Remarks. In M. Povrazanović Frykman (ed.), Transnational

spaces: Disciplinary Perspectives (pp. 169-176). Malmö: Malmö University
(IMER)
Faist, T. (2000). The Volume and Dynamics of International Migration and

Transnational Social Spaces. Oxford: Clarendon Press
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 49

50 Annie Linderson
Frykman, J. (2006). Ting som redskap. RIG, 2, 65-77
Frykman, J. & Gilje, N. (2003). Being There. An Introduction. In J. Frykman & N. Gilje
(eds.), Being There. New Perspectives on Phenomenology and the Analysis of
Culture (pp.7-51). Lund: Nordic Academic Press
Hannertz, U. (2003). Being there … and there … and there! Reflections on multi-site
ethnography. Ethnography, 4(2), 201-216
Hannertz, U. (ed.) (2001). Flera fält i ett. Socialantropologer om tranlokala fältstudier.

Stockholm: Carlssons Bokförlag
Hansen, K. (2003). The Sensory Experience of Doing Fieldwork in an ‘Other’ Place. In J.

Frykman & N. Gilje (eds.), Being There. New Perspectives on Phenomenology
and the Analysis of Culture (pp.149-167). Lund: Nordic Academic Press
Jackson, M. (1996). Introduction: Phenomenology, Radical Empiricism, and

Anthropological Critique. In M. Jackson (ed.), Things as they are: new directions
in phenomenological anthropology (pp. 1-50), Bloomington: Indiana University
Press
Jackson, P., Crang, P. & Dwyer, C. (2004). Introduction: the spaces of transnationality. In
P.Jackson, P. Crang & C. Dwyer (eds.), Transnational Spaces (pp.1-23). London:
Routledge
Kaijser, L. & Öhlander, M. (eds.) (1999). Etnologiskt fältarbete. Lund: Studentlitteratur
King, R., Warnes, T. & Williams, A. M. (2000). Sunset lives: British retirement
migration to the Mediterranean. Oxford: Berg
Kleist, N. (2007). Situated Transnationalism. In M. Povrazanović Frykman (ed.),

Transnational spaces: Disciplinary Perspectives (pp. 138-150). Malmö: Malmö
University (IMER)
Kusenbach, M. (2003). Street phenomenology. The go-along as ethnographic research

tool. Ethnography, 4 (3),455-485
Mahler, S. J. (1998). Theoretical and Empirical Contributions Towards a Research

Agenda for Transnationalism. In M. P. Smith & L. E. Guarnizo (eds.),
Transnationalism from below (pp. 64-100). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction
Máiréad, N. C., Kockel, U. & Johler, R. (eds.) (2008). Everyday culture in Europe:
approaches and methodologies. Aldershot: Ashgate
Marcus, G. E. (1995). Ethnography in/of the world-system: the emergence of multi-sited

ethnography. In: Annual Review of Anthropology, 24: 95-117
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 50

Massey, D. (1994). Space, Place and Gender. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota

Press
O'Reilly, K. (2000). The British on the Costa Del Sol: transnational identities and local
communities. London: Routledge
Povrazanović Frykman, M. (2004). Transnational Perspective in Ethnology: From ‘

Ethnic’ to ‘Diasporic’ Communities. In M. Povrazanović Frykman (ed.),
Transnational spaces: Disciplinary Perspectives (pp. 77-100). Malmö: Malmö
University (IMER)
Reksten-Kapstad, C. (2001). Når handling tar plass. Ein kulturstudie av fellesaksjonen

mot Gasskraftverk. Bergen: Det historisk-filosofiske fakultet
Safran, W. (1991). Diasporas in Modern Societies: Myths of Homeland and Return

Diaspora, 1 (1), 83-99
Smith, M. P. & Guarnizo, L. E. (eds.) (1998a). Transnationalism from below. New

Brunswick, NJ: Transaction
Smith, M. P. & Guarnizo, L. E. (1998b). The Locations of Transnationalism. In M. P.

Smith & L. E. Guarnizo (eds.), Transnationalism from below (pp.3-34). New
Brunswick, NJ: Transaction
Swindler, A. (1986). Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies. American Sociological

Review, 51 (2), 273-286
Tuan, Y. (1974). Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perception, Attitudes, and

Values. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall
Vasta, E. (2000). The politics of community. In E. Vasta (ed.), Citizenship, Community

and Democracy (pp. 107-126). Houndmills, Basingstoke and London: Macmillan
Watson, J. L. (ed.) (1977). Between Two Cultures. Oxford: Blackwell
Wahlbeck, Ö. & Olsson, E. (2007). Diaspora – ett berest begrepp. In : E. Olsson, C.,
Lundqvist A. Rabo, L. Sawyer, Ö. Wahlbeck & L. Åkesson (eds.),
Transnationella rum (pp. 43-68). Umeå: Redaktörerna & Boréa Bokförlag
Biography of author
Annie Linderson is a PhD student in Ethnology at the Department of Cultural
Anthropology and Ethnology, Uppsala University in Sweden. The objective of her
research is to analyze practices of transnationality of Swedish lifestyle migrants
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 51

52 Annie Linderson
on Costa del Sol, in the south of Spain. Her research is based on ethnographical
fieldwork conducted during the spring 2009. Key concepts in her research are:
transnationality, mobility, diasporic community, Swedishness, Spanishness,
belongingness and translocational positionality.
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 31 - 52 52

Me, Myself and I: Western Lifestyle Migrants in Search of Themselves in Varanasi,
India
Mari Korpela
University of Tampere, Finland
Abstract
The article investigates Western lifestyle migrants in the city of Varanasi in northern
India. Relying on interview material, the author first discusses how the Westerners
distinguish themselves from “ordinary” people in their countries of origin. However, in
addition to distinguishing themselves from ordinary Westerners, they also define
themselves as fundamentally different from “the Indian other”, which becomes very
evident in their interview talk. The author argues that the Westerners’ contacts with local
Indian people in Varanasi are very limited and Indian people are merely granted the role
of the insignificant “other” in the process of the Westerners defining their distinctive
identities. The article thus shows that the Westerners define themselves as courageous,
independent and active agents both against Indian and Western others. The Western
lifestyle migrants in Varanasi also share a discourse of having found their true selves
in India and have changed fundamentally during their time there. The author
eventually argues that although the Westerners articulate their stay in India as a quest
for a better life, eventually staying in India seems to become a trip to the self and for the
self.
Keywords: lifestyle migration, Otherness, Varanasi
Introduction
“I feel more true here.” (Anton, 32)
This is how many Westerners in the city of Varanasi, India reply to the question of why
they prefer living in India compared to their countries of origin. In other words, they
claim to have found their true selves in India. In this article, I elaborate on the statement:
what is the true self that they are talking about? I argue that the Westerners in Varanasi
define themselves against the ‘ordinary’ citizens of their home countries but also against
the ‘Indian other’, as a consequence of which being in India becomes a process of
defining one’s distinctive self.

54 Mari Korpela
Backpackers and Lifestyle Migrants in India
India was already a popular travel destination in the colonial era (see, Ghose,
1998a, 1998b; Mohanty, 2003), and in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it became a
popular backpacking destination among hippies (see, Alderson, 1971; Hall, 1968;
MacLean, 2006; Mehta, 1979; Odzer, 1995; Saldanha, 2007, p. 29; Tomory, 1996; Wiles,
1972). Thousands of backpackers still tour India every year (see Hottola, 1999; Hutnyk,
1996; Maoz, 2005; Wilson, 1997). India attracts backpackers above all because of its
‘exoticism’ and cheapness. The backpacking infrastructure is well developed and there
are numerous cheap hotels and Western restaurants in all the popular travel destinations.
In addition, one can reach almost anywhere by inexpensive public transportation and
English is widely spoken. However, despite these advantages, backpackers often
understand a visit to India more as a duty and a challenge than a pleasurable experience
due to the fact that India also represents poverty, filth and illness (see Wilson, 1997, p.
55).
After their trip, most backpackers return to their home countries to continue their
lives there. Some, however, enjoy India so much that they go to their countries of origin
— or other Western countries — only in order to earn money, and they end up returning
to India again and again. Instead of continuing backpacking, they often settle down in
certain locations in India. For them, the stage that was supposed to be a temporary phase
becomes a lot longer than initially planned, and the backpacking experience results in a
lifestyle in which they spend long periods of time in India where they claim to have
found a better life. This article focuses on a group of such people in the city of Varanasi
in northern India. Most of the people featuring here were once backpackers and now
repeatedly return to Varanasi and as a consequence I define them as lifestyle migrants.

Me, Myself and I: Western Lifestyle Migrants in Search of Themselves in Varanasi, India 55
Lifestyle migration refers to a phenomenon where (middle class) citizens of
affluent industrialized countries move abroad in order to find a more meaningful and
relaxed life (see Benson & O’Reilly, 2009; O’Reilly & Benson, 2009). Very often, such
migration means moving from affluent countries to less affluent ones where living costs
are cheaper and the climate is pleasant. For example, British, German, and Scandinavian
people move to Spain, some Brits also move to rural France and some Americans move
to Central America. In short, lifestyle migration is motivated by a quest for a ‘better
quality’ of life. The choice of living abroad is typically conceptualized as an escape from
the hectic, consumer-oriented lifestyles and the ‘rat race’. According to Michaela Benson,
many lifestyle migrants move because of diminishing income opportunities, for example
when they lose their jobs; some others escape pressurized working environments and
retired lifestyle migrants often claim that old people are not valued in their societies of
origin, whereas in the destinations they can grow old with dignity and continue to be
active (Benson, 2007, pp.13-15). Additional contributing factors for lifestyle migration
are that income levels have increased in the affluent industrialized countries in recent
decades and an increasing number of people have experience in living abroad (Williams
& King & Warners & Patterson, 2000, p. 31).
In lifestyle migration, the boundaries between migration and tourism are blurred.
In fact, many scholars nowadays place tourism and migration on the same continuum,
where it is difficult to distinguish between temporary and permanent moves (see Bell &
Ward, 2000, p. 88; Gustafson, 2002, p.104, p. 899; O’Reilly, 2003, p. 301). The main
difference between lifestyle migrants and tourists is that tourists are in a temporary
situation, planning to return to their home countries within a specific time period,
whereas lifestyle migrants do not have such plans – or even desire to return.

56 Mari Korpela
Although this article focuses on Varanasi, it is by no means the only location in
India that attracts Western lifestyle migrants. There are in fact various popular places, all
of which attract Westerners for different reasons. The beaches of the states of Goa and
Kerala are the most well-known (see, D’Andrea, 2007; Saldanha, 2007; Wilson, 1997). In
addition to its beautiful beaches, Goa is also famous for its techno music parties and a
wide variety of drugs. Moreover, various locations on the Himalaya mountains are
popular: Dharamsala attracts those interested in Tibetan Buddhism, being the home of the
Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetan refugees, and some other locations in the
mountains, for example Manali, attract those interested in smoking hash. Those interested
in spiritual matters gather for example to Poona near Mumbai, Auroville in southern
India or Rishikesh in northern India. In Poona, there is the famous Osho International
meditation resort, Auroville is ‘the universal town’ for all humanity, and Rishikesh is
famous for its numerous yoga and meditation courses. The places that are popular among
Westerners in India are usually villages or towns; the big Indian cities do not attract
Western lifestyle migrants with maybe the exception of Kolkata which attracts students
of Indian classical music as well as those interested in voluntary charity work in the
Mother Teresa organisation.
Westerners in Varanasi
This article is based on the anthropological research conducted among Western
lifestyle migrants in Varanasi over thirteen months in 2002-2003. Varanasi, one of the
oldest living cities in the world, is a holy city of Hinduism with over a million
inhabitants, situated on the banks of the river Ganges. Hindus believe Varanasi to be the
home of the supreme god Shiva and it is an important pilgrimage centre. Diane Eck, an
indologist, writes that ‘it is precisely because Banaras [Varanasi] has become a symbol of
traditional Hindu India that Western visitors have often found this city the most strikingly
“foreign” of India’s cities’ (Eck, 1983, p. 9). For many Westerners, Varanasi indeed
represents a sign of Eastern otherness. However, most of the Western lifestyle migrants
are not there because of being attracted to Hinduism but because of their interest in
classical Indian music. Varanasi is a centre of music in India and some of the most
famous Indian musicians, for example Ravi Shankar and Bishmillah Khan, have lived
there.
The Westerners in Varanasi come from Europe, Israel, Canada and Australia
amounting to 200-300 during the popular season that starts in October and ends in May1.
Most of them are of middle class origin. In Varanasi, the Westerners live in the same
houses year after year and have all the necessary household utensils there. For many, the
lifestyle has lasted for years, even decades. Typically, the Westerners work for a few
months in menial jobs or sell Indian textiles and handicrafts in markets and festivals in
their countries of origin and then spend the rest of the year in India, living on the money
they have earned in those temporary jobs. Most of them are twenty to thirty-five years old
but some are forty to fifty, with men forming the majority. In Varanasi, they all live in
one particular area within walking distance of each other, renting apartments in local
houses. Most Westerners in Varanasi play Indian instruments and some do yoga,
meditation or charity work. A lot of time is spent socializing with friends, and they end
up forming a tight, yet temporary, community there (see Korpela, 2009).
The community of Westerners in Varanasi mainly functions in (grammatically
poor) English mixed with common Hindi expressions. I refer to these people as
‘Westerners’ due to the fact that in Varanasi differences between various Western
nationalities seem to disappear when opposed with the ‘Indian other’. The Westerners
1
The summer months are extremely hot and wet.
58 Mari Korpela
understand this ‘Westernity’ to mean above all a certain kind of education, knowledge of
certain popular cultures and appreciation of certain values; especially individuality and
freedom. ‘The West’ becomes unified also in their everyday lives in Varanasi. An
everyday example in which the common Western identity becomes manifested is food.
When the Westerners cook together, the most popular dish is pasta, and it is understood
as a common Western dish (instead of representing Italian cuisine). When food and other
goods or values are defined as ‘Western’, the crucial factor is classifying them as ‘non-
Indian’. Moreover, when they explain their lifestyle choice they often criticize the ‘West’
instead of criticizing merely their specific countries of origin.
My study was ethnographic and the methods used were participant observation
and interviews. While in Varanasi, I participated in the everyday activities of the
Westerners and kept a detailed field diary of my participant observation. The very intense
social life of the Westerners includes parties and concerts as well as frequent visits,
cooking, eating and hanging out together. In addition to participant observation, I
interviewed 44 Westerners who were staying in Varanasi for at least two months (most
for longer) and who had also been there for long periods before. The focus of this article
is on how the Westerners in Varanasi define their self-identities.
Defining the Self Against the Western Other
A lot [of people] are not happy. They listen to me saying, maybe I'll go to India for three
months, and they say ”oh, I wish to go, ah, you are lucky” and blaah blaah but ”hallo
Bombay, calo2 Bombay” I say, ”no, come on”. They prefer one newspaper, one big sofa,
putting their legs up, watching TV until bedtime, sex once a week after the news of the
night, Friday…Because the day after you do not work, so you can sleep a little bit more and
you can enjoy half an hour more… yeah, it is like this for a lot of people. (Anton, 32)3
2
Calo: Let’s go.
3
The interviews were conducted in English, which is not the mother tongue of most of the interviewees. In
this artcile, I have corrected only the most obvious language mistakes in their speech patterns. After each
interview quotation, I have marked a pseudonym and the person’s correct age at the time of the interview.
I get this overwhelming feeling in my country of origin that people are […] doing a prison
sentence: They are in, they got this amount of time they gotta do. They are just trying to get
through this the best they can […] It’s all about making the time pass. (Jamie, 26)
Q: Are you different from people in your country of origin?

A: I think yes, I’m totally different. […] At least I do something interesting for me. I meet
different people. (Marco, 34)
My interviewees often claimed that people in the West are unhappy without
realizing it. They considered themselves very lucky to have left behind the boring and
meaningless life in their countries of origin. India had offered them a chance to search for
something different, and better. Many of my interviewees defined themselves as
courageous and independent in comparison to people who had stayed in their countries of
origin. When talking about lifestyle choices, they held a very individualistic view.
Q: What do you think people in your country of origin think about your lifestyle?
A: […] I think everybody can have this lifestyle if they want it. You want it, you can do it.
The only thing is you might have to make some money first. (Ivan, 45)
In my interviewees’ understanding, the possibility of and responsibility for having
an interesting and meaningful life lies with each individual. By using such a discourse,
they ended up defining themselves as active agents in opposition to passive people who
blindly follow routines ‘in the prison’, and in their case it was not only a matter of words
but also of actual practices.
Most of my interviewees claimed that leaving their countries of origin had helped
them to realize their true selves, and many also seem to have become empowered in the
process, that is, they emphasized acting as individual agents.
Q: Do you feel you have changed in India?

A: Yes, a lot.
Q: How?
A: When I was child, I thought I have to do what everybody does […] Everybody has a job,
everybody gets married, everybody gets a career…But when I started to live here, I realized
that it’s best when I do what I want. I should do what I want. (Naima, 31)
[Ivan is telling his life story]

60 Mari Korpela
I was really sort of unsatisfied with that life, I felt trapped but I didn’t know what to do and
then, the opportunity for travelling came up, and I knew this was, I had to learn about
myself, to find out what makes me happy. (Ivan, 45)
As the above quotations show, the goal is happiness and individual satisfaction: it
is all about the self. At the same time, the emphasis on individualism allows them a
positive self-definition as active agents: they have done something – they have moved
abroad – to improve their lives.
It is remarkable that the Westerners in Varanasi have gone to India to find their
true selves and to realize their individuality. Indian cultures are usually not characterized
in individualistic terms but quite the opposite: in orientalist discourse, India represents
collective values whereas the West is described in terms of individualism (see, Goody,
1996, p. 246; Turner, 1994, p. 54; van der Veer, 1993, p. 37). As outsiders — far away
from home and commitments there — the Westerners in Varanasi are able to gain
freedom: because they do not belong to the local social networks, commitments and
expectations there, they are free to pursue individual happiness. Locals are definitely not
free in the same sense in Varanasi. Therefore, when the Westerners realize their own
individuality in India, it is actually not Indian culture that has made them free but their
outsider status, and by no means are they aiming to ‘go native’ in India, that is to become
like Indian people are.
Defining the Self Against the Indian Other
Q: Do you feel different from Indian women?

A: […] For me, Indian people are children, they are big children for sure […] because they
don’t have responsibilities at all. Not at all. Even when they grow up, always you have your
parents giving you money or looking at what you want to do, what you want, and it’s not
like ‘ok, mom, dad, I take my luggage and I calo4, I go’. (Donna, 28)
Q: Do you feel you are different from Indian men?

A: In a way yes.
Q: How?
4
Calo: ‘Go’ or ‘Let’s go’. It is an imperative form of calnaa (to go) but the Westerners often, wrongly, use
it to mean ‘I go’ or ‘I leave’.
A: I’ve got aspirations, I aspire. A lot of Indian men, they take life as it is. They say […]
Right now I’m like this and this will never change. And a lot of them are very self-defeating
in a way because […] I often get from Indian people a sense of giving up and a feeling of
not being able to change a certain situation. It might look very, very, very calm […] but I
think that Indian society is very structured and for a person not to feel completely at home
in this situation is terrible, because they can’t get out as easily as I can. I have, yeah, I’m
different because I’m more free. (David, 28)
When I asked my interviewees about differences between themselves and Indian
people, most of them characterized Indians in negative and simplified terms. In both
quotations above, independence and free will become distinguishing markers against
Indians: culture prevents Indians from being independent whereas Western cultures and
the Western selves of my interviewees become defined as highly individualistic.
I asked my interviewees whether they feel different from Indian men and women
and the answers usually contained long reflections on fundamental differences. Usually
those answers tell more about the Westerners themselves than they tell about Indians.
Whether it was Western men defining themselves vis-à-vis Indian men or Western
women defining themselves vis-à-vis Indian women, ‘Indians’ were understood as one
and differences regarding, for example, class or age were usually ignored. Indians are
merely granted the role of the insignificant ‘other’. In this process, the Westerners place
themselves in a position of judgement from where they are able to see ‘the Indian other’
against which they present themselves as active agents responsible for their own
decisions and actions. One can even see traces of racism in the Westerners’ views
although they themselves would most likely argue the opposite if asked.
Self-definition plays a part also in the following quotation from a Western man.
Q: Are you different from Indian men? […]

A: […] They are lazy.
Q: Indians are lazy?
A: Indians are lazy, it’s a big difference. If you don’t say [anything], they don’t do nothing.
So that’s a big difference and they have no […] responsibility, I think, they don’t have so
much responsibility. […] They don’t care, I think. (Patrick, 21)

62 Mari Korpela
Patrick’s comment is very interesting because laziness and irresponsibility are
accusations that these Westerners often face themselves. They meet such criticism in
their countries of origin, where they are often accused of being parasites who enjoy an
easy life without working. Moreover, locals in Varanasi often see the Western lifestyle
migrants as lazy. Yet, the Westerners themselves do not view themselves as lazy: they
claim to simply concentrate on doing things that they enjoy, for example studying Indian
classical music.
In the case of the Western women, defining the self against the ‘Indian other’ is
even more significant than it is for the Western men: many Western women in Varanasi
define themselves as strong, free, independent and progressive, in opposition to unfree,
dependent and oppressed Indian woman (see Korpela, 2006; compare with Mohanty,
1991). In addition to distinguishing themselves from Indian women in their talk, the
Western women distinguish themselves also via their clothing as even when they use
local clothing, they use it differently from local women.
Q: Do you feel you are different from Indian women?

A: …Yes.
Q: How?
A: Because Indian women, they accept not being free. They feel normal not to be free, just
being at home, not going outside …For me, it’s very different, I have a very different spirit.
(Sylvia, 38)
I wouldn’t like to be Indian, Indian girl. […] They are not so free as we are in Europe. We, I
am used to this freedom. I cannot imagine being Indian but I don’t think they have a
problem with this because they stay at home but they don’t mind, they have no idea about
going away [it does not come to their mind to leave]. (Sara, 32)
Sara’s comment implies that if Indian women knew about the possibilities for
freedom, they would like to have them too, that is, they would like to be as Western
women are. This is obviously a very ethnocentric and evolutionist view but it is very
common among the Westerners in Varanasi. Such comments also suggest that although
in some respects, the Westerners criticize ‘the West’, in other respects they appreciate it.
Usually, my interviewees saw Indian women as one. Some acknowledged
regional differences5 but none acknowledged class differences. Above all, many
Westerners in Varanasi see Indian women as housewives, and such comments are clearly
a part of the Western women defining themselves as essentially different, that is, as active
and independent. The Western men share the view of Indian women as a homogenous
group.
The whole life, they [Indian women] more or less stay at home. They don’t even want to
leave home. Taking care of the family, cooking. Many times even passing the day, just all
day you can relax, all day stay in the house and enjoy. Usually Western people cannot do
this, if you tell them just the day in the house with nothing to do, they would go crazy.
(Noel, 31)
Noel seemed to have a rather unrealistic view of housework. I first thought that
the comment is gender-related, that is, it is a typical male view but I was wrong: I heard a
Western woman once explaining that Indian babies do not use diapers because the
mothers do not have anything else to do except taking care of their babies whereas
Western women are busy with other things and therefore, do not have time to clean after
a diaper-free baby. Not all the Westerners in Varanasi share this view of Indian
housewives living a life of leisure but it nevertheless exists among them, and it is used to
define the Western women as active, independent agents.
In this section, it has become evident that the Western lifestyle migrants in
Varanasi talk about Indian men and women in very simplistic terms. Here, one may start
to wonder how it is possible that such views prevail.
Indian Friends: A Contradiction in Terms
The Western lifestyle migrants in Varanasi live in local neighbourhoods, renting
apartments from local families. Consequently, the Westerners cannot avoid contact with
5
An example of acknowledged regional differences that the Westerners often mention is that women in the
mountains (north) or in Kerala (south) are more independent than women in Varanasi.
64 Mari Korpela
local Indian people. One of my interviewees blamed some Westerners for not knowing
their Indian neighbours even when they had lived in Varanasi for years. The same
interviewee, however, admitted that he himself did not have Indian friends. Having local
friends turned out to be a problematic issue for almost all my interviewees.
Q: Do you have Indian friends?

A: Good question! (laughs) Very good question, yeah. It depends on the definition of a
friend. […] not, really no. And this is funny because the first time I went [back to Europe],
a lot of my friends asked me ‘but you are still in contact with Indian friends there. You
continue to write or phone or whatever’ and I was thinking suddenly that I don’t have
Indian friends really. (Donna, 28)
The Westerners’ relationships with locals in Varanasi are usually instrumental:
their Indian acquaintances are landlords, shopkeepers or music teachers. In other words,
there is a service connection. Most of my interviewees say that they do not have any
Indian friends. Some have local friends but even they usually say that they do not share
their lives with them the same way as they do with their Western friends. When my
interviewees explained the lack of local friends, they referred to cultural differences that
they consider to be fundamental. Rather many of my interviewees mentioned that the
Indian conception of friendship is very different from the Western one. They are thus
referring to culturally bound ways of making friends and eventually suggesting that
cross-cultural friendships are a contradiction in terms.
Q: Do you feel different from Indian people?

A: […] We [Westerners] want to make friendship and they [Indians] want money. (laughs)
Maybe it’s the main difference. (Sara, 32)
A reoccurring complaint among the Westerners in Varanasi is the belief that
Indian people consider all Westerners rich and they always try to benefit from Westerners
economically. This irritates many. ‘I am not a bank’ said a Western man to an Indian
acquaintance who was asking for money from him. Many Westerners acknowledge the

structural causes behind such behaviour but are determined to avoid any unpleasant
consequences for themselves. Many of the Westerners occasionally give money or goods
to beggars and other poor people but they do not like to be asked, that is, they do not like
to be put in the position of a patron.
Obviously the lack of language proficiency is an obstacle for getting to know
locals: most Western lifestyle migrants in Varanasi know very little, if any, Hindi and
many locals do not speak English. On the other hand, a few of my interviewees also
mentioned that those locals who speak good English are usually very ‘modern’ and
‘Westernized’, thus they do not understand why the Westerners are so enthusiastic about
Indian traditions. Here, the difference is not understood in terms of India versus the West
but in terms of ‘modern’ middle class values versus a counterculture that idealizes
ancient ‘authentic’ India. In fact, the English-speaking middle class of Varanasi may have
more in common with middle classes in the West than they do with the Westerners who
are searching for the ‘simple’ and ‘authentic’ life in Varanasi (for the viewpoint of
modern Indian men and for the difficulty of applying the term middle class in Indian
context, see Favero, 2005). It may also be that having a different educational background
contributes to the Westerners’ dislike of middle class Indians as many of them have
rather little formal education, and they typically claim not to value such education. The
Westerners, however, do not usually recognize themselves as being less educated than
many (middle or upper class) Indians but instead often refer to uneducated Indians with
whom, in their view, deep discussions are impossible.
Q: Which things do you appreciate and which are problematic [in India]?
A: It’s very rare, the conversation I could have with Westerners, I could have with Indians.
More or less, they won’t have the ability to understand what I try to express and [what] I
have an interest in. I received [got an] education. (Marcel, 31)

66 Mari Korpela
In the above quotation, Marcel characterizes Indians as a homogeneous
uneducated bloc, unable to understand Westerners. Such a view easily results in a lack of
contacts with Indians as a consequence of which, stereotypical views prevail. In my
understanding, the Westerners’ stereotypical views on essential cultural differences
between themselves and Indians function as tools in their self-definition: they define
themselves as fundamentally different from Indians. Consequently, they need to keep
social distance from local people because closer contacts would probably question their
self-definition as fundamentally different from locals.
The New Self: India as a Turning Point
For the Western lifestyle migrants in Varanasi being in India is not merely a
question of defining the self but also a moment of a changing self. Most of my
interviewees claimed to have changed fundamentally in India.
Q: You said you have changed here a lot yourself […] What has [happened], how has India
affected you?
A: I cannot imagine my life without coming to India. It is really true. I don’t even
remember who I was before I came [...]t the change that I went through in India was so
strong, I don’t even remember what was before, it sounds like a vague dream. It happened
[to] somebody else. (Rafael, 40)
Seeing India as a turning point in one’s life is obviously a realisation that has
come afterwards. In the interviews, my questions contributed to such a discourse since I
specifically asked whether the interviewee felt s/he had changed in India. However, the
Westerners in Varanasi often talk in such terms also outside the interview context. A few
Westerners have also ended up adopting an Indian name6. Adopting a new first name
illustrates well a change of identity. Very often, the Westerners in Varanasi used the talk
about the changing self also to justify their stay in India as the change was always
understood in positive terms.
6
The Indian names that they adopt usually carry a Hindu or Buddhist spiritual meaning or a meaning
connected with nature.
Q: How is your life different in India from your country of origin?

A: […] After India my life changed.
Q: How has India changed you?
A: …More relaxed… and more, I feel more happy, happier and relaxed. (Maya, 31)
Most of my interviewees said that India had made them more relaxed and content.
In making such comments, they implicitly, and sometimes explicitly, criticized Western
societies where people are nervous and worried.
However, being in India is not only (or necessarily) about a changing self but also
about realizing one’s true self. A commonly shared view among the Westerners in
Varanasi is that there is a core self to be realized and knowing one’s true self does not
come automatically. The ethos is that one has to learn to be one’s true self and one has to
learn to be free. All in all, the emphasis is on the self.
India is in fact a very particular place to search for oneself. Started by
theosophists and adopted by the gurus7 of the hippies, ancient meditation and yoga
techniques have been developed to meet the needs of Westerners who are searching for
themselves. In fact, India has been rather successful in capitalising on its image as a
home of spiritual wisdom (Bandyopadhyay and Morais, 2005) and such a view was
adopted also by Indian nationalists in order to create national consciousness and pride
(Edwardes, 1967, p. 39; see also Fox, 1992; Ludden, 1993; van der Veer, 1993). In
addition to a conscious search for the self, most of my interviewees claimed that one is
bound to change in India even without spiritual searching.
I think... if you are receptive to Indian culture, Indian culture will change you in some ways
definitely. It has to, it’s such a strong culture. I would say that you’re gonna have to change
if you spend some time here in India. (Marcel, 31)
7
Guru: a (spiritual) teacher or guide.
68 Mari Korpela
A significant factor is obviously that one is forced to redefine oneself when one
encounters the ‘Indian other’. A few of my interviewees also mentioned that India offers
a possibility for a new beginning, an opportunity to create a new self as one can leave old
expectations and roles behind.
Q: Why do you not want to live in Europe?

A: […] Here you can invent yourself, you can create yourself. You come here, nobody
knows you, you can put the best of your behaviour [forward], you put the best of your
character. […] And nobody doubts what you are. You can create your own story in this
country, you are free for this. Sure if you don’t follow [act according to] your words, I mean
if your actions don’t follow your words, also very quickly you see here, you can collapse
very quickly also in India. […] Here it’s to do a lot with your, always working on yourself
and always working on your character. (Olga, 48)
Olga’s comment indicates a kind of a game with the self, yet, at the same time she
is referring to the concept of a ‘true’ self when she mentions working on one’s character.
All in all, the Westerners in Varanasi often defined a trip to India as a trip to oneself, and
although they often articulated their stay in India in terms of criticism towards the West,
it was also very much a question of finding and defining the self – both against the
‘ordinary Western other’ and the ‘Indian other’.
Self at the Centre
When defining themselves against Indians, the Western lifestyle migrants in
Varanasi define independence as a ‘Western’ characteristic and emphasize having made
an individual lifestyle choice. However, when defining themselves against ‘ordinary’
Westerners, many claim that those who have stayed in their countries of origin are
trapped in ‘prison’, that is, they are not independent but follow empty routines without
being true to themselves. Therefore, it seems above all to be a question of the Westerners
in Varanasi defining themselves as independent; both in comparison to Indian people and
to people in their countries of origin, and the Western and Indian others against which
they define themselves are understood in very homogenous, simplified, terms.

This article has thus shown that being in India is a very individualistic project for
the Westerners in Varanasi: my interviewees talked much about finding, defining and
changing the self. The emphasis on the self is typical for our era. According to Anthony
Giddens, the self is often seen as a reflexive project for which the individual is
responsible. ‘We are, not what we are, but what we make of ourselves’ (Giddens, 1991,
p. 75). In other words, the self has become a project that needs to be developed and
reflected upon. Moreover, Giddens writes that ‘in modern conditions, we live as though
we are surrounded by mirrors from which we reflect ourselves’ (Giddens, 1991, p. 172),
and in this world of various possibilities, it is important to have a coherent, true, self that
works as a reference point (Giddens, 1991, p. 75). The situation of the Western lifestyle
migrants in Varanasi fits well Giddens’s statements: to a large extent, being in India
seems to be a question of defining the self and the Westerners, who are living in a
situation of various possibilities, reflect their true selves against both Indian and Western
others.
The transnational context of lifestyle migrants adds a new twist to Giddens’s idea
of a reflexive self. The issue of finding oneself through travelling is widely discussed in
travel research (see Bruner, 1991; Desforges, 2000; Elsrud, 2001; Harrison, 2006; Noy,
2004; Wang, 1999). Thus the Westerners in Varanasi are not distinct in this sense. Yet,
they are different from tourists and travellers in the sense that they have chosen to stay in
India repeatedly for very long periods. For example, travellers often aim to use at home
the cultural capital (often materialized as a distinctive self) that they have gained during
their travels (Desforges, 2000, p. 938). Lifestyle migrants, however, do not permanently
return ‘home’. In fact, realizing the self that the Westerners in Varanasi have found seems
to require recurring sojourns in India: many of my interviewees considered it difficult to

70 Mari Korpela
maintain their true selves in the West when they went back. Many said that after spending
some time in the West, they have to return to India in order to be able to live as their true
selves. Nevertheless, either here or there, the self is at the centre.
Conclusion
In this article I have argued that the Western lifestyle migrants in Varanasi define
themselves as courageous, independent and active agents both against Indian and
Western others. Although they articulate their stay in India as a quest for a better life,
eventually staying in India seems to become a trip to the self and for the self. I have also
argued that the self is a reflexive project for the Westerners in Varanasi, and the
transnational conditions make their emphasis on the reflexive self particular.
I started this article with an interview quotation where the interviewee stated to
feel ‘more true’ in India. The fact that an interviewee replies by such comment when
asked why he prefers India to his country of origin indicates how central defining the self
is for the Westerners in Varanasi. To put it simply, it seems that although the Westerners
initially went to India in order to find India and a better life there, they have ended up
finding their distinctive Western selves instead. In other words, lifestyle migration to
India provides the Westerners a setting for realizing their ‘true’ – independent and
individualistic – Western selves.
Bibliography:
Alderson, F. (1971) The New Grand Tour. Traveling Today through Europe, Asia Minor,
India and Nepal. London: The Travel Book Club.
Bandyopadhyay, R. & Morais, D. (2005) ’Representative Dissonance. India’s Self and
Western Image’ in Annals of Tourism Research 32(4), 1006-1021.
Bell, M. & Ward, G. 2000. Comparing Temporary Mobility with Permanent Migration,
Tourism Geographies 2(1), 87-107.
Benson, M. & O’Reilly, K. (2009) Migration and the Search for a Better Way of Life: a Critical
Exploration of Lifestyle Migration, Sociological Review 57(4), 608-625.
Bruner, E. M. (1991) Transformation of Self in Tourism, Annals of Tourism Research
18(2), 238-250.
Desforges, L. 2000. Traveling the World. Identity and Travel Biography, Annals of
Tourism Research 27(4), 926-945.
Elsrud, T. (2001) Risk Creation in Traveling. Backpacker Adventure Narration, Annals of
Tourism Research 28(3), 597-617.
Edwardes, M. (1967) British India 1772-1947. New Delhi: Rupa & Co.
Favero, P. (2005) India Dreams. Cultural Identity Among Young Middle Class Men in
New Delhi. Stockholm: University of Stockholm.
Fox, R. G. (1992) East of Said. In M. Sprinker (Ed.), Edward Said: A Critical Reader
(pp. 144-156). Cambridge: Blackwell.
Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and Self-Identity. Self and Society in the Late Modern
Age. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Ghose, I. (Ed.). (1998a) Memsahibs Abroad. Writings by Women Travellers in
Nineteenth Century India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Ghose, I. (1998b) Women Travellers in Colonial India. The Power of the Female Gaze.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Goody, J. (1996) The East in the West. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gustafson, P. (2002) Tourism and Seasonal Retirement Migration, Annals of Tourism
research 29(4), 899-918.
Hall, S. (1968) The Hippies: An American ‘Moment’. Birmingham: University of
Birmingham Sub and Popular Culture Series No. 16.
Harrison, J. (2006) A Personalized Journey: Tourism and Individuality. In V. Amit & N.
Dyck (Eds.), Claiming Individuality. The Cultural Politics of Distinction (pp. 110-
130). London: Pluto Press.
Hutnyk, J. (1996) The Rumour of Calcutta. Tourism, Charity and the Poverty
Representations. London: Zed Books.
Hottola, P. (1999) The Intercultural Body. Western Woman, Culture Confusion and

72 Mari Korpela
Control of Space in the South Asian Travel Scene. Joensuu: University of

Joensuu. Korpela,. M. (2009) More Vibes in India. Westerners in Search of a
Better Life in Varanasi.
Tampere: Tampere University Press.
Korpela, M. (2006) ‘I’m not Like Indian Women’. Reflections of Young European
Women in Varanasi, India,’Jargonia 9. Retrieved February 19, 2010, from
https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/handle/123456789/20067
Ludden, D. (1993) Orientalist Empiricism. Transformations of Colonial Knowledge. In
C. Breckenridge & P. van der Veer (Eds.), Orientalism and the Postcolonial
Predicament. Perspectives on South Asia (pp- 250-278). Pennsylvania: University
of Pennsylvania Press.
MacLean, R. (2006) Magic Bus: On the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to India. London:
Penguin Books Ltd.
Mehta, G. (1979) Karma Cola. India: Penguin Books.
Maoz, D. (2005) Young Adult Israeli Backpackers in India. In Chaim Noy & Eric Cohen
(Eds.), Israeli Backpackers and their Society. A View from Afar (pp. 159-188).
Albany: State University of New York Press.
Mohanty, C. T. (1991) Under Western Eyes. In C. T. Mohanty & A. Russo & L. Torres
(Eds.), Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism (pp. 51-80).
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Mohanty, S. (Ed.). (2003) Travel Writing and the Empire. New Delhi: Katha.
Noy, C. (2004) This Trip Really Changed Me. Backpackers’ Narratives of Self-Change,
Annals of Tourism Research 31(1), 78-102.
Odzer, C. (1995) Goa Freaks. My Hippie Years in India. New York: Blue Moon Books.
O’Reilly, K. (2003) ‘When is a Tourist?’ The Articulation of Tourism and Migration in
Spain’s Costa de Sol, Tourist Studies 3(3), 301-317.
O’Reilly, K. & Benson, M. (2009) Lifestyle Migration: Escaping to the Good life? In M.
Benson & K. O’Reilly (Eds.), Lifestyle Migration. Expectations, Aspirations and
Experiences (pp. 1-13). Aldershot: Ashgate.
Saldanha, A. (2007) Psychedelic White. Goa Trance and the Viscosity of Race.
Minneapolis & London: University of Minnesota Press.
Tomory, D. (1996) A Season in Heaven. True Tales from the Road to Kathmandu.
Melbourne: Lonely Planet Publications.
Turner, B. S. (1994) Orientalism, Postmodernism and Globalism. London: Routledge.
Van der Veer, P. (1993) The Foreign Hand: Orientalist Discourse in Sociology and
Communalism. In C. Breckenridge & P. van der Veer (Eds.), Orientalism and the
Postcolonial Predicament. Perspectives on South Asia (pp. 23-44). Pennsylvania:
University of Pennsylvania Press.
Wang, N. (1999) Rethinking Authenticity in Tourism Experience, Annals of Tourism
Research 26(2), 349-370.
Wiles, J. (1972) The Grand Trunk Road. Khyber to Calcutta. London: Paul Elek Books
Ltd.
Williams, A. & King, R. & Warnes, A. & Patterson, G. 2000. Tourism and International
Retirement Migration: New Forms of an Old Relationship in Southern Europe,
Tourism Geographies 2(1), 28-49.
Wilson, D. (1997) Paradoxes of Tourism in Goa, Annals of Tourism Research 24(1), 52-
75.
Biography of Author
Mari Korpela is an assistant professor of social anthropology in the department of
Social Research at the University of Tampere, Finland. In addition to social
anthropology, she has been teaching women's studies and qualitative research
methods. Her research interests include transnational communities,
countercultures, lifestyle migration, gender and travel as well as ethnographic
research methods. She has published articles both in Finnish and in English. She
has recently completed her PhD dissertation which is an ethnographic research on
the community of Westerners in Varanasi, India.

The US citizens Retirement Migration to Los Cabos, Mexico. Profile and Social
Effects
Omar Lizárraga Morales

Department of Social Sciences
Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (University of Sinaloa)
Culiacán, México
Abstract
Today, in several Latin American countries, such as Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil, and
principally Mexico, we are witnessing a migratory movement from Canada and the
United States. These migrants have the common characteristics of time and economic
resources, since most of them are retired. This international immigration has had serious
effects on the host communities in several areas:
a) Economic: because their purchasing power is higher than that of the local population.
Real estate prices have increased as well the cost of the services, principally in some
urban areas, provoking a reclassification of the urban space;
b) Socio-demographic: Within the migration process in some cases of the local women or
men through marriage;
c) Cultural: In many of the cases, the American immigrants keep their culture and
lifestyle at the retirement destinations; as a result they create cultural isolation from the
local people.
d) Environmental: because they demand spaces near to the coast and places where the
biodiversity is endangered.
In this article we analyze the migratory process of the American citizens to a
popular tourist destination located in the northwest of Mexico: Los Cabos, Baja
California Sur. The social and environmental impacts in this region are examined.
Key words: Retirement, Migration, Los Cabos, Baby Boom, Social Effects.
Introduction
International Retirement Migration (IRM) has become one of the most important
features of social and demographic change in developed countries. It is a clear indicator
of changes in migratory patterns that register new types of human mobility; this kind of
movement experienced a significant increase since the last decade of the twentieth
century. This is a migration model based on consumption, not production (Salvá, 2005).
RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 75-92

76 Omar Lizárraga Morales
This movement is also surprising because it does not represent the criteria of other
classical migrations: such as an economic crisis or political reasons forcing people to
leave their country of origin.
These are migrants seeking a better life, not only for economic reasons, but for
environmental reasons, tranquility, proximity to the ocean, et al. (Almada, 2006). This
type of migration is not always permanent and is often difficult to separate it from
tourism and has thus not yet received much attention from scholars.
International Retirement Migration can be observed in different regions of the
world. In the case of the European continent, the retirees from the Nordic countries move
to the Mediterranean region, highlighting destinations like Portugal, Italy, Greece,
Turkey, Hungary and Spain (King et al., 1998). In Oceania, Australia and New Zealand
also are popular among the retirees from northern Europe and East Asia (Shinozaky,
2006). In the American hemisphere, the countries of Central and South America such as
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, but especially Mexico are attractive
to retirees from the United States and Canada (Puga, 2001; MPI, 2006).
Today this flow is becoming more important for the government of host countries,
investors and academics because we are witnessing a mass retirement of members of the
generation called "Baby Boomers". This is the generation born after the war, between
1946 and 1964, which now accounts for two thirds of the global population of 6.5 billion
and in the U.S. 76 million of it's citizens fall into this demographic (Dailey, 2005).
Mexico historically has been a destination for North American migrants, some
places such as San Miguel de Allende and Ajijic have been popular among US citizens
since the sixties, with painters, musicians, sculptors and hippies looking for a place
distant from their home and to live on a low income.
Recently, the socio-economic and demographic profile of the American
immigrants in Mexico has changed. Now, many have better retirement benefits and
higher incomes than previous expatriates. U.S.-Mexico migration, particularly to Los
Cabos, has had important economic, social, environmental, political and cultural effects
on the host society. Most have a purchasing power far beyond that of the locals and
socio-cultural and economic differences have had a significant impact on the local
community.

The US citizens Retirement Migration to Los Cabos, Mexico. Profile and Social Effects 77
For this research, we conducted a survey of expatriates in Los Cabos. We took as

a guide the population registered at the National Migration Institute (Instituto Nacional de
Migración), in order to get the “official” data of the number of US nationals residing in
the city. The number of US nationals registered in this institute is 6,123. Using this
baseline number and taking a maximum error of 5% and 85% confidence as
representative, the sample size in the survey was 201 questionnaires. The survey was
applied to addresses where we had access, but a large part of this population live in gated
communities and were thus inaccessible. We administered the surveys in public meeting
and commercial centers, churches, and via e-mail as well. The survey allowed us to
assess the socio-demographic features such as gender, age, marital status, place of origin,
work experience, health issues, income and expenses, but also the reasons why they
decided to migrate. In addition to the surveys, we also conducted some lengthier
interviews with US citizens in the region.
US immigration to Mexico and Los Cabos
The Migration Policy Institute of the United States identified the Mexican states
that receive the most elderly immigrants, these are: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Baja California,
Baja California Sur and Nuevo Leon. Followed by all other states closer to the northern
border such as Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas and Tamaulipas (MPI, 2006). The same
document identified ten destinations, or poles of attraction for immigrants such as
Guadalajara and Chapala, Jalisco, Leon and San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato,
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Tijuana, Mexicali, Rosarito and
Ensenada, Baja California and Los Cabos in Baja California Sur.
Based on data provided by each of the the National Migration Institute’s regional
offices, we found that there are a total of 108,052 registered Americans living in Mexico.
It must be said that this number of Americans only includes those that are registered
under the migration forms FM2 and FM3; nonimmigrant and immigrant, respectively
(see chart 1). It is important to note that the state of Baja California Sur, currently ranks
second in the country in terms of the highest rate of immigration from the United States.
We do not have the exact number of Americans that live in Mexico under the (FM1)
tourist visa, but these people can reside for up to six months of the year in Mexico. The

Migration Policy Institute quoting the US Department of State estimated that a total of
1,036,300 American citizens are living in Mexico (MPI, 2006).
Chart 1. The US Population in Mexico by State.
State Number of Americans

Aguascalientes 160
Baja California 22,137
Baja California Sur 13,905
Campeche 2,069
Chiapas 429
Chihuahua 11,605
Coahuila 2,482
Colima 1,110
Distrito Federal 5,858
Durango 156
Edo. De México 462
Guanajuato 9,992
Guerrero 1,121
Hidalgo 89
Jalisco 11,527
Michoacán 886
Morelos 500
Nayarit 2,357
Nuevo León 1,743
Oaxaca 1,791
Puebla 1,473
Querétaro 2,030
Quintana Roo 2,487
San Luis Potosí 487
Sinaloa 4,385
Sonora 3,500
Tabasco 108
Tamaulipas 572
Tlaxcala 76
Veracruz 1,816
Yucatán 590
Zacatecas 149
Total 108,052
Source: National Migration Institute (2009).
Los Cabos is the destination examined in this research and it is particularly

interesting because of the large number of US citizens who reside there and the
accelerated increase in recent years. According to the Migration Policy Institute of the
United States, there was an exorbitant increase in the American immigration to Mexico

during the years 1990-2000. For example, during this time the number of US citizens in
Los Cabos increased a 308% (MPI, 2006). This is not to suggest that immigration to
other destinations has slowed. Indeed, migration to Ajijic, Jalisco increased 581%, and
San Miguel de Allende 47.7% during this same time period (MPI, 2006). Mazatlán is
also becoming increasingly popular showing a 95% increase between the years 2004-
2006 (Lizárraga, 2006).
The so-called real estate boom in Mexico is linked to this influx. According to
Greg Redderman, who owns the real estate agency Re/Max of Cabo San Lucas, there are
homes near the mountains with prices ranging between US$300,000 and US$600,000 and
others on the beach are between US$600,000 and US$1.2 million. There are even some
more luxurious properties with price tags in the US$8-10 million range. Greg also tells us
that the housing boom in Los Cabos began around 2002 and the principal buyers are from
California (Redderman, Greg, 10/04/08).
The National Migration Institute (INM), reported in January of 2009 that 13,905
Americans lived in the state of Baja California Sur. According to the same institution
7,704 are men and 5,283 women, of whom 7,486 are renters who live on resources
brought from abroad; most do not work and are dedicated completely to rest. Also, there
are 5,501 who have permission to engage in income-generating activities. According to
this Institute, in the municipality of Los Cabos there are a total of 6,123 Americans,
accounting for 47% of the U.S. population in the state (National Institute of Migration,
2009). US citizens in the area of Los Cabos are concentrated in the towns of: Buena
Vista, Los Barriles, Todos Santos, San José del Cabo, and Cabo San Lucas, but the
majority (80%) are in the latter two.
Taking into account that the population of Los Cabos in the census of 2005 was
164,162 people, American immigrants comprise 3.72% of the total population of the
municipality. However, the number of Americans increases if we take into account those
who enter the country with a tourist visa who, as we said before, can stay up to six
months in Mexico and have the right acquire properties. This is why it is difficult to
precisely determine the number of foreign-born residents living there at any given time.
Socio-economic and demographic profile of the US citizens in Los Cabos

The survey results revealed that the vast majority (88%) first visited the Los
Cabos area as tourists. A pleasant experience is often the key motivator for them to
choose this place for retirement years later. The results also showed that these people are
mostly from California, followed by Washington State, Colorado, Oregon, and the border
states of Texas and Arizona.
As to their age, the highest proportion (45%) is between 45 and 63 years old, in
other words, they fall into the category of “baby boomers”. It must be said that these
people do not yet enjoy all the benefits of retirement, i.e. Social Security, but most can
easily live here off of their pension from former jobs, savings, or are still engaged in
some lucrative activity. The Americans captured in the survey who are over 64 years old
and eligible to receive this government benefit represents 34% of the population. And
thirdly, there is a sizable population who are under 44 years (21%). We found that this
group is predominantly medium-high to high income; business owners, salesmen,
managers or real estate agents, but also includes some teachers, doctors, military, etc.
The monthly average income is highly diverse. There is a 25% of people who
receive between US$2,400 and US$5,000 a month. A smaller percentage (5%) receives
between US$5,100 and US$6,000 but a higher percentage (20%) receives more than
US$6,000 per month. It must be said that we also captured a significant number who
receive between US$1,000 and $2,300 monthly (22%).
In Los Cabos, where the principal economic activity is tourism, the average wage
for locals is not nearly this high and a secondary migration from within Mexico is
occurring to find employment in construction and other low-skill, low-wage jobs. The
result is great wage disparity between most of the US nationals and the local people.
Most of the migrants surveyed (64%) are married. Although there are also those
who made the movement alone, arriving: divorced (18%), single (12%) or widowed
(4%). It should be noted that there are also a good number of Americans who have
married local people, mostly US men marrying local women. In fact, there are strategic
advantages to these marriages because it allows them to buy property without the expense
of the trust that must be paid by foreigners to own property in Mexico. In this case, he
may put the property in his wife's name convincing her to sign an absolute power of

attorney on the property as a form of protection, the local term for this is “prestanombre”.
Secondly, from a cultural perspective, many US men consider Mexican women to be
much more “manageable” than US women and therefore feel greater security with their
property, as well as for company and personal care (Almada, 2006).
A total of 8% of the American men surveyed are married to Mexican women,
meanwhile only 3% of the American women are married to a Mexican man. From our
perspective, these intercultural marriages, besides the physical attraction, are the result of
three factors: a) the economic security that the Mexican women finds with a US husband;
b) the added security that Americans receive on their financial investments in Mexico;
and c) The social ascension experienced by Mexican women marrying a foreigner with a
higher income and educational status.
According to the survey, 67% live in the region of Los Cabos under the FM2 or
FM3 migratory forms, 20% with a tourist visa and 11% are citizens. According to the
INM there are 5,501 people who can legally engage in money making activities, but it
should be mentioned that this number of Americans increases if we take into account
those who simply carry on illegally under their tourist status.
In general, these immigrants have a high level of education: 53% have a
university/Bachelor’s degree, 11% a Master's degree and 5% have a doctoral degree.
Only 1% of our sample does not have a university degree at all. If we compare this with
the Mexican average, it is obvious that they these US citizens are much more educated. In
the year 2000, of the 97 million Mexicans, only 3 million of the students in the country
were in the preparatory (i.e. Bachelors degree) level and only 1.6 million on the upper
(i.e. Masters or higher) level (INEGI, 2000).
When asked about their homeownership status in Los Cabos, 61% of Americans
own their home, 23% pay rent, and the remainder lives at the home of a friend (6%), or
with relatives (3%). This high percentage of home ownership has obviously economic
benefits for the real estate business.
When asked about the value of their homes, a large number of people chose not to
answer this question; however, the average value of the houses was evaluated by this
author at US$350,000 or more and relatively few who live in a house worth less than 50
thousand dollars

The majority of those in the medium-high to high social class live in gated
communities near the beach. The four areas that are most popular among U.S. citizens
are: Cabo Bello, El Pedregal, El Tezal and Las Ventanas. It is also important to mention
that some respondents were from the colonies such as the popular neighborhood
Magisterial.
When asked why they chose Los Cabos as a retirement destination, the reason
most often repeated was the climate of the locality, followed by lifestyle, the people,
economy, beaches, et al. In the case of Los Cabos, the climate is undoubtedly the main
reason why Americans choose this place as a retirement destination. Most do not have
any economic difficulties and little interest interacting with the local society. This
fieldwork also included email surveys of Americans living in the city. We drew attention
in particular to the response of Gary Morton who says: “Dear sir, I can not help you
because I do not trust on the Mexican government, just on (like) mine. I moved here just
for the weather and I want to be out of pressures. I would appreciate it if you keep it that
way" (Morton, Gary, 23/03/09).
However, a considerable percentage of respondents said they had migrated to the
region because of the local people and the lifestyle. In this regard, Marcos Sparh
(interviewed by Almada, 2006), says that he came looking for the Mexican culture that he
met with some neighbors as a child: the mariachis, food, joy of life, but especially the
family. Mr. Sparh comments with sadness that currently he no longer sees this place in
the same manner, and deplored the arrival of his countrymen, because he did not want to
live with foreigners, he wanted to live with Mexicans.
The third important reason for migrating to the place is the economy. Teresa
Sorohuet, a local woman married to an American (interviewed by Almada, 2006), said
that here, although her husband’s economic capital was enough to buy a house for more
than a million pesos, go on their honeymoon to Europe, and have recent model cars, that
this same money in the United States would just be enough to survive, so that’s why her
husband, a Vietnam veteran, decided to change his residence to Baja California Sur.
The American citizens in Los Cabos spend two thousand dollars a month in
average, money spent on taxes, recreation, medical services, consumption of all kinds,
domestic helpers, etc. This has an important economic impact on the region because they

spend more money than the average of the Mexicans inhabitants. We can identify two
kinds of American immigrants, the ones who try to improve their quality of life spending
less money than in the United States, and the ones who are looking for a better climate
and leisure at any price. In fact, there is a ten percent of Americans that spend more than
6,500 dollars a month, these are people used to a high quality of life.
Social and Environmental effects of US Immigration to Los Cabos
The US immigration constitutes 90% of total international immigration into the

region and has therefore become an important element in the social and economic life
throughout the state. The Los Cabos corridor in particular has been radically transformed
by the increasing presence of Americans (Cabral, 2006). This extends even to the
architecture of the houses which now include large fences and walls protecting their
space.
Many residents of the village have sold their land for a few thousand U.S. dollars,
which was subsequently transformed and developed dramatically increasing the value of
the property to the benefit of foreigners. The buying and selling of land has become an
important economic activity. Tulio Ortiz (in Cabral, 2007) identified nearly a hundred
real estate companies in the south of the state, of which about sixty are affiliated with
headquarters in United States. As Ortiz said, it is now difficult to know which land
belongs to Americans and which does not.
The relatively low prices in real estate and the region’s attractiveness as a whole,
are driving many Americans to buy a second home in Los Cabos and this trend is
expected to continue. This was confirmed by the Secretary of Tourism of Baja California,
Oscar Escobedo in the newspaper La Opinión: "So far the demographically dominant
group is made up of people with full mobility and without need of special care, but soon
we hope we will become the destination for many elders, including those who need help
in their daily lives" (Arenales, 2008).
This tourism-related industry development has resulted in many social problems,
migration and settlement of immigrants in fringe colonies that appear in impressive
speed. Up to three thousand people arrive in the region in just three months, people who
demand all kinds of services and immediately begin to apply for water, electricity and

schools (Cabral, 2007).
Environmental Concerns
Needless to say, this process of urban development also entails a series of
environmental impacts, that now threaten to degrade a wide range of natural, historical
and cultural resources within the community. Throughout the area, it is common to see
housing developments built on the beaches and on the dunes that has caused deterioration
in the quality of peoples’ lives as it has damaged the landscape and ecology of the area.
When observing the natural environment as a whole, it becomes obvious that it can not
support the massive tourist model that has been implemented over the past twenty-five
years, given that its ecological equilibrium is extremely fragile (López, et al, 2006).
To reinforce this idea, it is sufficient to say that together with the massive arrival
of visitors to the region, the aridity of the environment has necessitated the
overexploitation of the aquifers which, in turn, has led to the penetration of sea water
inland and the salinization of the water supply in the region. To this can be added the
extreme levels of urbanization in the corridor that have caused deforestation of the
xerophytic vegetation which, in turn, has led to a greater propensity for erosion of the
soils (López, et al, 2006).
The most serious environmental problem posed by the presence of so many
Americans in Los Cabos has to do with the occupation of land, in particular the beaches.
Virtually the entire peninsula is included within the so-called forbidden zone established
by Article 27 of the Constitution which prohibits foreigners from acquiring property
within 50 kilometers of the coast and one hundred miles of the border, but here, it is
virtually ignored. There are two ways to do so legally. Since 1973, foreigners can acquire
a trust (Fideicomiso) that does not require any permission from Foreign Affairs and is
now virtually renewable indefinitely (Bringas, 1989). Since 1989, one can also acquire
these lands by registering a company with an address in Mexico (Cabral, 2007). The
trust is a more common way to acquire property. They were created to bring in tourists
and tourist development and ideally, local people would be beneficiaries.
Nora Bringas (1993) notes that reality has shown that not only did local people
not benefit but that the foreigners have taken large swaths of land and created no

alternatives for survival, hence many of the locals have had to work in domestic services
or construction. As a result, there are increasing inequalities in lifestyle and income,
where foreigners occupy the best coastal land with increasing privacy and exclusivity and
living the American way of life. This problem is evident in the Tijuana-Ensenada
corridor. Here, the ejidos have been transformed for tourist development and many of the
villagers have been displaced from their lands and have been incorporated as the working
force in the resorts (Bringas, 1993).
In Los Cabos, there is another problem with the real estate has emerged. According to
Maria Luisa Cabral (2006), among the few potential benefits from the sale of these
properties are the taxes, but many have now learned how to reduce or eliminate paying
them thanks to advice from their real estate brokers.
According to Antonio Diaz (in Guido, 2007), on the Pacific coast, in the San Jose
del Cabo to Cabo San Lucas corridor there are obvious changes in the landscape, one of
them because of the construction of golf courses and the sale of large tracts of land to
build housing developments, which has altered the road facing the beach so that local
people no longer have access to those areas.
Throughout the municipality of Los Cabos there is an inordinate abuse of the
existing sand dunes, caused largely by the constant use of trailers that damaging the local
flora and fauna. For Ana Salazar (2009), the desert areas of northwest Mexico are places
of biodiversity threatened by global capitalist greed.
In the area facing the Pacific Ocean, from Los Cabos to the village of Todos
Santos, as well as the Gulf of California side, there are mega projects with hotels, golf
courses and residential areas being developed on the dunes. Other areas such as Los
Cerritos located south of Todos Santos, a former farming community, has been sold to
Americans and having the same fate (Guido, 2007).
Currently, the trend of development throughout the region is not the construction
of major hotels, but the construction and sale of residential properties such as villas,
condos, and houses. This transformation is radically changing the concept of place from a
popular tourist site to a social space where the purchase of a property requires all of the
services needed for permanent residents.
Just as the entire peninsula of Baja California is experiencing major changes as a

result of rapid real estate development, the rest of the state is awaiting the same fate, as
there is a strong trend to sell large tracts of former ejido lands for tourism projects, many
of which are in isolated spaces, as large investors prefer sites with small populations, with
new opportunities at very low cost.
For example, in the complex named Loreto Bay and Punta Chivato, many
irregularities were found by the inspectors from the Federal Environment Protection
Council (Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente, PROFEPA), these developers
built on beaches without any permission. Also north of Loreto, on the beach “El Mangle”,
500 acres were sold for residential development (Guido, 2007).
In general, land tenure is one of the major factors of change in the region as ejidos
have acquired full rights to sell tracts of hundreds or thousands of acres. Buyers then
speculate and sometimes sell them several hundred percentage points higher than their
purchase price, generating huge profits, mostly to foreigners.
In the region, there are two extreme positions: those who dream that the
government will make the decision to expel the foreigners and return the villages to their
ancestors, and those entrepreneurs who want to become part of the tourism development
with large chains of hotels and casinos (Almada, 2006).
Isolation and social polarization

A phenomenon that we see in Los Cabos is real estate/residential development on
the outskirts of urban centers and in desert areas. These new colonies of varying size are
usually beyond the urban centers and in environmentally sensitive areas. Generally, these
developments are initiated by a single developer who buys the land and transforms it
through a series of legal activities. This transformation enables an investor to garner the
necessary infrastructure to develop the land and then they can sell or develop the land
themselves. These developments are not classified as urban or semi-urban, but as Andreas
Huber (2005) calls them ex-urban areas, because although they are close to the villages,
they are not really part of them. As Huber (2005) claims: "These places are often without
all the facilities, lack local references and are defined internally. That is, those are
colonized spaces that may appear in the same way in different places" (p. 101).
As we can see, the real estate business has become an important economic activity

for the region, considering that most Americans who live here, do so in their own house.
A similar trend occurred in the Tijuana-Ensenada corridor in the eighties: "The jobs
generated are insufficient, the beneficiaries in this type of immigration have been the
realtors, as they have split up the coast and sale the land and homes” (Bringas, 1989).
This economic polarization between Americans and local society has brought a
hierarchy of social classes. Rossana Almada (2006:220) mentions that the presence of
this community has increased the workforce, but as Americans pay with dollars, the
Mexicans no longer want to work for other Mexicans. This conflict produced
transformations in the region and has also displaced the local elite, as American
immigrants not only are currently occupying their houses, but also their place in the
social hierarchy.
A related social problem that occurs is due to the supply of labor for the
construction for tourism developments, as nearly 400 daily workers are joining the local
population, who require housing and this in turn, basic municipal services, so it is
completely overrun by a planning in a short or medium term (Guido, 2007).
Because of this widespread development, residential tourism (and International
Retirement Migration) has an impact on the shape of cities. The model adopted in Playas
de Rosarito, Ensenada, Loreto and Los Cabos, is clearly a defensive urbanism. The
condominiums are gated for security and the coastal areas are privatized, the public space
is being restricted as is access to the beaches (Enriquez, 2008). The physical impact of
defensive urbanism (Enriquez, 2008) represented by real estate and hotel developments is
significant. Adversely it affects the coastal environment, entails a precarious and
disarticulated urbanization of settlements, privatizes the public space and fragments the
land and provokes a social segregation.
The American community is a numerical minority that seeks to subjugate the local
majority, because the Americans have enough economic resources to participate in
negotiations, thus accentuating the asymmetry in social and political relations. In this
way, they objectify their inequality by appropriating and transforming physical space, so
that it reflects their social position in space. The Americans have also prompted some
strategies to keep their distance from the nationals, since they have been placed in the
center of the social space due to their economic power. They put fences around their

homes higher than those typically used by local people and many refuse to speak Spanish
(Almada, 2006). As we mentioned before, because US citizens distrust the local society
they are often reluctant to have relationships with locals. This distrust is reflected in the
construction that isolates them from the rest of the general society. Larger walls, bigger
fences, security cameras and guards, announcements and aggressive signs on their houses
are now commonplace throughout the area. Also the high density of real estate
development on the coast has led to the closure or restricted access to the beaches for the
general population; i.e. the privatization of formerly public spaces.
According to Almada (2006), even the young people who work in a business
managed by Americans have an attitude of superiority over the rest of their countrymen
since with American bosses they receive better wages. We don’t know the exact number
of Mexican people who work for American capital business, but undoubtedly it is
considerable taking into account that there are 5,501 American citizens that have
permission to engage in economic activities in Los Cabos. However, even though there
may be economic arrangements, it seems many Americans have little interest in
assimilating with the local society.
In the region there is also an unfair distribution of basic resources such as water.
At the beginning of the new millennium, it is important to recognize that one of the most
abused resources is water, vital and indispensable element for economic and social
development, and of course, for human existence itself. But the waste of this resource
characterizes the current consumer society (Ramirez, 2006). Being a desert area, water in
Baja California Sur is even more precious. As noted earlier, hotels and residential areas
are the most privileged recipients of this resource meanwhile inhabitants of the lower-
income colonies often have limited access and supply. While the locals are forced to store
water in containers for domestic use, in residential neighborhoods they have pools and
large gardens with a disproportionate use of water, due to their economic power they
enjoy.
There are five golf courses in Los Cabos totaling 678 hectares and that number is
likely to grow rapidly as more expatriates arrive. This figure is quoted with pride and
triumph by the government as well as transnational investors; however, the magnitude of
the problem related to the lack of water has still not been valued in its entirety. A

significant portion of the water used to irrigate these fields is either sewage water or
recycled by the tourist complexes themselves, but it is known that this does not cover the
total demand and, therefore, water is extracted from the San José basin. In the tourist
corridor of Los Cabos there are 40 hotel developments and only six treat their sewage
water. Four use the water afterwards and nineteen know neither the quantity supplied nor
the volume of sewage created. This gives an idea of how water, on the one hand, is being
extracted without control or normative conditions, and on the other, how its use is not
being optimized as it should be. This is even more alarming when it is realized that 15
percent of the population of the corridor does not have potable water in their homes
(López et al. 2006).
Precariousness and social exclusion are common as well as shortages of clean
water, electricity and drainage. Colonies form a habitat defined by material and social
deprivation where people have difficulty with the weather extremes of both the summer
and winter. The poor materials and galvanized sheets used in construction of houses
complicate the situation. Los Cabos, as in Puerto Peñasco (Enríquez, 2008) is divided in
two, on one side there is the beach side complete with a high level of services and
infrastructure, complete with exclusive and on the other side is an overcrowded
community characterized by streets of sand, lack of drainage and high social polarization.
For Salazar (2009), in Los Cabos where the needs are quite demanding and
depend mostly from abroad, poses a political problem and affects the national sovereignty
over the ownership of the Mexican coasts. It also creates an imaginary boundary that
discriminates against domestic tourists, residents and service providers. This population
growth combined with poverty and social inequality, uneven patterns of access to and use
of natural resources, as well as patterns of production and current consumption, all to
impose a heavy burden and irreversible damage to the social and natural environment in
the fragile ecosystem of Los Cabos. It can deplete the natural resources and threaten the
sustainability of development (Ramirez, 2006). According to Mike Davis, these centers in
Baja California had been "silently invaded by the baby boomers”, is just the latest sign of
a new Manifest Destiny (Davis, 2006).
Conclusions

From this research we can conclude that International Retirement Migration is

itself a kind of movement that is caused by the imbalance on the hierarchical structure of
the global economic system. In the American case, the weakening of the welfare state
combined with the current high cost of housing and health insurance are some of the
main reasons to move to the south side of the border, where the added value of their
pensions and the moderate cost of living prevailing in the region has led them to settle
permanently. A good number of them can not access these services at their places of
origin in United States, while in Mexico they have the benefits of good quality at low
prices while enjoying a warm climate.
The number of retired US citizens in Los Cabos will continue to grow rapidly in
coming years due to: a) the mass retirement of baby boomers, many of whom will seek
alternative places of residence outside of the country; b) the geographical, economic,
social and cultural attraction in the northwest of Mexico compared to other localities; c)
an increasing number of Americans have prior contacts with compatriots, so the social
networks become more important in the migratory process; d) Since these immigrants
generally have a good image of the region, they do not see the transformation of the area
and are satisfied with their situation.
The American immigration to Los Cabos, has led to many social and
environmental problems but local governments need to consider how this flow can be
converted into a factor for regional development. We refer not only for the economic
income generated but the high level of human capital that is also present. In this research
we adopted a critical stance about the immigration of American retirees in Mexico, this
does not mean we are against it, but we do feel that this migration should be controlled
and above all, organized. Only with a comprehensive planning will this migration be a
lever for local development in the main destinations for retirees in Mexico.
A feature of the baby boomers in retirement age is that they do not want to be
removed from society, some of them start new careers, businesses, some learn a new
discipline, have a part-time job, and/or engage in philanthropic activities. They have a
high sense of social organization. The baby boomers are the most highly educated
population in the entire history of humankind. A good number of those who immigrate to
Los Cabos have a high educational profile: teachers, engineers, doctors, administrators,

business people, men and women with great experience and intellectual knowledge which
can still be used. In some cases they do it even voluntarily with the sole purpose of being
useful to their host society.
In the region of Los Cabos, models of residence can be built for immigrants trying
to make a fair division of territory, while enabling them to live in relationship with people
of all ages. This has been implemented in France, United Kingdom, Sweden or Italy.
Bibliography
Almada, Rossana (2006). Juntos, pero no revueltos. Multiculturalidad e identidad en

Todos Santos, BCS. México. CIESAS y UABCS.
Arenales, Yolanda (2008). “Jubilación en Baja” en La Opinión, 27 de abril.
Bringas, Nora (1989). “Quienes se llevan la mayor tajada en los fideicomisos para
extranjeros. El Caso del corredor Tijuana-Ensenada” en Cultura Norte, Vol. 2 No.10.
__________. (1993). “Usos del suelo y configuración turística del corredos Tijuana-
Ensenada” en Urbanización y servicios, Volumen VII, editado por el COLEF y
UACJ. Pp 69-95.
Cabral, María Luisa (2006). Migración y Desarrollo, el contexto nacional y estudios de

caso en Los Cabos y La Paz Baja California Sur. (Coord). Universidad Autónoma
de Baja California Sur. La Paz, BCS.
Cabral, María Luisa (2007). “La migración norteamericana en Baja California Sur”
Reporte de investigación presentado y aprobado para su publicación por el Consejo
Técnico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja
California Sur. La Paz., BCS.
Dailey, Nancy (2005) When Baby Boom women retire. PRAEGER, Connecticut.
Davis, Mike (2006). “Los invasores de fronteras” en La Jornada, 23 de septiembre.
Enríquez, Jesús (2008). “Segregación y fragmentación en las nuevas ciudades para el

turismo. Caso Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, México” en Topofilia, Revista de
Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Ciencias Sociales. Volumen I, Número 1.
Guido, Sandra (2007). “¿Desarrollo turístico regional? Monitoreo de los desarrollos

turísticos e inmobiliarios costeros del noroeste de México 2005-2006.
ALCOSTA, Alianza para la sustentabilidad del Noroeste Costero, A.C.
Huber, Andreas (2005). “Retirados suizos en la Costa Blanca” Rodríguez Vicente et al

(Eds.). La migración de europeos retirados en España. Consejo Superior de

Investigaciones Científicas. Madrid.
INEGI (2000). Censo general de población y vivienda, 2000. Instituto Nacional de

Geografía, Estadística e Informática.
López, Alvaro et al. (2006). “Segregation of tourist space in Los Cabos, Mexico” en
Tourism Geographies, Vol. 8 num 4.
Migration Policy Institute (2006). America´s Emigrants. US retirement migration to

Mexico and Panama. Migration Policy Institute.
Ramirez, Jesus (2006). El agua en Mazatlán: Una visión transdisciplinaria. Gobierno del
Estado de Sinaloa y Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa. México.
Salazar, Ana (2009. “La gran barata¡¡ El plan de SECTUR en las costas del Pacífico
mexicano para la población babyboomer: consecuencias socio-culturales y
ambientales” en Topofilia, Revista de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Ciencias
Sociales. El Colegio de Sonora, Vol. 1, Num 3.
Salvá, Peré (2005). “La inmigración de europeos retirados en las islas baleares” en
Rodríguez Vicente, Casado María y Huber Andreas (Eds.) La migración de
europeos retirados en España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas.
Madrid.
Biography of Author
Omar Lizárraga Morales is a PhD student at the Department of Social Sciences
at the University of Sinaloa (Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa) in Culiacán,
México. His research interests include the International Retirement Migration,
Tourism, Transnationalism and its socio-economic effects. His thesis explores the
social networks and the transnational practices of the American immigrants in
Sinaloa and Baja California Sur, Mexico. He is author of two books: “Nací de
aquí muy lejos. Actores locales y turistas en el Centro Histórico de Mazatlán” and
“La importancia del turismo internacional de retiro”. He is also member of the
Internacional network of young researchers on migration and development
(Colectivo internacional de jóvenes investigadores en migración).

93
Appreciation
On behalf of the management of Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia and Latin America
(RASAALA) and the contributing authors, I like to extend my appreciation to the people
whose names are listed below for the time and efforts that they contributed to reviewing the
submissions to this special issue of RASAALA. The successful outing of the current issue is in
large part due to your good works. Many thanks.
Dr. Barbara McNicol Dr. James Craine

Department of Earth Sciences Department of Geography
Mount Royal College California State University
Dr. Ron Davidson Dr. Michael Janoschka

Department of Geography Centre of Human and Social Sciences
California State University Spanish National Research Council
Assistant Professor Jeff Boggs Alex Schafran

Department of Geography Department of City & Regional Planning
Brock University University of California
Associate Professor Yifei Sun Abby Foulds

Department of Geography Department of Geography
California State University University of Kentucky
Dr. Steve Graves Associate Professor David Truly

Department of Geography Department of Geography
California State University Central Connecticut State University
Neil Carr,
Editor in chief, RASAALA
Submission Guidelines to RASAALA
1. RASAALA accepts only original works. terms.
2. Submissions can be emailed as MsWord or 7. RASAALA does not archive materials that
RTF file attachments. Audio and video have been rejected for publication in the journal.
submissions should be compatible with They are expunged from our system, hence,
Windows Media Player, Quick Time player, or Spread Corporation and the editors of RASAALA
Real Player and should run for no longer than 20 will not be in a position to resend, return, or
minutes. All images should come as separate refer to them in any way.
jpg, gif or tiff file attachments, even if they are
already embedded in the main articles. 8. In addition to preliminary evaluation by the
journal editor, submissions will be subjected to
3. Authors should also include a brief bio of double blind peer reviews to enhance quality and
about 100 words for the "Notes on Contributors" ensure merit. The decision of the editor is final.
section.
9. We hope to have the review process
4. All submissions must come with short but completed and review report sent to authors
excellent abstracts. within two months
5. Authors should make clear in their submission 10. Other than providing copies or summaries of
that evaluation report for rejected submissions if
(a) the submission is original and not requested by authors, RASAALA editors will not
being considered for publication elsewhere engage in correspondence on decision to not
(b) they have read, understood and publish a submission.
accepted the conditions under which RASAALA
publishes submissions by authors as laid out in 11. The APA referencing format is style of
the Submission Guidelines and Right-to-Copy preference for RASAALA .
paragraphs of the journal,
(c) all authors of a multi-author work 12. RASAALA accepts submissions in English
have endorsed the work. Please refer to author and French not longer than 25 double spaced
checklist and download form to accompany your letter sized pages.
submission.
13. Papers written in Italian, Spanish,
6. RASAALA requests authors to obtain release Portuguese, German, Arabic, Swahili, Igbo,
letters for unpublished materials and permissions Hausa and Yoruba will also be accepted
for all copyrighted materials that are included in provided they are accompanied by short but
their works. The permission are being sought excellent summaries, together with their full
will be published online under free access. notes and bibliography, in either English or
French.
Editor in chief
Carr, Neil
Department of Tourism, The University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Email: neil.carr@otago.ac.nz
Call for papers
Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia, and Latin America is a new peer-review online journal
that encourages the publication of original research into the relationships that exist between
recreation (incorporating sport, leisure, events, and tourism) and communities and organisations
at the local, national, and international levels within the context of Africa, Asia, and Latin
America. Papers are invited from academics, graduate students, and those actively researching in
relevant fields. Fields of research for potential manuscripts include, but are not limited to:
• Environmental impacts of recreation on individuals, local communities, and national and

regional societies within Africa, Asia, and Latin America
• Recreation needs and provision within Africa, Asia, and Latin America
• Recreation and personal, social, and cultural identity within Africa, Asia, and Latin
America
• Recreation as a tool of cultural integration in Africa, Asia, and Latin America
• Recreation, education, and the poverty cycle in Africa, Asia, and Latin America
• The use of sport and recreation in international development
• Benefits and drawbacks of the provision of recreational opportunities for international
visitors from outside Africa, Asia, and/or Latin America
• Recreation and African, Asian, and Latin American migrants - the role of recreation in
assimilation/acculturation and personal identity
Being an on-line journal publications do not need to be restricted to word-based documents.

Rather, wholly or partially visual and/or audio based material may also be submitted to the
journal for review and potential publication. Furthermore, given the nature of the focus of the
journal and the potentially diverse nature of the authorship of the journal papers written in
French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Arabic, Swahili, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, in
addition to English, will be accepted provided they are accompanied by informative summaries,
reference lists, and abstracts in either English or French. This innovative decision will only
succeed if sufficient suitable multilingual reviews can be obtained so it is possible that authors
who submit work in a language other than English may subsequently be asked to re-submit an
English version. The journal will publish issues twice-yearly.
Submission Guidelines
Check the journal homepage http://www.spreadcorp.org/rasaala/index.html for detailed
submission guidelines,
Written articles should be no longer than 25 pages (double spaced) long.
Audio and/or visual submissions should run for no longer than 20 minutes
Journal Editor
Dr Neil Carr
Tourism Department
University of Otago
New Zealand
neil.carr@otago.ac.nz

Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia and Latin America (Rasaala) Vol.1 NO.1 (A Journal of Spread Corporation)

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia and Latin America (Rasaala) Vol.1 NO.1 (A Journal of Spread Corporation)

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia and Latin America (RASAALA)

Volume 1 Number 1 March 2010

Published by SPREAD Corporation

Sustaniable Programs for Reducing Educational and Avocational Disadvantages

Rachid Amirou Pablo Idahosa

Kirsten Holmes Jay Mafukidze

Guest editor’s introduction to the special issue on “lifestyle migration” 1-4

Edward L. Jackiewicz and Jim Craine . . . . . 5-29

Annie Linderson . . . . . . . . 31-52

Mari Korpela . . . . . . . . 53-73

Omar Lizárraga Morales . . . . . . . 75-92

Reviewers for the current issue . . . . . . 93

elderly, as this special issue illustrates.

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 1 - 4

and therefore more pragmatic in describing the heterogeneity of this group.

the lifestyle migration process in various parts of the world.

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 1 - 4

specializes in connecting would be migrants to destinations throughout the world.

in Asia, Africa, or Latin America.

This is followed by an article by Mari Korpela using extensive interviews with

and social exclusion.

McWatters, M.R. 2009. Residential Tourism: (De)Constructing Paradise. Buffalo: Channel

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 1 - 4

Sol: A cross-national comparison. International Journal of Population Geography 4:2 ,

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 1 - 4

Edward L. Jackiewicz and Jim Craine

Panama has emerged as an important destination for US citizens seeking an affordable

Keywords: residential tourism, globalization, neoliberalism, Panama

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 5 - 29

what is promoted as an environmentally rich country friendly to international tourists,

literature including: globalization/neoliberalism, residential tourism, international

retirement migrant and citizenship/identity. As such our paper is cognizant of the

opportunity has availed itself to all members of society in a democratic fashion.

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 5 - 29

hyper-capitalistic neoliberal world. As such, our focus here is on macro-level

developments with some discussion of local-level phenomena. Panama is by no means

of a model of development that is highly dependent on foreign investors, foreign visitors,

around the region and globe.

to the North American homebuyer’s engagement in a specific economic transaction. One

attribute of a globalized new economy is the extreme hypermobility of capital,

cultural implications of our engagement with these new economies of globalization.

The ability to acquire commodities such as a home in Panama, a process made

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 5 - 29

potential retirement/investment properties throughout the country. These types of

transactions have contributed to the economic reorientation towards home ownership in

foreign countries brought about by the Structural Readjustment Programs discussed by

facilitator by creating an attractive investment/retirement destination.

The new Americanized communities become local expressions of globalization.

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 5 - 29

conflicting elements: contemporary consumer capitalism embodied in modernist

concept of speed is common to the creation of North American communities in Panama:

generating reaction to global analysis.” The purchases of North Americans present a

Panamanians. These occupied spaces represent a community struggling to survive a

consumer and consumed.

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 5 - 29

representations of America in a Panama that struggles to comprehend its hybrid identity.

Residential Tourism/International Retirement Migration: Structures and Agency

discussion for several reasons as outlined by McWatters (2009): 1) it has a scholarly

retirees. Another potentially slippery issue is defining who is actually a residential

RASAALA, Vol. 1 No.1, 5 - 29

greater number of investors/retirees to seek international destinations, as is evidenced by

the recent real estate boom in Panama.

include: liberal landownership laws, a one-time tax exemption of up to $10,000 on