Off-shoring care

The US and Europe have got themselves into a real tizzy over the loss of manufacturing jobs to China and service jobs to India.

There is another loss of employment that we will see in the next couple of decades. As the cost of caring for old people rockets, the attraction of packing your bags and heading for a low cost area increases.

It is estimated that 40,000 to 80,000 American retirees already live in Mexico, many of them in enclaves like San Miguel de Allende or the Chapala area.

For $1,300 a month — a quarter of what an average nursing home costs in the US - you can get a studio apartment, three meals a day, laundry and cleaning service, and 24-hour care from an attentive staff, many of whom speak English.

This article (with video) from USA today gives a taste of things to come. Dick Stroud