Mexico News has a nice little article about how many foreigners (i.e. non-Mexicans) visit and live in the Riviera Maya:

“Quintana Roo, especially destinations like Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Cancun, are very popular places for people from overseas to reside in.  Having an Italian, German, Argentinian neighbor (or from anywhere else around the world) is no surprise at all, if you live in these destinations.

“As a matter of fact, Quintana Roo is the state that receives the highest number of foreigners of Mexico …”

The article does a great job of showing how you’ll find neighbors and visitors from all over the world, all around you. (Read the entire article here.)

However, there’s a little point that isn’t very accurate: “Having said this, those who enter Mexico across the state, generally don’t stay here.” True, I agree with that.

But then the writer begins to cite “official figures from the National Migration Institute” on the numbers of expats:

2015 Americans

1178 Cubans

737 Italians

617 Canadians

…

Are you kidding? 2015 Americans?  I think there are more Americans in the condos next door than that!

Let me see, there’s Jim, Sally, Dana, Doug, … just kidding!

But in all seriousness, I’ve heard numbers upwards of 10,000. Just from the feeling of how many Americans I see around, I think that would be closer.  Now, of course, the “feeling” of how many there are is boosted by the large number of tourists.  But even during low season, there are expats everywhere.

On the other hand, these “official” numbers count only those who register.  Most expats I know don’t register.  In fact, I don’t think I know any who do.

I’ve written about similar topics before.  When it comes to counting the expats, it’s mostly guesswork.  But one think we can say with a good deal of confidence is that these “official” numbers are fairly useless.

-by Thomas Lloyd