Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Kline final revisions7.pdf (1.19 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

The Amenity Migrants of Cotacachi

Kline, Anisa May
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1364551601

Abstract Details

2013, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Latin American Studies.
This paper addresses amenity migration in Cotacachi, Ecuador. Amenity migration refers to the increasingly popular trend of North Americans (and occasionally Europeans), who are generally retirees, moving to countries such as Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador in order to enjoy a higher standard of living at a lower cost. For retirees, a fixed income that would barely provide a comfortable middle-class lifestyle in the United States goes much further in countries such as Ecuador or Panama. The rising cost of health care in the United States is also an important factor, since health services are usually much more affordable in these places. These factors (housing, domestic help and health care) plus the overall lower cost of most goods and services in the host countries make this kind of migration increasingly attractive to many older North Americans. Using qualitative fieldwork and textual analysis, this paper examines why amenity migrants chose Cotacachi, Ecuador, how they perceive the town and how they perceive themselves in relation to the town. It also explores how Ecuadorians perceive their new neighbors and the effects the migrants have had on the local community. Applying the idea of the coloniality of power, the paper explores the similarities between amenity migration as it is currently practiced and colonial attitudes of centuries past. It concludes with suggestions of how amenity migrants can alter their practices and beliefs to engage more profoundly the community they now live in.
Ana Del-Sarto, Dr. (Advisor)
Laura Podalsky, Dr. (Committee Member)
Amy Shuman, Dr. (Committee Member)
Latin American Studies
amenity migration; Ecuador; Cotacachi; tourism; coloniality of power; international retirement migration; residential tourism

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kline, A. M. (2013). The Amenity Migrants of Cotacachi [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1364551601

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kline, Anisa. The Amenity Migrants of Cotacachi. 2013. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1364551601.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kline, Anisa. "The Amenity Migrants of Cotacachi." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1364551601

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1364551601
948
© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.