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quinn's avatar

The people who are using terms like 'colonizer' are cunts.

Yes - I'm using such a strong word because it's appropriate. You don't owe anyone an explanation for what you do - nor do you need to cater to first world brats complaining about gringos.

It's xenophobic bullshit - Americans can't complain about uncontrolled illegal immigration for fear of being called 'racist'... yet Mexicans can be unmitigated xenophobes and get a pass? No thank you.

Honestly, Mexican nationalism can be very regressive and nasty. I prefer other Latin countries where people aren't as full of themselves like the Mexicans. Why not try out Spain? You can live there without fear of North American aggros calling you a colonizer or attacking you for being a 'white male'.

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Michael Jensen's avatar

Almost five years ago my husband and I sold our house in Seattle, got rid of most of our possessions and set out to become digital nomads.

Ironically, we were living in CDMX for three months when Covid hit.

Different thoughts about your newsletter and the topic itself, which we've given a great deal of thought during our travels and frequently write about in our own newsletter.

First off, I appreciate your thoughtful and nuanced take. Too often people seem to come down on one side or the other: Being a digital nomad is brilliant and is the perfect way to live! versus Digital nomads are selfish colonizers destroying the world!

In my opinion very little in life is black and white. It's mostly shades of gray and everything has pros and cons. They all need to be considered and since we all have different opinions and values, few of us are ever going to see the world the exact same way.

As for CDMX, I think right now there are a lot of pros and cons, and the cons are best addressed by government action. Sadly, that isn't something Mexico excels at. Even though we frequently use Airbnb, I have zero problem with governments using zoning to restrict them. That being said, I hope a balance is struck because I do believe the influx of American wealth is a net gain for CDMX, which is an incredible city that more people should see.

And I guarantee our presence over the past five years in places like Tbilisi, Georgia; Bansko, Bulgaria; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; and now Novi Sad, Serbia, are definitely welcome by locals. These are all cities and countries that have struggled economically and I firmly believe that our spending money in places like these are far far better than had we stayed in Seattle and kept our "wealth" there. We've always acknowledged we have a certain level of privilege no matter where we live. But we think the world is better off when we spread that "privilege" around to other places.

No, we aren't doing this for altruistic reasons. We think these countries and cities are interesting and we do enjoy a more affordable COL but we do try and be decent people and think before acting and care about our impact on local communities.

Looking forward to the rest of your thoughts.

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