There are an estimated one million American retirees living in Mexico today. Teri Gunderson is one of them – like many of her compatriots, she and her husband packed up their belongings and moved south for several reasons: because their dollar stretches further when it's converted to the peso, and for a better quality and quantity of health care than they could afford back home.

Dr. Alberto Zamacona is an English-speaking physician who is popular with the gringo retiree community in Oaxaca in southern Mexico.

"Many of the retirees here are not affluent. Many of them are, because they can make ends meet a little bit better in Oaxaca than they could in the States. So, they have a better quality of life here..."

His patients range from 55 to 95 years-old, and he admits that while medical care in Mexico may not be as cutting-edge as in the US, most elderly people don’t need cutting-edge medicine – what they need is affordable, available personal care.

Some estimates claim that within five years, the one million American pensioners in Mexico will have increased fivefold. How that will go down with the locals, depends largely on how they take to their new home, according to Anselmo Flores.

"Before they come here, they should basically understand the idiosyncrasy of the Mexican. We have a past. We have culture. So, the advice I'd give them is: before coming, study some history and culture... and integrate themselves - so they don't have this domineering arrogance. They need to integrate to be Mexicans - not on paper, but with their consciousness."

Listen to the report for TSWI from Shannon Young:

Taken from The State We're In, 31st October 2009 edition