Push-Pull Theory

This theory within migration studies is based on a series of elements associated with both the place of origin and the place of destination. According to this theoretical approach, there are factors that “push” people out of their habitual residence when comparing the conditions that exist elsewhere, thus generating a dynamic force of attraction and rejection ( ^{King, 2012} ). This theory reveals the personal motivations of migrants; after an assessment of the costs and benefits of migration, they will choose the most advantageous alternative.

For ^{Massey, Durand, and Malone (2002, p. 266)} there are three basic principles of this theory: First, the unequal distribution of resources (economic, political, and cultural) among the regions of the world create regions more attractive than others to move around in. Therefore, positive factors exert an attraction, and negative factors represent a rejection or a push. Secondly, supply and demand in the labor market motivate mobility. Most advanced economies provide jobs, while regions of origin have job shortages and low wages. And thirdly, migrants are rational beings who calculate the costs and benefits of migration, so they decide whether to move or not.

Although this theory has historically been applied in studies to explain economic and labor migration, in this article we take it up again to analyze the leisure mobilities directed towards the south. In this case, the citizens of the United Kingdom and the United States are the people who make a rational evaluation of the benefits before making the movement, these benefits can be economic, taking into account the global inequalities in some countries such as Spain or Mexico. But there are also other pull factors, such as social and climatic conditions.

Second Stage: The Trajectory

This stage corresponds to the journey from the place of departure to the destination. The trip can be direct to the chosen place, or in stages. In the latter case, uncertainty increases, especially when the event occurs in special circumstances ( ^{Drachman, 1992} ).

Air connectivity is closely linked to the development of mass tourism and has facilitated residential tourism –and pleasant migration– in this sense, we find that the form most used by citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom who travel to Mazatlan and El Campello is air. Both destinations have low-cost flights and international airports. The flight time in both cases is approximately two hours.

The legal framework of the place of destination and the conditions of migrants also influence this stage, as mobility conditions vary whether it is legal migration or undocumented migration, or whether they have the economic and social capital to make the change with greater certainty and security.

In the U.S.-Mexico context, immigration legislation allows U.S. citizens to reside legally in Mexico under the migratory forms of Immigrant, Immigrant, Perennial Resident, Temporary Resident, Temporary Resident Student, Visitor for adoption purposes, and Humanitarian Visitor. Americans residing legally in Mexico may do so under one of these modalities, or with a migratory form of tourist. The internees to the country with this last migratory form are not contemplated in the statistics of residents, however, any foreigner can be in Mexican territory for up to six months. During their stay, all U.S. tourists can purchase real estate, just like any foreign resident. Therefore, the exact quantification of U.S. residents in Mexico becomes a difficult task.

In the case of Spain, until before the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the British had “free entry and exit” from the country. But from the so- called BREXIT, they can reside legally through two types of visa: The so-called temporary residence, is a type of migratory document that authorizes to stay in Spain for a period exceeding 90 days and less than five years. Or, under the long-term residence document, which authorizes residence and work in Spain indefinitely. Foreign citizens who have had temporary residence in Spain for five years on a continuous basis have the right to long- term residence.

The social networks and social capital that migrants have are also important at this stage, as having family and/or friends at the destination can reduce the uncertainty of the migration process. Here it can be said that 64% of U.S. citizens had some kind of friendship or kinship in the city of Mazatlan before residing permanently, and 43% of UK citizens in El Campello also had these social networks before mobility.

Therefore, the trajectory stage is relatively easy for citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom who want to change their residence to Mazatlan and El Campello for short or long periods. The legal framework for Mexican and Spanish immigration is quite flexible for these immigrants who wish to enter the country. In addition, because they have social and economic capital, they are certain that their migratory route is relatively safe and comfortable.

Third Stage: Destination

The destinations analyzed in this research were the cities of Mazatlan and El Campello, both have the similarity of being beach tourist cities, one located in the Pacific Ocean and another in the Mediterranean. Mazatlan is located in the south of the state of Sinaloa, in the northwest of Mexico, bordered to the north by the state of Sonora and Chihuahua, with Durango to the east, Nayarit to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Source: Prepared by the authors based on geostatistical framework 2014, version 6.2.

Map 1. Geographical Location of Mazatlan, Sinaloa  

Mazatlan is the second largest city in Sinaloa and one of the most important beach destinations in Mexico. The 2015 census recorded in this municipality a population of 502,547 people ( ^{Inegi, 2015} ), of which 4,485 were U.S. citizens registered as residents ( ^{INM, 2015} ). Previous studies indicate official numbers of migrants and their lifestyles which are probably under-represented in the census data ( ^{Hayes, 2015} ; ^{Huete & Mantecón, 2010} ; ^{Janoschka, 2009} ; ^{Schafran & Mönkkönen, 2011} ). The lack of interest in the official record may be due to intense mobility between origin and destination during the different seasons of the year ( ^{Casado-Díaz, Casado-Díaz, & Casado-Díaz, 2013} ; ^{Lizárraga, 2012} ), or it may be because in some cases they lack the financial means to legally obtain visas.

Tourism and fishing are the main economic activities of the municipality of Mazatlan. The average annual temperature fluctuates between 18 and 28 degrees Celsius, so this temperature attracts international tourists, mainly from the United States and Canada. It has an international airport with daily flights from the southwestern United States.

El Campello, on the other hand, is a coastal city in the Valencian Community in southeastern Spain that has been attractive to tourists and migrants from the United Kingdom, with its average annual temperature ranging from 12 to 26 degrees Celsius throughout the year. El Campello, located to the south of the Community, belongs to the province of Alicante and is 13 kilometers from the city of the same name. The municipality of El Campello has a population of 27,356 inhabitants, according to the National Statistics Institute ( ^{INE, 2015} ) of which, at that time had the register of 1,279 resident citizens of the United Kingdom.

Source: Prepared by the authors based on geographical layer Argis, 2012.

Map 2. Geographical location of El Campello, Alicante  

In the municipality of El Campello, the main traditional economic activities were fishing and agriculture, but tourism, construction and other related activities are now the most important ones. El Campello is connected to the main tourist cities in the province (Alicante and Benidorm) by motorway and train, and the nearest international airport is 28 kilometers away with daily flights from the UK.

According to the data produced by our survey, British citizens residing in this municipality acquire residential properties in high cost areas and close to the coastline. The most popular areas for foreigners are in the Mucha Vista beach area, and on residential urban complexes such as Covetafuma, El Poble Espanyol and Bonalba.

The Pull Factors

Pull factors in pleasant transmigration have been analyzed in previous studies. For example, on the Costa del Sol, ^{Casado-Díaz (2005)} argues that the elements that attract foreign residents are previous experiences as tourists or migrant workers on the spot. It is also important to perceive the environmental conditions (climate and physical well-being) and the image of the destination in terms of different social and economic characteristics.

In the province of Alicante, attributes related to tourist infrastructure and facilities in general have also been identified ( ^{Huete, 2005} ). It was also determined that intangible resources: culture, history, art; social environment (hospitality and kindness of residents, social equality, quality of life and language barriers); economic and political (stability, security and prices), “environment” (luxury, fashionable, good reputation, family, exotic, mystical, relaxed, cheerful, fun, pleasant), are perceived dimensions in the formation of the image. Agents involved in the development process (developers, builders, government agencies and real estate agents) have played a very important role in the development of new settlement areas and the management of own housing for foreign residents. They are responsible for the image that has been offered in this province in recent years.

As we find in this research, the most important pull factors for U.S. citizens residing in Mazatlan in order of importance are: “good weather,” “friendly local people,” “low cost of living,” “local culture,” “geographic proximity,” and “medical services,” among others.

On the other hand, for the British the attractive factors to move to El Campello, in order of importance are: “good weather,” “low cost of living,” “relaxed lifestyle,” “friendly people,” “geographical proximity,” “gastronomy” and “social networks,” among others.

Therefore, the attraction factors towards Spain and Mexico have an inverse relationship with the elements of rejection in their countries of origin; they flee from demographic pressure, high levels of stress, bad weather, high prices, and antagonistic factors attract them to the countries of the south.

Settlement and Integration

Settlement refers to the stage at which the subject reaches the destination and solves his or her minimal problems of immediate subsistence. This involves personal changes in the immigrant and changes in the host community. The immigrant retains his customs and values, while accepting patterns of the new culture, however, has not been culturally assimilated.

According to ^{Drachman (1992)} as soon as the adaptation process begins, some compatibility between the lifestyles of immigrants and the host community is required. Overcoming these conflicts depends on adaptation in the first place, and then on social integration. In the process of this integration, the person discovers the nuances of the new culture, progressively draws interest for it and slowly feels it as his own. Now, not only does he know and respect, at the same time he feels one more among the neighbors, and he will feel more and more like one of them.

Other rules remain in the intimacy of their home, which allows them to preserve their own identity, coexisting with the new habits acquired. At this stage, migrants can also make an adjustment, that is, minimum acceptance of the host country's culture so that it does not conflict with it, but there is no desire and need to incorporate it as their own ( ^{Drachman, 1992} ).

In order to determine the level of social and cultural integration of American and British immigrants in Mazatlan and El Campello, in this study we wanted to understand some patterns such as mastery of the local language, social ties with the host community, and belonging to the social structure.

Given that both destination regions analyzed in this study are Spanish-speaking regions, we consider language proficiency to be an important practice of cultural integration, because the better a migrant can speak the local language, the more likely he is to interact with the community ( ^{Rojas, LeBlanc & Sunil, 2014} ).

Unlike ^{Drachman (1992)} , in this study the findings show that relatively few respondents could speak Spanish. U.S. residents in Mazatlan showed a greater mastery of the Spanish language than their British counterparts in El Campello (14% U.S. and 4% UK citizens). We interpreted this general lack of language skills as the result of: 1) a lack of interest on the part of some migrants in interacting with the local community, 2) a lack of incorporation into the local labor market, due to their status as retirees, and 3) the difficulty of learning a new language at an advanced age.

When respondents were asked if they had local friends in Mazatlan and El Campello, respectively, it was found that in both cases the response was significantly positive, but slightly more so among U.S. citizens than British citizens in Spain (88% of U.S. and 74% of UK respondents).

One variable that is interesting to compare between the two nationalities is the number of intercultural marriages, that is, immigrants who marry local women or men. In this case, U.S. citizens also show a greater interest in interacting matrimonially with the host community. Of the 177 British respondents who were married in our study, only two were married to Spanish nationals (0.11%). On the other hand, of the 150 U.S. citizens married, 12 were married to Mexican nationals (8%).

From our point of view these intercultural marriages in Mexico are the result of three factors: a) the economic security that Mexican women obtain from U.S. relationships with husbands, b) the added security that foreigners receive from their financial investments in Mexico, and c) the social ascent that Mexican women have by marrying a foreigner with a higher income and educational level ( ^{Lizárraga, 2010, p. 81} ).

According to ^{Almada (2006)} , there are strategic advantages in these marriages, since you can put the property under your wife's name as a way of protection, the local term for this is “prestanombre.” These patterns are similar to other destinations such as Thailand where low-income single mothers seek economic protection through marriage to foreign migrants ( ^{Koch-Schulte, 2011} ).

Another form of social integration of this type of migrants is through membership in organizations or clubs, as these groups operate as socialization centers with other immigrants and the local population as well. Through this network, immigrants share information with each other about the receiving community. Membership of these organizations also allows migrants to gain experience in participating in voluntary work with the local society, which can further facilitate their incorporation ( ^{Rojas et al., 2014} ).

In Mazatlan and El Campello there are several civil society organizations of this type. In Mazatlan some of the most important are the American Legion, Friends of Mexico, Familia and The Vineyard. In the Campello some of the most important are the English Speaking Club, Campello Social Club, AMUDECA and Mucha Vista Ladies Club.

In these civil associations local people are welcome and usually attend meetings in both destinations. U.S. citizens tend to have higher levels of participation in these groups than their UK counterparts. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed in Mazatlan stated that they belonged to at least one of these social organizations, while in El Campello only 34%, which is interpreted as a pattern of integration with the local community to a greater extent by Americans through these civil organizations.

At this stage of the migration process, it is worth comparing the levels of social and cultural integration of migrants in destination communities. According to the different variables measured, such as mastery of the Spanish language, civil association and intercultural marriages, Americans in Mazatlan show a higher percentage of integration than the British in El Campello, Spain.

The Continuous Return

The British who migrate to El Campello tend to stay there all year round, while U.S. citizens in Mazatlan, perhaps because they are closer to the U.S., tend to move from one country to another during the year (see Table 1). That is to say, in addition to having continuous and permanent communication with their social networks in both countries, they maintain a more intense transnational migration than the British in Spain, as already analyzed in a previous research ( ^{Lizárraga, Mantecón & Huete, 2015} ).

Permanent Return Migration

This is also a voluntary return, which is motivated by social and economic reasons. The influence of economic factors on the decision of pleasant migrants to return is substantial, i.e. although they define themselves as relatively solvent individuals, this does not mean that they do not depend on economic and material aspects when deciding to migrate from one country to another ( ^{Huete, Mantecón & Estevez, 2013} ).

According to the survey, 21% of British people were considering returning to the UK on a permanent basis after making an assessment of their current situation in Spain.

The vast majority of the British population (84%) have not had financial difficulties in the last six years (during the period of economic crisis in 2008-2014). However, we find that 12% of them have had financial difficulties. These people state that the decline in income has been reflected in order of importance in: (a) “a reduction in the possibility to use leisure time activities,” (b) “low possibility to fly continuously to the UK” and (c) “problems paying household bills.”

The exchange rate can motivate both migratory movements: emigration from origin, but also return migration. A devaluation can encourage the return of migrants who have savings and can take advantage of changes in the market to live comfortably in their homeland. Regional disparities, especially between neighboring countries, can be both the cause of departure and return. Therefore, migrants who have return in their minds maintain the link to their place of origin ( ^{Durand, 2004} ). As we can see, when migrants face an economic crisis, they react in terms of international residential mobility, in a similar way to people coming from countries with a lower level of economic development ( ^{Huete et al., 2013} ).

In the case of U.S. citizens, 10% of the survey sample was considering returning permanently to the United States after making an assessment of their current situation in Mazatlan.

In this last stage of the migration process, migrants again make an assessment of the situation, and as we can see, they also return migrants for whom the economic factor has affected their lifestyle, especially in the European case, given their current economic situation. The social element is also an important attraction factor for returning to the north, in both cases, given their situation in old age, they are people who seek the protection of their family.