Mexico City’s "Gringo Go Home": Making Sense of Transnational Migration and Gentrification in an Era of Remote Work
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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Mexico City has risen to prominence as a global hub for
remote work. Many remote workers with jobs, clients, and financial ties to the United
States have relocated to Mexico City. The majority of these workers enjoy strong purchasing
power and a good quality of life in Mexico City. Concurrently, the cost of living
in the city has risen dramatically in neighborhoods popular with remote workers. Because
of this, there has been pushback against the speed of gentrification in the city.
The phrase “gringo go home” has become a popular means to express anger towards foreigners—especially
Americans—moving to the city. Against this backdrop, how do migrant remote workers
make sense of their placemaking? This talk will examine remote workers’ aspirations,
commitments, and experience of relocating to Mexico City. While remote workers are
characterized by their shared mobility and flexible labor practices, the group is
heterogeneous. Remote workers often distance themselves from identifiers such as “digital
nomad” and “remote worker” because of the belief that—unlike the stereotypes—they
are committed to building a meaningful home in Mexico City. Like upset residents,
migrant remote workers also articulate parallel frustrations about the global housing
crisis, lack of accountability for exploitative landlords, and rapid cultural and
economic changes of Mexico City. Ultimately, this talk will explore placemaking in
the context of gentrification, tourist-adjacent migration, and flexible labor practices.
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