The other half of the immigration equation

The large number of Americans relocating south of the border is a quiet but healthy trend.

from the July 19, 2007 edition

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Under contract to my firm over the last two years, Zogby International has completed seven opinion surveys of a total of more than 115,000 adult Americans. Each survey began with a question regarding their interest in relocating outside the US. Respondents who were relocating due to their employment were not included, only voluntary relocators and they had to be relocating for two or more years.

We provided three different positive responses, along with the standard negative response. We asked people if they had made the decision to relocate, if they were "seriously" interested in relocating, and likely to relocate, and finally if they were "somewhat" interested and might relocate.

In addition to 1.6 million households that said they had decided to relocate, some 7 million households are at a tentative stage of considering relocation. Finally, 3 million households which do not plan to relocate now are seriously considering purchasing a vacation home or other property outside the US. These may be vacation homes now, but they can easily become full-time residences in the future.

All told, fully 21 percent of respondents placed themselves in one of the categories above. That's a lot of Americans.

For 40 years, I have worked all over the world for both public and private organizations. And I have stood in more immigration lines than I ever imagined. Today, those lines are much longer.

I am watching the birth of a true global community. It comes not by the design of altruists or politicians, but by the free choice of millions of individuals. This may seem to be a silent migration, but actions do speak louder than words and I hear them in those immigration lines.

How sweet the sound.

• Robert Adams is the president and CEO of New Global Initiatives Inc., a global marketing firm in Bethesda, Md., and Panama Wave S.A., a real estate marketing firm in Panama City.

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