Intergenerational ties across borders: Grandparenting narratives by expatriate retirees in Mexico

A thematic narrative analysis was applied to transcripts and notes derived from depth interviews with 46 expatriate retirees living at the Lake Chapala Riviera in Jalisco, Mexico. The analysis generated seven themes about grandparenting and relationships with geographically distant grandchildren. Five positive themes identified were a) attachment to and love for grandchildren, b) geographic distance has benefits, c) communication technologies mitigate the separation, d) the retirement migration decision is reversible, and e) children and grandchildren are likely to relocate. Two negative themes were a) diminishment of the relationship because of loss of common interests and b) a total rupture of the relationship. Also revealed is a suggestion that the presence of great-grandchildren reduces the relevance of the grandparent–grandchild relationship. The findings of the narrative analysis are consolidated into an analytically constructed master-proposition that relates the findings more theoretically to identities of expatriate grandparent retirees.