Mexico's 'Shangri-La' Is A Secret No More

"In a way, Álamos has come full circle. The town was built in the 1700s by Spanish silver barons who lived in colonial splendor behind the walls of their villas.

Now the Spanish have been replaced by American lawyers and executives.

...For decades, the number of foreigners in Álamos had held steady at about 200, said Jim Swickard, a California businessman who moved here in 1989 and started the Hacienda de los Santos. But in recent years, urban sprawl and rising home prices in Arizona and California have been pushing people to look south of the border for houses..."