Record number of Irish visitors traveled to New York in 2010

Correction: Medicare cannot be used by retirees living out of country. Mexico does offer medical insurance for retirees, from very basic to more inclusive.

sirpeter: I'm an "old age pensioner. Americans who choose to retire in Mexico or Costa Rica or elsewhere do it because they want to. Just like Brits who rtire to the Costa del Sol. The weather is nice. The cost of living is lower. It is unlikely they are overtaxing the local health care.Elderly people living in this country have government subsidized health coverage. Americans may travel to Mexico for cheaper health procedures, but if they do, the health care is provided by private clinics and paid for out-of-pocket.Americans living in Mexico are there because they are living very well (houses, servants, golf courses).This is a very different story from Mexicans crossing into this country who are young, out of work, without income, working as migrant laborers. Young pregant woman who come here to have their babies here in our hospitals.

Yes, generally, it's true. Hope you had a Happy Christmas.

Searlit. Well all I'm saying is people who emigrate don't really do so by choice.I'm speaking generally.Allentown made a flippant untrue statement.What Americans never hear about is the millions of American pensioners who go to other countries where they can live better on their American pension or the few bucks they have saved and get better health care in their old age.It could be argued that these old age American pensioners are a total economic liability on a countries health system that they contributed nothing too.You wouldn't move to America for the health system.Not unless you're minted.Simple fact is immigration is good for the economy.

I can't quite agree with your point sirpeter, about nobody going to america by choice. There's alot of greedy people that come here by choice, so they can get on the band wagon and exploit the hard working citizens here. Believe it or not, there are educated people who come here, get well paying jobs then bring their families over and somehow manage to put them on welfare. It's not just a fluke here and there. It's as though, even the welfare system has been corrupted to serve the kind of people that would step on someone else to get to the next level. I'm trying to stay in the spirit of the season. It's a tough one, this year.

allentown.Don't flatter yourself.Nobody ever went to America out of choice.Think about it.

Nollaig shona daoibh! Searlit ;))

225,000 visited----------------25,000 went home.

Nollaig shona daoibh! Happy Christmas! Merry Christmas to everyone!

NYC is one of the most popular cities in the world for shopping. Good old Fifth Ave. It's been like that since way back. Americans go to Ireland for alot of different reasons.

I wonder how many of those Irish "tourists" forgot to return home. NYC has a population of 8 million. The Irish hardly make up a significant part of American tourism.

So much for the crippling hard economic times when 5% of the Irish population can afford to visit New York alone!!

Tourism supports 320,000 jobs.Not bad for one city.Of course some thickos here think it's Americans who give everybody else tourist money.885,000 visitors from the US visited Ireland in 2008 spending $800 million.225,000 Irish visitors went to New York ALONE and spent $441 million.That's not including Disney world and other places the Irish go.Spend more when ye get here ye tight miserable bast*rds.No wonder we are broke.Keeping ye in jobs.lol NO MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR YE.