Alamos, Mexico

A Spanish colonial town and national historical monument just five hours' drive from the US border and 50km southeast of Navojoa, ALAMOS hasn't escaped the notice of scores of Americans – predominantly artists and retirees – who have chosen to settle here over the last forty years or so, often renovating the otherwise doomed-to-decay colonial architecture. The expat community lives in near-complete social isolation from the local Mexicans, but the necessary economic interaction has at least prevented Alamos from going the way of so many other ex-mining villages in the region.