AmericaWave.com is a project of America Wave, Inc. The survey results presented here are based on a series of opinion surveys beginning in 2005, conducted by IBOPEZogby (formerly Zogby International).
This project was conceptualized and initiated by Bob Adams. Bob has spent his life working in international development and humanitarian assistance for a wide variety of private and public agencies, work that has taken him to more than 40 nations since he first began as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines in 1967.
It was Bob who first asked, are Americans relocating overseas? As he quickly discovered, there were plenty of opinions, but no facts. In his mind, there was only one way to find out. Ask them. As CEO of New Global Initiatives in the US, he contracted the Migration Policy Institute in Washington to conduct a review of what was known and to conduct interviews with Americans living in Mexico and Panama. The study found that the information available was insufficient to answer the original question. There was no historical record and certainly none on a global scale. We would have to create our own. We did.
Bob turned to Zogby International to conduct the first survey of a statistically-valid sample of the American population on relocation in 2005, never guessing it would lead to eight more. In 2007, Bob wrote on the topic for Barron’s, one of America’s most respected financial publications, and an op-ed at Boston’s respected Christian Science Monitor. Those led to an interview with Erin Burnett on CNBC’s Street Signs and, in 2011, an update at Barron’s.
Bob has done a lot of public speaking and written many articles, five for Barron’s alone including a guest editorial, but his real love is for his “personal” websites. MiddleAge.org that deals with the subject of aging, Retirement Wave that provides information and support to expatriates considering Panama as a new home, Lake Bayano dedicated to a neglected, but spectacularly beautiful area of Panama, and others. Bob is a “serial entrepreneur” and currently is CEO of Panama Wave S.A. as well as and America Wave, Inc.
But America Wave would not be possible if it were not for the help of others. One who plays a critical role is Stuart Hooper, a young American entrepreneur in Panama, an excellent photographer, and owner of Asombro Media. In a very short time, Stuart did a great job of putting together the YouTube video, creating the graphs and charts, and helping to design this website.
While Bob and Stuart worked on visualizing the survey results from 2007, 2009, and 2011, creating the video, and building the website, it was Jeff Lane who took over many of the responsibilities at Panama Wave S.A. that allowed Bob to focus on this effort.
It is appropriate that both Stuart and Jeff come from the 25-34 age group that is so significant in the survey results.
We are always happy to respond to inquiries. We can be contacted via our contact page.