As Ha pointed out the degree of insularity in places like Thailand and Mexico is far greater than anything you'll find in the U.S. There's a great travel book (essential for around-the-world travel IMHO) by Edward Hasbrouck called "The Practical Nomad" where he goes into the reasons for this in some detail. Paraphrasing him, the third world is a place where financial capital is tight but they're rich in human capital. Another way of saying this: many people have almost no money, but as a native you're embedded in a very complex network of family and friendships that goes way beyond anything we have in the U.S., and while it takes knowing someone to get anything done, you pretty much always know someone.
"Family" in Mexico means not only your parents, grandparents and kids but all of your aunts and uncles and all of their kids, your godparents and their families and many others, all of whom are almost certain to live in the same village or town that you do. There's a complex web of reciprocal obligations and favors to be attended to at all times, holidays and fiestas virtually every month of the year, on and on. A person enmeshed in all of this and working 6 longs days a week and with 4-5 kids at home may want to be your friend (maybe), but often simply doesn't have the time or energy.
That's a whole different level of isolation than moving from one part of the U.S. to another. We take families living far apart and moving away for jobs for granted, while to people in traditional societies these things are unthinkable.
"Family" in Mexico means not only your parents, grandparents and kids but all of your aunts and uncles and all of their kids, your godparents and their families and many others, all of whom are almost certain to live in the same village or town that you do. There's a complex web of reciprocal obligations and favors to be attended to at all times, holidays and fiestas virtually every month of the year, on and on. A person enmeshed in all of this and working 6 longs days a week and with 4-5 kids at home may want to be your friend (maybe), but often simply doesn't have the time or energy.
That's a whole different level of isolation than moving from one part of the U.S. to another. We take families living far apart and moving away for jobs for granted, while to people in traditional societies these things are unthinkable.