Have you ever thought about residing in a country not your own? If so, what was the motivation? What were the barriers? Where would you want to go? And why? I’ve lived abroad before and I imagine that at some point in my life I will do so again. Perhaps even permanently. In this age of digital nomads, social media and world-view shattering political events, it is normal to hear about Americans moving abroad. With my affinity for travel and my own experiences living outside of the U.S., it made me wonder, how many Americans really migrate outside of the United States? Where do they go? And why? I went to the data in search of answers.
Why Do Americans Move Abroad
Sitting in the backseat as my Uber made its way towards the apartment in which I’d be staying for the next month, I took in all the sounds and colors from the people on the street. It was warm and loud and bright. Everything I saw, I looked at with foreign eyes; fresh eyes. I was scared and excited. I fumbled my way through a conversation in Spanish with my driver, who was just as interested in learning about where I was from as I was in learning about this vibrant place. I had just arrived in Mexico City, and had accommodations for the next month. But I had no ticket to return home; I didn’t know how long I would stay. I just knew that I was opening a new chapter and wanted to make this space a vital part of it. I wanted something new.
Moving Abroad By the Numbers
I went to Mexico because I wanted the experience of living and learning a new culture. I wanted to learn Spanish and Mexico is close to the U.S., so it was an obvious choice for me. In 2024, ~26% of Americans residing abroad lived in Mexico. Next were the United Kingdom and Canada, each making up about 8% of Americans living abroad. We see from the graph below (you can hover on the points to see details) that between 2000 and 2010 the number of Americans residing in Mexico saw explosive growth, and has consistently been growing since 1990. I wonder if at least part of the trend in where Americans go has to do with some people having family roots in these places (Israel being in the top destinations is an example).
From this top destination country trend, it also appears that Americans abroad tend to want to stick close to home, geographically and culturally — making these three countries logical choices to emigrate to. These choices also indicate that, unlike many whose country of origin is not the U.S., Americans are not hyper-focused on moving to places with a lower cost of living. They may be moving for retirement or just to start a new life, but in 2024, 58% of Americans abroad resided in countries categorized as “high-income” in the UN Migrant Stock dataset.
Moving Abroad and Major Events
One thing that I expected, but did not see in this data, is spikes in Americans living abroad in accordance with social and political events at home. Below we see a line plot of total Americans residing outside of the US worldwide. The biggest rate increase in these numbers was between 2005 and 2010, a period that encompasses the Great Financial Crisis. I imagined we would see less Americans living abroad due to financial uncertainty. But perhaps this had the opposite effect.
I thought that events such as Trump’s Presidential wins in 2016 and 2024 would show spikes, at least residual, of Americans living abroad (we’ll need to wait until post-2024 numbers come out to understand if there are any effects there). But we actually see a major slowing down in that period. Finally, I thought that the rise in remote work after 2020 would show spikes. But this is not the case either. This may be because people who take advantage of remote work travel a lot and jump around to different places. They’re not trying to settle down and seek residence in any one place. Hover on the points on the plot to see details.
Below you can see a global view of where Americans resided outside of the U.S. in 2024. Be aware that some countries have missing information due to misalignments with names and categorizations in the dataset.
Migration vs. Integration: Why Are All the White Kids Sitting Together?
Near the beginning of my stay in Mexico, I remember thinking how important it was to make local friends. I used Bumble BFF to try to connect to other women. It was hard for various reasons. After spending time with the first and only woman from Bumble I connected with in real life in Mexico, I recall thinking that perhaps I had told her too much personal info about myself. I was alone after all. Maybe she was trying to scam me or get over on me.
Luckily, she became a trusted friend…my best friend in Mexico with whom I still keep in touch to this day. Having her as my friend, along with another local guy, really grounded my experience in the city. Being with them made me feel like I wasn’t always just an outsider. I also enrolled in a salsa class two days a week in a non-touristy neighborhood. And that made me feel more like I was a part of the community. I even made another good friend from that class.
Living in But Not of a Place
My efforts were a stark contrast to other Americans I met living in the country. I met an older white couple on an excursion to Oaxaca who told me that they lived in Guanajato. They had bought a house and lived there for years. They had a group of American friends there doing the same, and none of them spoke Spanish and had no plans to buckle down and learn. I couldn’t understand why they wanted to live in Mexico just to stay in an American bubble, but I learned that this was not uncommon. It definitely made me think about some of the conversations that take place in the U.S. about immigrants integrating and assimilating into society. Did Mexicans have similar complaints about Americans residing in their country?
Challenges of Moving Abroad
Staying in Mexico also had its challenges. I remember having trouble trying to find medication I needed when my prescription ran out after staying longer than anticipated. Luckily, my friend came with me and spoke to the pharmacist to help me figure everything out. I was lucky to have this kind of support.
Another challenge is that I missed my family and friends. Thanksgiving came and went, reminding me that I was alone, and I felt un-moored. Of course, no one was holding me there – I could always return home. But my occasional loneliness did not make me want to give up the life that I was living in Mexico. I was working (remote), I had a few great friends, I was learning salsa and Spanish, I walked everywhere, I ate good, and I was on cloud nine from all of the culture and history engrained in that place.
But eventually I did go home. The plan was never moving abroad on a permanent basis. This was all about exploring what life could be elsewhere. And I did that. However, I’ve heard many stories of Americans who intend to make a new country their home, but they end up not being able to deal with the challenges and return back to the U.S. Leaving your country of origin is no easy feat. And the truth is that many people who are not from the U.S. go to live in foreign lands for reasons more vital than adventure; so it is higher stakes for them to return home.
World Migration
According to United Nations international migrant data, about 3.7% of the peoples of the world on average reside outside of their country of origin (this number includes refugees). Since 1990, the number of Americans residing abroad has never broken 1% of the U.S. population. We have a country that more people move to than move from. Which is surely due to the wealth and opportunity that this country affords when given a chance.
However, Americans are moving abroad and that number has been on a steady upward trajectory. Although we may tend to go for reasons that are less urgent and more lifestyle-driven (retirement, a change of pace, exploring what a life somewhere else could mean), we face many of the same challenges as people who come to the States in search of a better life. These are the challenges that are standard of leaving the familiar.
How do we navigate a different language, customs, and traditions? How to cope with loneliness, and missing those that we have left behind? How do we become a part of our new communities instead of just existing in or adjacent to them? American emigration rates are low compared to the rest of the world, but the U.S. and world environments are changing; that may not always be the case.
In my last post I talked about how Black Americans moved within the U.S. in search of freedom and opportunity from the oppressive South. We never know when we’ll find ourselves in a situation where we need to move not just for adventure but for freedom. We’d do well to practice empathy and respect when considering how people choose to move around the world. And to keep in mind the challenges that they face. Because those challenges are universal.
Sources
United Nations International Migrant Stock https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/international-migrant-stock
