The number of members of the Amerexit and I Want Out groups on the Reddit forum has reached nearly 3 million as more and more people realize that life in America is too difficult.
Amelia Basista and JP Stonestreet call 2015 "the year of hell" - the last straw that forced them to move to South America.
That year, Stonestreet, 43, was diagnosed with congenital spinal stenosis, a degenerative disc disease. He had to undergo two surgeries and was unable to work. His wife, Basista, also quit her job to stay home with him. Their income dropped significantly while Stonestreet’s insurance premiums skyrocketed.
They found themselves unable to pay their mortgages, car payments and other bills. “The normal American way of life was no longer within our reach,” he said.
They sold their house in Denver, but it wasn’t enough to pay off their debts. They planned to leave the United States. In 2017, they moved to Cuenca, Ecuador, and continued their old jobs remotely. Their expenses dropped by 70%.
Basista and Stonestreet are part of a growing group of Americans who are tired of the cost of living and looking for a better quality of life in other countries. They read tips from groups like AmerExit , which has 57,000 members, and I Want Out , which has 2 million members, on Reddit. They consult with relocation and concierge services that cost hundreds to thousands of dollars each, and they teach others how to leave from their own experiences.
In these groups, the concepts of geoarbitrage (saving by going somewhere cheaper) and FIRE - short for financial independence, retire early - are the goal and the mantra.
Some, like Basista and Stonestreet, see leaving the U.S. as the first step in a long-term plan that will end with retirement abroad. Others are pursuing a digital nomad lifestyle — a flexible lifestyle that allows them to travel while supplementing their income by working remotely.
Illustration: IB
There are no exact statistics on the number of Americans who have moved abroad, but as of 2023, there were nearly 161 million US passports in circulation, accounting for nearly half of all Americans. In the past, only 10% of Americans had passports. The US State Department estimated that in 2020, there were a total of 9 million Americans living abroad, including dual citizens born and raised abroad. In 2010, the estimated number was only 5 million.
A recent Monmouth University poll found that about 33% of Americans said they would like to settle in another country. In 1995, in the same Gallup survey, only 12% said so. A 2023 InterNation survey of 12,000 expats from 172 countries found that the United States was the country of origin with the largest proportion of expats.
Those feeling the pressure of high bills are no surprise to be looking abroad. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the median monthly household expenses in the U.S. will rise from $5,100 in 2020 to more than $6,000 in 2022. In a new survey by the Financial Technology Association, 61% of U.S. workers said they are spending every penny they earn.
Despite enjoying a higher level of material well-being than most other countries, the United States lags behind Western countries on several quality-of-life indicators: Americans work more, take fewer vacations, spend more on health care, and die earlier than people in other high-income economies.
These factors may explain why some Americans are moving to countries perceived as having a lower cost of living. Data from global recruitment firm Deel shows that the UK, Germany, Canada and France are among the top seven international destinations for US job seekers.
In places with universal health care, government-subsidized child care, and cultures that encourage a greater work-life balance, the value of the dollar could increase.
Maliya Fale, 22, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a digital nomad and content creator who has been traveling around Latin America for nearly three years. This February, she left the United States for good.
In March, she arrived in the coastal town of Puerto Morelos, Mexico, and is planning for the future. Living abroad offers flexibility that the United States can't offer.
Those who left the United States on a similar path say they never regret the past. In November 2015, writer Cristina Johnson packed three suitcases and boarded a one-way flight from Pennsylvania to Belize, a Central American country.
The 53-year-old writer has a disability that makes it difficult to make a living in the United States. In Belize, her monthly expenses are just $250. There, Johnson was able to build a house, save thousands of dollars, and earn about $1,200 a month writing content marketing ads.
"Even if I saved a million dollars, it would not be worth the mental, emotional, and physical benefits I have gained here," she said.
Mariana and Dustin Lange founded Mexico Relocation Guide in 2019 to capitalize on the growing trend of people leaving the U.S. Mariana says the company doesn’t promote the idea that people “live like kings on very little money,” because that’s not the case. But people leaving the U.S. can have a better quality of life for the same amount of money, or even less.
Since the pandemic lockdown eased, the Lange family business has boomed.
Mark Zoril, founder of North Carolina-based financial planning firm PlanVision, began working with clients who wanted to move abroad eight or nine years ago. The business helps them manage their cross-border assets and save for their future while living abroad.
Zoril said most of his clients plan to stay abroad indefinitely, largely due to the high cost of return. Central America, Portugal and Spain are particularly popular destinations because of their relatively low cost of living and mild climate.
Leaving the U.S. isn’t all good. The lower cost of living often comes with a reduction in income, which can hinder some people’s chances of returning. Cultural differences and language barriers add to the complications and risk of alienation.
Other expat destinations pose their own challenges. Amid political unrest in Ecuador, Stonestreet and Basista moved to Europe to live a semi-nomadic “slow travel” lifestyle.
However, they have no regrets about leaving America. Their only regret is not doing it sooner.
Within three years of leaving the United States, the couple had paid off $60,000 in consumer debt and doubled their savings for retirement. Back home, they had never thought they would be able to retire.
"We think we can work until we drop, but life is short. You never know what tomorrow will bring," Stonestreet said.
Nhat Minh (According to BI )
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