This seems to come up pretty often, here's an article on how many people want to expat and where they want to go.
Also an update on where people want to visit these days
https://www.newsweek.com/americans-increasingly-want-move-another-country-poll-1884483
Count me as another American ready to become an expat living in Europe— with a bit of a twist.
In 2016, I decided to move ahead and apply for my Irish citizenship through ancestry as my mother’s father — my grandfather—was born in Ireland.
After collecting all the documentation required, I took it in person to the Irish Consulate. I was honored and thrilled to became a citizen of the Republic of Ireland in 2018 and established dual citizenship.
For me, It’s life’s next adventure.
The poll in fact doesn’t seem to address where people want to move.
While the successive polls did not ask what countries Americans wanted to move to, they did ask where they were most interested in visiting.
The issue with the story, is that rather than ask why, the author assigned a reason. I would be curious what reasons those wanting to move would give. Also surprised that someone would do a poll and not ask. Or they did ask and the answers did not match the narative that the author wanted to promote.
I expected if the reason was listed, this would turn into a political debate and be turned off.
I’ve spent several hours last week researching long-term stays in Spain, which is probably where I will go. I can’t move for a couple more years because of family commitments but I’m ready to try something different.
Kenko, congrats on obtaining dual citizenship! That's a wonderful benefit for those who are eligible.
I confess that one of my motivations for getting seriously interested in genealogy in 2018 was finding out whether there were any such options for me. I hoped I might learn that my mom's birth father had been born in Ireland. Alas, it turned out that he was born in New York like all my other grandparents, birth and adoptive alike.
Then I briefly got my hopes up for Germany. But my great-grands who immigrated in the 1880s didn't return to their native country in the next 20 years, so no dice there.
Carol, family obligations will keep me anchored here for at least a few years too. In the meantime I'll keep dreaming, researching various options, and working on my Duolingo lessons. And visiting Europe as often as I can afford to!
I think people also have unrealistic expectations of expat life.
Ireland can be beautiful but the same economic conditions here in America are present in Europe. I know people in Ireland that want to move to a better flat but there just isn't the inventory and the newer flats are too expensive. Therefore they are holding on to their rented flat for the foreseeable future.
Germany sounds nice but it is listed yearly as one of the worst places to integrate and many expats move away after they find out Germans aren't that tolerant of foreigners who can't speak the language.
Not to get political but the same issues happening in America are happening around the world and governments are being voted out. I always say move abroad because you want an adventure not because you think it will be better. SSDD.
An alternative for some - Is a New Wave of Digital Nomadism Coming?
Digital nomad visas are permits that allow remote people to reside and work in a foreign country for extended periods ranging from several months to five years. More than 50 countries offer digital nomad visas, including New Zealand, Japan, Kenya and Thailand, but conditions and fees differ.
Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Norway are among the most popular digital nomad destinations in Europe.
Also, some interesting comments (link a the bottom of the article)
I lived in Germany for four years 87-91 and Saudi Arabia for five years 81-86. I was an employee of the US Army and benefited from having access to the commissary and PX for food and department store items at cheaper prices than the local markets.
In Germany, we lived in private housing, but had the benefit of a housing allowance.
Still, especially in Germany we immersed to some degree in the country.
When living in a foreign country without those benefits, you will face paying significantly more for food and other items that you purchase. Also, most Europeans live in far smaller dwellings than we have in the USA. Many live in flats (apartments). In Germany, if you live in a flat in an apartment building, you are not to flush your toilets after something like 11PM.
living there can give you more access to tour the places that you might wish to visit, but you if you have family in the USA, you would have to spend the same airfares to fly back to visit your family members.
Also, if you are not fluent in the local language, dealing with local taxes, contracts and police matters can be frustrating.
In Germany, every resident must report to the Germany police where they live along with other pertinent information.
We still travel extensively and I have visited 83 foreign countries. Living in the USA has not hindered our travel plans.
I would leave if I could but alas, I don't have any real skills that make it easy to work abroad like IT or something in the medical field. At this point I may as well wait until retirement and try then. I know several people who have left the U.S. and now live and work abroad in England, Austria, and New Zealand and they couldn't be happier.
I’ve been followings some of these expat threads and can only say more power to those who choose to give it a try. It sounds exotic, exciting and not easy. I know I couid never do it. I’m 74 and my husband is 77….i absolutely cannot even begin to imagine starting all over somewhere else…another state is too daunting…and especially a foreign country. Heck, we have had the same phone number for over 50 years…Change is not our middle name.
For those who choose this adventure I wish you the best of luck and happiness in life.
I think the assumption is that we’re allunhappy if we live in smaller spaces. I’ve lived in a small space ever since I moved to Atlanta I didn’t plan for it to be permanent, but it has been because the location is great and I think I’ll be fine in the smaller space in Europe. And one of the reasons I picked the countries I’ve looked at is the cost of living is lower. Cities are very expensive. You need to be able to live outside of a major city and speak the language to make this more affordable imho.
I I have friends living in France, New Zealand and a couple of other places and they’re all very happy I could work remotely from Europe, but I’m planning to retire before I move.
And yes, they have issues, but at least they’ll be new and different issues.
This is a problematic study in several ways.
Here is the question asked by Monmouth U. researchers:
"If you were free to do so, would you like to go and settle in another country, or not?"
"If you were free to do so" - what does that mean? The presupposition here implies that each of the 900+ respondents is NOT free to do so, perhaps forbidden by our government... or some situation... Of course, this is not East Germany, and we are in fact "free" to do so. The question confuses from the git go. Respondents, some of whom understand that there is no Iron Curtain holding them back, and others of who might accept the question's assumption, might approach this question from wildly different angles. Hypothetical questions like this tend to get a lot of non-serious responses. Someone who has never thought of leaving might say anything. What would I do with $1,000,000,000? I might say anything, but I bet what I spend it on will be hugely different from the initial thoughts I provided to the survey-taker on the phone.
"go and settle in another country"
And what does that mean? Temporarily? Forever? A country of my choice? ANY other country?
Then there's the bigger problem... They compare this year's results with those of past decades... but WHAT QUESTION did the previous surveys ask? Bet they were all worded very differently.
Also it's a small world today. We should expect very few "yes" answers from surveys from the past 50-60 decades, especially the early periods when air travel was a mere fraction of what it is today, and periods when hardly anyone could afford it. Inflation in the late 70's was eating everyone's lunch.
Assigning this year's results to politics alone is ridiculous. That said, I truly hope anyone desperate to leave now, or during some future political period, understands they are free to do so and finds the means as well. There's no sense in being miserable here if you think you can bring the party somewhere else.
Russ, very well said.
Carol
Cities are very expensive. You need to be able to live outside of a
major city and speak the language to make this more affordable imho.
That depends on so much. Like expensive compared to what? San Francisco is probably more expensive than all but two capital cities in Europe. So if you are emigrating from San Francisco ..... I come from San Antonio, Texas which has among the lowest cost of living in the US. My current situation is in a European capital city with a population close to that of Houston, Texas, but my cost of living based just on prices here is at least a third less. When you factor in the cultural differences, the cost is closer to half what I spent in San Antonio. Yup, I could save more if i moved to the coutry side, but the quality of life would not be what I want.
As for the language. If you cant speak the language you had better be open minded, relaxed and patient. If not you will go crazy. But, here at least, if the language issue bothers you, I suspect there are a few cultural issues that will push over the edge. So language probalby isnt the deal breaker. Your perspective on life will be the deal breaker. I can be polite in the local language, thats about it. And i will never get better .... to old and my mind is too ... well you know.
There are no rules. If you are happy where you land, you will be okay. If you arent happy then you need to look elsewhere or go home. Its going to be different for everyone that tries.
Its going to be different for everyone that tries.
This. A million times this.
Having lived and studied and then worked in four different countries, I'm happy to live right here in our wee corner of Canada and stay here.
I've been home for 38 years now after working around the globe.....in Scotland, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
I have also visited 31 countries in the course of my travels.
We are both retired.
Although Canada also has its problems as much as any other country, we feel safe here and this is where our life is.
When I do visit other countries, it's fun to pretend living there for two or three weeks, but I do see that they too have their own problems.
If I had an awful lot of spare cash, I'd have a gorgeous apartment in or near Florence and another in Edinburgh and another in London to "live" in for just a few weeks a year, but that's never going to happen.
I'm not going to stop traveling, but boy do I appreciate our home each time I return from a trip.
I would do it all again if I were younger.
I think everyone should have the opportunity to live and work in another country at least once in their lives!
I would certainly not discourage a young person, say someone in his/her mid-20s to be an ex-pat. However you had better know yourself and be totally open-minded as to language, values, and cuisine and culture. Stop thinking American if one is entertaining seriously moving over there.
It you're not willing to learn the language, ie pound away at it, no matter how daunting, frustrating, etc, etc, then forget it.
You have to know the language backwards and forwards, get it as close as your native English level.. One does learn while living there too if one open to that.
Re acceptance: Be prepared not to be accepted if that is important to you even if you can acculturate yourself and assimilate. Is social acceptance so important in your value system? One has to think seriously about that.
Fred, I violated everyone of your guidelines, should I go home?
Kim, those with relevant experience, get it.
Max, don't be like them.
This world has too much 'them'. Needs more 'us'.
A person can wish, can't they?
@ Mr E...One makes one's own peace and sets the expectations. Over 50 years of traveling in France and Germany I don't have problems with acculturation or assimilation or learning from my ignorance. I see that I had better learn. That goes for language. I don't like relying on translations or depending on my interlocutor's ability in English. Getting used to German and French cuisine was no problem at all or the locals, regardless
As has been mentioned, every one is different relative to tolerance, comfort level, coping ability emotionally, socially, psychologically , and all that.
Bottom line, no, you don't go back, stay put. I like BP too.
I didn't read the article, since based on comments, it seems to have left out several points/questions to make it more objective, but I'm glad I came across this topic. I've been exploring a move to Europe for a few years, becoming more serious in the past year.
One thing I think I've discovered is that the France long term visa allows you to come and go as much as you'd like while you're working toward seeking residency, as opposed to the Portugal D7, which only allows you to be out of the country 4 months per year while doing the same. Is that correct as far as anyone knows?
Thank you!
One thing I think I've discovered is that the France long term visa
allows you to come and go as much as you'd like while you're working
toward seeking residency, as opposed to the Portugal D7, which only
allows you to be out of the country 4 months per year while doing the
same.
Portugal apparently wants to you be a Tax Resident and maybe France doesn’t care? Don’t know. But if you are asking the question, it means you need professional assistance by an expert in each country. This can be complicated stuff and its best to go into knowing all of the detail.
I didn’t start my relocation by purposefully looking for a place to relocate to. It was a long drawn out unplaned process over two decades. But if I were to purposefully consider moving the visa requirement wouldn’t even be in the top half of the list of what I would have to research and know and understand. If for some reason I just wanted to leave the US I would make my best guess then do my 90 in 180 days in a short term rental and spend every moment of those 90 days interacting at every level with the location and the culture. Heck, even then, I cant seem myself convinced enough to make the move.
Many factors come into play in choosing a country: the cultural, economic, and social climates; weather; food; the cost of living. I could go on.
Wherever you live, you take the good with the bad. There are definitely things I don't like about living here. And there are things I do like. Same as the eight cities/towns I lived in in six different states in the US over the course of my life.
Mr. E, as always, thank you for your input. I'll definitely get qualified professional advice if/when I decide to make a move, but for now, it's good to get lots of information from a variety of sources. One thought often leads to another, which is how I came across the info on France in the first place. I'm generally not one to make hasty decisions, preferring lots of research to cover as many bases as possible. That's great that you wouldn't consider the visa requirements. I'm different because I have different considerations. It sounds like you're very happy with the arrangement you've worked out, which is wonderful!
KRS, not that I wouldnt consider the VISA requirements. But first comes happiness or compatability. Doesnt matter how easy the visa is if you arent living the life you want or the life you could have. I live in a country that as of this year has one of the most restrictive residency laws. In 2026 I am going to have to deal with that and I have already started getting ready to some degree. If I could walk into Spain tomorrow and get residency for 10 years with nothing but a signature, I would still fight the fight here, because this is the society that I do well with and can have a full life.
But first comes happiness or compatability
Absolutely.
Most of the time, the restrictions can be overcome. Thats why I put the life first.
My newsfeed recently had an article about a couple who moved to France in retirement. After the first blush wore off and everything was no longer charming, they experienced many of the things I've wondered about. Their French was minimal so they felt isolated; they had only themselves for company and struggled to make new friends; the bureaucracy drove them crazy. This was a couple where money seemed to be no object, either. Long story short, after a couple of years they are returning to the US and don't expect to live in France again. So, when people say they are leaving in a huff, I secretly wonder if they'll also return in a huff when reality sets in.
KC:
“Thinking of Moving to France? One couple's experience“
All about that article on a forum thread here just last week.
Sorry, can’t seem to link it, but that is the thread title above.
I'm not thinking Expat just yet, however I will begin my Slow Travel when I retire on 27 Feb 2026. Mar - Nov 2026 I'll focus on Europe then in 2027 SE Asia & Europe.
This thread has been stripped of political references. Keep it clean, please.
Travel expertise galore from the well traveled and various ruminations from expats here, all well and good.
I round a sharp turn past the abandoned church, see my neighbors and then there’s my house. We’re home! We worked on it not always perfectly but we did it. How to be successful is hard and sometimes frustrating but sometimes it just happens.
Youtube is full of expat vlogs if people are interested. Spoiler alert - it's good AND bad both.
One guy I like to watch was in Vienna talking about how it always gets top marks in surveys and studies and he had always considered moving there and then flat out says, that is if you speak the language.
I know several people who have made an international relocation
None of them moved in a huff all of them made considered logical decisions and all of them are happy. Now some of them did move to countries that are English speaking, Australia, New Zealand. (. I think it’s New Zealand if you have some cyber security certifications, you can get a work visa). Some moved to countries where they spoke some of the language, but weren’t fluent and have worked hard to improve their language skills.
It’s just like a moving in the United States in that you better be thinking it all the way through before you decide you’d be happier living in Austin, Texas than Atlanta, Georgia. You might not be, but then you might
I have been an expat for 38 years. Believe me, it would have been great to have the internet back then.
I arrived speaking basically no German, had a German boyfriend who eventually became my husband. Worked at a small Army base for 4 years until I got pregnant and then got to enjoy the great health care here and the perks of being a mom in Germany. After a few years, we divorced but now I spoke fairly good German, found a German job working on a grill in a steak restaurant where I worked on those important "Sie" skills enough to get me into a management position. Was married to the German long enough to get permanent residency, but hated going to any official office. Bought a bar, went broke, and went to work with a support agency for the American Consulate. Improved my life situation and married a child hood friend. Managed the consulate hotel but after 4 years, was really tired of the diplomats, so became the cook for the Marines here and did data entry for Commercial Service in the Consulate. Husband and I then created our tour company and eventually just did that. That was 16 years ago. He doesn't really speak any German and can get along here ok, but misses out a lot. I am fluent except for some official vocabulary. it is fine for me to go days without speaking English, but it took a long time to get here. Friend circle is a mix of Germans and expats from various countries. One needs to join some clubs and interest associations to make friends. Germany is one of those countries where it is tough at first to make friends, but once you do, you are in.
Toughest part is if you want to work in a country, you need to find out what they will let you do. I was a restaurant manager and cook and the Germans wouldn't accept that, so had to work my way in.
Expat groups on FB are great for anyone who is thinking about a certain city. It gives you a feel for what is going on, they post events that are often just for expats.
Am really glad and happy that I live here, that I speak German well, and wouldn't change it for the world, though there is always the chance that we might have to move back if either one of us needs long term care. They don't have the same kind of retirement communities here. Husband is retired military so that is our fallback plan. It would be easy to live here as a retiree as you don't need a car and I have German health care, but Husband doesn't. That makes it difficult.
Health care, work plan and language skills are the top 3 things to look at if you want to move. I would potentially like to move to Portugal as a retiree. Just need to get my dual citizen paperwork going, now that Germany allows it for Americans.
I read the article about the Americans moving to France and they really sounded like whiners. Not people I would want as friends.
I'm fairly familiar with the visa process in most of western Europe having employed "Expats" here and there over the past 30 years.
And the problem I have with many of these articles/vlogs etc. is that the creators are not being truthfully about their circumstances or possibly don't even realise they are in fact illegals I don't know. Just like in the US you can get away with a lot in Europe when flying under the radar, the problem is as you get older and need access to services etc... that does not work and most of what the have said is just nonsense.
For instance, you can hop back and forth between AirBnBs etc and not come to the attention of the authorities, but once you want to rent an apartment long term or even buy one, your background will be investigated and if you are not fully legal it will be a problem and so on.
If it's for political reasons, well, for us elections are up and down, and opposed to giving up and moving, we stay, lick our wounds, and live to fight another day. What goes around comes around.
In sports, life, and politics we've suffered setbacks and tough losses, but we hung in there, took a hard look in the mirror and lessons learned, and bounced back triumphantly. We just refuse to quit.
We spent almost 3 years in Europe in the military and upon our retirement try to get back twice a year for a total of 4 months a year. The time spent there is just about enough. Our life’s are here our fun is in Europe. We can’t imagine it any more different.
I am a huge expat fan on YouTube and many in the last year are running out of steam. Even have given it up.
gregbrady1879, I doubt running away is ever very successful. I am an American. I love the United States & Texas. I am just having an adventure while I am still young enough .... and waiting for the market to recover.
We don’t want to be ex-pats, but do want to be flex-pats. This means being out of our home country for 5-6 months a year. It starts in 2026!
Expat is a word with no definitive definition.
The D8 - digital nomad visa for Portugal is the one that has caught my eye. Husband is a teacher, so we can head out to Portugal for the summer months, I can work during the day, then have fun in the evenings and weekends..... Now just got to get someone to house sit and take care of my dogs.
Americans that wants to "try" living in Europe without going through all the paperwork should look to Albania.
Americans, and Americans only, are allowed to enter Albania for one year without a visa.
The D8 - digital nomad visa for Portugal is the one that has caught my eye. Husband is a teacher, so we can head out to Portugal for the summer months, I can work during the day, then have fun in the evenings and weekends..... Now just got to get someone to house sit and take care of my dogs.
If you are working, you are not a tourist and that can have serious implications. For instance many travel insurances will not cover you, healthcare cover may be different etc...
My expat medical insurance, Allianz, will cover you. As you are there on a work visa, you may also qualify for tge national plan, but I would be inclined to keep a private policy anyway till I had experience with the local public medical.
But it's one of the 100s of questions you should answer before you pull the trigger.
We don’t want to be ex-pats, but do want to be flex-pats. This means being out of our home country for 5-6 months a year.
Tammy, this would be my ideal choice. I want to keep a home base where I'm at now. I have family here and want to be able to see them whenever I want, but I also want to explore and experience more of Europe. I like the idea of having a home base somewhere overseas as well. I've been looking at so many different options, trying to figure out what might work best for me.
KRS, good luck in your search for what might work for you. I've been looking at this option for years. We are moving to the Palm Springs area of CA. and will spend most of our winter there, and then plan to be in Europe (and other places) in the spring and summer.
