The Expatsi Report | Q4 2022

The Expatsi Report | Q4 2022

Welcome to the third Expatsi Report and the final report of 2022! This quarterly report tracks why people want to leave the U.S., what they’re looking for, what they have to spend, and more. See the images or download a PDF, below.

by Jen Barnett

The latest report from Expatsi, which surveyed people thinking of leaving the country from October-December, shows a continuing downward trend in political motivations for leaving the U.S. since the inaugural report in the Spring. That report coincided with SCOTUS’ Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

Far fewer test takers say they’d like to the leave the U.S. because it’s too divided, too conservative, or for more freedoms than responded that way in previous quarters. However, the percentage of visitors who said the U.S. is too liberal has nearly doubled since the spring. Other categories that grew were people who want to leave for adventure/growth and for work. This correlated with growth in people taking the test who were solo expats — generally younger emigrants of working age.

The report spans Q4 and analyzes 6,904 responses to the Expatsi Test, a quiz that points users to the best countries for them based on their needs for safety, infrastructure, healthcare, cost of living, human rights, weather, culture, and more.

Another indicator of more conservative users taking the test were huge drops in the percentage of people looking for countries where same sex relationships, same sex marriage, abortion, and gender self-determination are legal, while a desire for legal handguns rose. Votes for gambling and recreational cannabis were unaffected.

The Expatsi Test asks users if they’d like their new country to rank highly for any of several minority groups or life stages, and interest in those dropped across all categories: women, retirement, raising kids, LGBTQIA+, Black expats, and studying abroad.

Based on answers to the quiz, these were the top-ten most recommended countries:

  1. Germany
  2. Canada
  3. United Kingdom
  4. Finland
  5. Costa Rica
  6. Switzerland
  7. Portugal
  8. Spain
  9. France
  10. Denmark

Respondents came from across the country and found the test by searching Google for terms like “best countries for U.S. expats” and “how to choose what country to move to.” 

Expatsi helps U.S. citizens pick a country and plan their escape. The Expatsi Test recommends destinations based on your needs for safety, infrastructure, healthcare, cost of living, human rights, weather, culture, and more. Take the test at expatsi.com.

Jen Barnett Expatsi headshot
Co-founder at Expatsi | Website | + posts

Jen Barnett is an expat influencer and co-founder of Expatsi, a company that's helped thousands of Americans on their moving abroad journeys. She created the Expatsi Test, an assessment that recommends countries for aspiring emigrants based on lifestyle data. Jen has an MBA from Emory University with concentrations in marketing and innovation. She's written for BusinessWeek, Health, Cooking Light, and Southern Living. Prior to Expatsi, she created Freshfully and Bottle & Bone—two businesses in the local food space—and spoke at TEDx on being brave. She's moving to Mexico in 2024, along with her husband and co-founder Brett, pitbull mix Squiggy, and three rotten cats. How can she help you move abroad?

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Jen Barnett Expatsi headshot
Co-founder at Expatsi | Website | + posts

Jen Barnett is an expat influencer and co-founder of Expatsi, a company that's helped thousands of Americans on their moving abroad journeys. She created the Expatsi Test, an assessment that recommends countries for aspiring emigrants based on lifestyle data. Jen has an MBA from Emory University with concentrations in marketing and innovation. She's written for BusinessWeek, Health, Cooking Light, and Southern Living. Prior to Expatsi, she created Freshfully and Bottle & Bone—two businesses in the local food space—and spoke at TEDx on being brave. She's moving to Mexico in 2024, along with her husband and co-founder Brett, pitbull mix Squiggy, and three rotten cats. How can she help you move abroad?