by Jen Barnett

Are you thinking about how to leave America? You’re not alone; as many as 15% percent of Americans say they want to leave the country permanently. Some want to experience international living for personal or political reasons: the high cost of American healthcare or housing, gun violence, political division, recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, or other threats to their safety. Almost all, though, are also seeking adventure and personal growth.

Americans emigrate much less than people from other countries. The United States hosts the lion’s share of the world’s immigrants at over 50 million but only about 3 million are living in a foreign country. This trend likely started due to the wealth of opportunities in the U.S., but may now be more of a habit. Already dubbed the “no-vacation nation,” it’s rare for Americans to use their scant time off to take expensive trips to other nations. Fear of the unknown and outsized worries about crime and other threats to safety keep many of us tucked safely in our suburbs rather than thinking about living overseas.

Many people who do leave report the opposite experience: adventure, kindness, art, culture, vibrance, and joy. If you’re ready to make the leap to American expat, we find there are six phases to moving abroad that almost anyone can accomplish. Passing through these stages isn’t always a linear process, but you’ll work through all of them on your journey. Here’s the first step:

Stage 1: Ideation

Goals: Identifying your needs, creating a shortlist of countries

The rub of not traveling as much as we’d like is that it’s tough to know the best places to move to. With 195 countries (plus administrative areas and territories), you could spend the rest of your life sorting through your options. Analysis paralysis is a real obstacle at this stage that insures most people never get to Stage 2.

Here’s what this stage involves:

Assessing your wants and needs for a new country

Take time to ask yourself or the other members of your expat party what everyone’s looking for in a new home. What’s your favorite weather? How quickly do you want to be able to get home to the U.S.? Do you want to have access to abortions, gay marriage, cannabis, or handguns? What’s your budget? Are you going to study, work abroad, work remotely, or retire? Pro tip: our free Expatsi Test asks these questions and more to recommend your personal top 10 list of countries.

Listing pros & cons, doing cost-benefit analysis

Every decision is going to have trade-offs, especially if you’re coordinating your move with other people. You won’t find a place with tropical beaches and snowcapped peaks, but you can find a place with both coastlines and mountains. One common decisions is choosing between a low cost of living vs. stability, safety, progressive politics, or healthcare. (One reason Americans love Costa Rica and Portugal is because they combine these better than most.)

Reading articles and forums for inspiration

Each of our country guides have links to websites and Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube accounts for local expats. There are also Facebook groups and Subreddits. These are all great ways to learn more about the country and get real-live advice for moving there. Don’t be tempted by influencers and travel bloggers. Their content can be gorgeous and appealing, but it rarely captures day-to-day life in a location.

Brainstorming

Find a relaxing, neutral place to spitball ideas. Did you love a location you saw in a movie? Have you always admired a certain culture? The first city we scouted for our move abroad was based on a walking tour I loved on the treadmill! While you’ll have to work out the practical details, there’s nothing wrong with embracing the fantasy of your future life.

Getting buy-in from family, friends, your therapist, your priest…

To be clear, not everyone you know should get a say in your move. Some people shouldn’t even get a postcard! For those you love and trust, this is a good stage to ease them into the idea of your move. It gives them time to get used to the idea and maybe even excited about the prospect of visiting!

Stage 2: Exploration

Goals: Vetting your countries, getting the real expat experience

It’s hard to beat Stage 2 for sheer enjoyment. It’s the moving abroad equivalent of tasting all the wedding cakes. You’ll test other countries and cities and meet other immigrants. We’ve seen it too many times—people moving to another country without even visiting! More often than not, they regret taking the leap. There’s no virtual substitute for touring a place and checking the vibes. Here’s what’s involved:

Taking scouting trips to your top destinations

The pace of your travel is a function of your own expat journey. If you’re moving in 10 years and choosing from 10 countries, you may want to visit one per year until you find your home. Or, you may choose to batch two or three countries by proximity and take deeper dives into cities once you’ve found your favorite nation. Do what works for your timing and budget.

It’s not a vacation, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun!

Planning your scouting trip is fundamentally different from planning a vacation: 1) Stay away from resorts and group trips. This kind of manufactured fun won’t help you predict how you’ll enjoy an average day. 2) Choose Airbnbs or other home rentals to get a feel for neighborhoods. 3) Take the mode of transportation you plan to rely on day-to-day. 4) Plan activities that match what you like to do at home. We visit movie theaters and book stores for my husband, who’s passionate about pop culture, and farmer’s markets and grocery stores for me, because I love to cook. 5) Run errands. Get a hair cut or have a dentist appointment. Refill a low-cost prescription!

Meet local expats to pick their brains and get feedback.

Get to know people by joining the Facebook groups and Subreddits we mentioned in Stage 1 to see if you have things in common with Americans who live there. When you’re on your scouting trips, find in-person events in your groups or search Facebook events and Meetup.com for the dates you’ll be there. Meeting local citizens can be more challenging for new expats, and your fellow immigrants can help make those introductions.

Stage 3: Planning

Goals: Identifying what you need to make your move and outlining plans to achieve it

As we mentioned, these stages aren’t necessarily linear, and Planning is one you’ve likely been working on along the way. Planning involves a number of steps that can inform what country you choose, especially as it relates to you budget and the type of visa you’ll apply for:

Creating a timeline for your move

You’ll base this on your budget, life stage, and your own sense of urgency. There’s no right timeline, only what’s right for you.

Choosing the right path to residency

Here are the primary visa options people take to getting a residence permit:

Skilled work visa/permit. This visa lets you work locally, and is based on your skills and experience and the country you choose. Many countries are recruiting nurses, skilled trades, and tech workers. Visa requirements often include an established job offer, but some countries, like Germany, have a job-seeker visa that lets you job hunt locally if you can support yourself. Every country has some version of a work permit.

Remote work visa. This visa lets you work remotely, and is sometimes called a digital nomad visa. You can usually work for yourself in a freelancer or e-commerce capacity or work for a corporation that’s not in the country. The important thing is that you’re not taking a local job. You’ll have to show a certain minimum level of monthly income, which varies by country. A growing number of countries offer this path.

Student visa. This visa lets you attend school at an approved educational institution. You’ll need to show your acceptance letter and sufficient funds to support yourself, usually at a student (“cheap”) cost of living.

Retirement visa. Sometimes called a non-lucrative visa, this path is for people who want to retire in a country. You’re not allowed to work locally, and there are retirement income requirements which you can meet with Social Security, pensions, 401ks, IRAs, or other investments. You can receive your Social Security payments in almost any country.

Investor visa. The requirements to secure an investor visa vary by country. Some offer it for sizable investments in business, local investment funds, or property. Others are available for much smaller amounts. Generally, countries that are English speaking like the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand have much higher investor visa requirements than countries that aren’t.

Family/ancestry. Some people take a route to residency or citizenship via family ties. Marriage is the most common, but people also look for citizenship by ancestry. Also called jus sanguinis (law of blood), it allows some descendants to claim citizenship in a country if their ancestors didn’t give up citizenship when they came to the United States and if those ancestors were sufficiently recent.

Temporary residency vs. permanent residency vs. citizenship

Some countries, like Mexico, don’t have dedicated digital nomad or retirement visa, but will allow you to move there as long as you show sufficient income. You’ll need to show more income to become a permanent resident at the outset, but you can also get temporary residency and exchange it for permanent residency in a few years. Most places have a path to citizenship by naturalization once you establish residency, but even without a second passport, you can enjoy a nice life abroad.

Applying as a refugee

Very few Americans have qualified in the past for asylum or refugee status. If you would like to pursue this path, visit UNHCR.org.

Estimating a budget

Some of the immigration expenses you’ll want to plan for include one-time costs, like an immigration attorney, moving expenses, rental deposits, and pet relocation. Others will be ongoing, including rent, transportation, utilities, health insurance, medical expenses, and food. You can use tools like Numbeo, Expatistan, and your local Facebook groups to get a feel for how much you’ll need.

Stage 4: Paperwork

Goals: Getting there legally in the way that best meets your long-term goals

We’re not going to pretend like this is anyone’s favorite stage. Bureaucracy and red tape are no one’s idea of a good time. The good news is that once you make it to Stage 4, you’ll well on your way to making it happen! Here are some of the steps you’ll take:

Applying for residency/visa/citizenship

In some countries, you’ll need to use a local attorney for immigration services, while in others, you can apply on your own at your nearest consulate.

More paperwork

• Enrolling kids in schools
• Opening international bank account(s)
• Applying for medical insurance/universal healthcare
• Planning for a car:
  • Driver’s license
  • Insurance
  • Learn about buying vs. bringing your car
• Bringing your pet:
  • Quarantining protocols
  • Shots & checkups
• Understanding your tax liability

Stage 5: Logistics

Goals: Getting everyone there safely and sanely, making the right trade-offs for you in terms of budget and effort

We’re really down to brass tacks at this stage! You’re doing the physical work and making the last decisions on your way to your new home.

If you own a home, decide whether to sell or rent it

We like the idea of maintaining your home for a while as an Airbnb or other short-term rental. There are at least three benefits: 1) You can keep your belongings in the home and give yourself more time to make decisions about what to keep, sell, donate, or move, 2) You can sleep in your own bed on trips back to the U.S., and 3) You’ll have a safety net in case things don’t work out in your new country.

Decide what else to sell, donate, or move, and create relocation plans for your belongings, yourself, and your pets

As far as furniture and things, it may be easier and less expensive to refurnish. Think of your move as an opportunity to simplify your life. You can hire international movers or use tricks of the trade, like packing extra luggage by flying first class or shipping things in 55-gallon drums.

Your pets may be the most difficult to move. If you’re flying, small pets can join you in the cabin as your carry-on. You’ll need one human per carrier, and pets must fit comfortably. Airlines allow a limited number of pets per flight, so reserve early. If your pet is larger, it will have to fly in cargo. There is an air-conditioned cargo space for pets, but we’ve heard terrible stories about pets flying this way, so it’s not for us. One alternative is to hire pet relocation services, who will accompany your pet in the space, and another is to split a chartered flight. Both are pricy options. People immigrating to Europe can take an ocean liner like the Queen Mary 2. Finally, some countries are within driving distance.

Gather medical records and find doctors and vets

Use our Expat Healthcare Planner to get healthcare established in many popular expat countries.

Identify trusted realtors, home finders, and attorneys, and find a place to rent

Some countries have wildly unregulated real estate markets that take “let the buyer beware” to the extreme. Your Facebook groups will be invaluable here. Find partners you can trust, and take your time finding a place to rent. We recommend staying in a short-term rental while you find your home. Visit potential neighborhoods at different times of day and on different days of the week to make sure you don’t end up in an untenable situation for noise or construction. We strongly recommend you do not buy or build a home until you’ve spent at least a year in your new country.

Establish utilities

If you’re on a tight budget, be sure you know what to expect for billing.

Stage 6: Settling In

Goals: Living your best life!

You made it! First and foremost, take some time to relax and learn your way around. Be gentle with yourself—everything is new and different. Once you’re ready, you’ll have these steps waiting for you:

Learn the language if you haven’t already

Even if you’ve been practicing all along, being immersed will speed up your learning curve. (Join us to learn Spanish on TikTok Saturdays at 3pm Eastern).

Socialize with locals and other immigrants

Speaking of learning the language, in-person classes are a great way to expand your knowledge and meet other foreigners.

Learn your way around

I’m so impressed with everyone who moved to a new country before Google maps and smartphones. Enjoy exploring and finding new spots for everything you need.

Become a local

Now’s your chance to soak in your new local culture and live well. You’ve earned it! Take a cooking class in your new cuisine, join a history tour, or take in a local museum or sporting event. Sample local food, wine, holiday rituals, and music. Celebrate your new country and the people in it, make new friends, and enjoy your new life.