In case you did not know, last year marked the first time in 90 years that more people moved out of the US than moved in – yup, that’s right, Americans are leaving the country in record numbers.
Considering this startling stat, we asked those who’ve made the move to share a bit about what led them to leave and their honest thoughts about the US right now, living at a distance.
Here’s what they had to say:
1.
“I left the US in 2014. While this was before Trump moved into the Oval Office, I was already ready to leave much of what he represents. After 30 years in Texas, I felt unsafe and unwelcome amid fundamentalist Christianity, misogyny, rigid conservative politics, and men who felt entitled to a woman simply because they were attracted to her. The fallout from a bad marriage also derailed the PhD I had begun long before meeting him.”
(Cont’d) “After moving abroad, my social life, career, love life, and understanding of myself and the world all improved. I left behind what had always held me back. I’m horrified by the state-sanctioned rhetoric, hate, and violence that the Trump era ushered in. Just when it seems it can’t get worse, it does. The bar is in hell. As a student of history, I’ve long understood that US prosperity and power were built through systemic exclusion and exploitation. Now that reality is too stark to ignore. People outside the US often want to talk politics with me, usually in good faith. They understand that we are not our government and that many Americans did not vote for Trump (I’m a dedicated overseas voter and spent several years volunteering to help Americans abroad learn how to vote in their respective states). But they are deeply concerned by how quickly Trump — and those enabling him — are making the world more dangerous.”
—56, Female, The Netherlands
2.
“I have dual US-UK nationality. I was born in California and have been a UK Citizen for 25 years. Living in the US, I developed an autoimmune condition that requires a drug that costs $56,000 a year and is not covered by Medicare. I receive all my medical care and prescriptions for FREE in the UK (I was a high earner tax payer in the UK for 16 years). I also receive free tube/train/bus travel within London. No MAGA here. Big win!”
3.
“I moved to Canada from Michigan in 1977 with my newly acquired master’s degree. Through the years, I always identified as an American. Being directly on the border made it easy for weekly visits to my family in the States, and that reinforced my American identity. Through the years, I saw how Canada was always there for the USA… through 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. It was like a brotherhood. All that changed with Trump. His insulting treatment of Canada, his outright lies, his criminality, his misogynistic and racist attitudes, his disrespect of the Constitution, and the complicity of the Republicans in letting him do it.”
(Cont’d) “I, like many Canadians, asked: ‘How could Americans elect such a person?’ I’m embarrassed to even identify as an American. I now have my Canadian citizenship, and I now identify as a Canadian. Though I still file taxes and vote federally in the US, I no longer support US businesses or travel to the US. I, like many Canadians, will continue this US ‘boycott’ until Trump is gone, along with MAGA and the groveling Republicans. I AM CANADIAN AND PROUD OF IT!!!!!”
—71, Male, Ontario, Canada (near the US border)
4.
“I’m a Canadian and a Brit (dual citizenship), but I lived in the US three times. Three of the best years of my life were lived in the US. It is a shame that, outside of the US, we only see the horrible stuff (Nixon in the ’60s and ’70s; Reagan and Bush I in the ’80s; Bush II in the noughties and now Trumpy-dump).”
(Cont’d) “Despite all that, there are a lot of really decent people in America. I lived in California (Oakland), Pittsburgh, PA, and Bloomington, IA. I loved all three of those cities. However, things have gotten so crazy down there that I have no desire to even visit these days. I suspect I would be lynched the moment I opened my mouth. Americans have become so intolerant, or so it seems. Every so often, up here, I bump into an American visiting, and they are as nice and friendly as I remember them being when I lived there.”
“I tell them that, as a Canadian, I would gladly welcome the sensible Americans if they get so fed up with the MAGAbozo crowd that they feel they can no longer live with the rest of the country.”
—Male, Canada
5.
“I left a few years ago after Biden was elected, but before Trump 2.0. I was pretty politically active when I still lived in the US. I never thought it was perfect, but I truly loved my country and valued being part of the process. Then I traveled a bit and realized that Americans just do not see that things do not have to be the way they are there. A lot of what the US sees as ‘freedom’ is just toxic and makes life so much more difficult than it has to be. So much of the world prioritizes quality of life, healthcare, environmental protection, convenient voting, affordable childcare, etc. It’s a better way of living that I am proud to be part of. When this second term started, I felt guilty that I wasn’t there doing something to stand up to everything that was happening. Things are so far gone now, though, that I’m honestly just glad that I’m not there. I don’t even recognize it anymore, let alone miss it.”
6.
“I left the US in 1983 to follow the man I loved (a German). Since then, I have never felt any regret. I have continued to vote in elections; I’m registered to vote in Texas. The morning Trump was elected to his second term as president, I was in Texas. When I heard the election results, I thanked all my lucky stars that I am a dual national and could return home to The Netherlands. The US of today is nothing like the country I left more than forty years ago. It makes me sad and also disgusted that this is so.”
—74, Female, The Netherlands
7.
“I moved abroad in November 2025. I had been wanting to do it for years, but Trump getting back into office was really what was the catalyst for me to get it done. I’m honestly ashamed at what is going on in the USA now. Things were bad before I left, but they’ve gotten so much worse in just four months. It’s just distressing to see happen from afar. Now that I’m out, I’m never moving back, and I’m trying to encourage all my friends to leave, too. The blatant disregard for the rule of law and the dictatorship that is happening in the US is frightening to watch.”
(Cont’d) “I feel like a refugee in many ways. Fortunately, people here have all been very sympathetic and understanding of why I left. I almost don’t have to tell them why I moved. Life is much calmer here, and my body is slowly healing from all the years of trauma I endured by living in the US. Not to mention better food quality, better healthcare, and no ICE raids. The US is a developing country in comparison, and a huge scam. Get out while you can, folks!”
—41, Male, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
8.
“After graduate school, I married a classmate from Thailand. She has strong family ties. So, we bounced between the US and Thailand. I’ve lived in Thailand for 22 of the last 37 years. My latest stay in the country started in 2011 and continues to the present. I am a retired university lecturer in engineering. My honest thought is that the US is experiencing a period of national psychosis. Before 2016, when my favored party was ousted from leading the state or federal government, I felt that things might be a little (or a lot) different, but we’d be OK. Now, I fear for the country and its future.”
(Cont’d) “The last three presidencies had negative impacts on the US and its position in the world community. I read about the domestic situation in the US and am shocked by how the government is targeting some of its people, and the Epstein matter. The feeling in Southeast Asia is that the US is no longer a reliable economic and military partner. China sits quietly, reinforcing this view and benefiting from it. Thai exporters are upset because shipping to Europe and West Asia has been disrupted, stalling their factories. Other parts of the business community are facing rising energy prices and fertilizer shortages.”
(Cont’d) “This is going to be a very rough year for Thai farmers, and eventually, Thai people. The expat community is split over this issue. Some of us were drawn to Thailand. We willingly changed our lives to be here. We still love the west and want it to do well, but are not at all supportive of the US’s domestic and foreign policy. Other expats were not doing well in their home countries and came here seeking something better. They’ve experienced the difficulties of being an expat and blame the west for putting them through this. They are genuinely happy about the troubles and chaos caused by the current state of affairs. The world will be very different in the next 2-5 years. I don’t know if this will be for the better or worse. The US will never be insignificant, but I don’t see it ever recovering its global leadership role.”
9.
“I feel like we escaped! My family and I are US citizens and left the States in late 2025 on the Netherlands’ DAFT (Dutch-American Friendship Treaty) visa. The country I grew up in is not what the US is today, and I am so shocked and terrified about how brainwashed and radicalized many Americans have become. It was amazing to arrive here and have a week where I didn’t hear about Trump once. The move was hard, but I have already found a (growing) community of other American expats who fled here for similar reasons. It took two months for me to stop hearing loud bangs and not automatically assume they were gunshots. I felt like I was being eaten alive by constant consumerism and a never-ending work culture. I eat so much healthier, and living car-free is amazing. Life feels better here, and I don’t know if we will ever return to the US.”
And lastly:
10.
“I left for Mexico in 2015, for a new and more fun life teaching English. Then, in 2019, I moved to Ecuador to start exploring the Andes. I had many reasons to leave the US: adventure, the cost of living is so much cheaper down south, people are much more relaxed, and since Trump appeared around 2016, the downward spiral in the US has accelerated. It’s very sad! Life certainly has its share of problems down here, too; in a way, you trade one set of problems for another. Still, I have no intention of going back, especially given how things are now. I want the US to succeed, to go forward, to accept diversity, and learn to vote for people that actually care about bettering people’s lives.”
If you used to live in the US, let us know in the comments or at this anonymous form why you left, and your honest thoughts about what’s going on in the country right now.
Note: Some responses throughout have been edited for length and/or clarity.
