More Americans Move Abroad Citing Cost of Living and School Safety

Americans are moving abroad in larger numbers, citing the high cost of living, political divisions, and school safety concerns as primary reasons. A Wall Street Journal analysis of 15 countries found at least 180,000 Americans left the U.S. in 2025.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program estimated 3.3 million U.S. citizens lived abroad in 2024, a 15 percent increase from 2010. The Association of Americans Overseas placed the 2024 figure at 5.5 million, up from 5.4 million the prior year.

Reagan and his wife moved their family from Maine to Europe in 2016 after finding childcare, formula, and other necessities increasingly expensive. They purchased a home in Abruzzo, Italy, for €24,000, or about $27,000. Reagan, who works in sales, said the family had achieved the American Dream of a house and neighborhood but could no longer afford daily expenses with children.

Financial advisor Alex Ingrim, who lives in Florence, Italy, said his clients increasingly include families in their late 30s and early 40s seeking lower costs.

Reagan cited the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a turning point that prompted the family to leave. He said the lack of change in U.S. gun policy made him view continued residence as untenable for raising children. Ingrim said safety concerns rank among the most common reasons families cite for relocating.

Clients want assurance that children will return home safely from school each day. Portugal’s Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum data showed roughly 26,000 U.S. citizens lived there last year.

Ingrim said social media and online resources have encouraged younger Americans, particularly those burned out from tech-sector work on the West Coast, to move abroad. Reagan maintains Instagram and Facebook accounts documenting his family’s life in Italy and receives frequent inquiries from other Americans considering relocation.