Where are Americans heading for work?

Not long ago, Axios reported that “The American dream for some is leaving the U.S.” Only 36% of survey participants felt the American dream still holds true, whereas in 2012 and 2016 that was 53% and 48% respectively. They shared that many Americans were flocking out of the country to get a better work-life balance, greater flexibility and more affordability. Additional insights were that the enormous wealth gap is a primary reason for leaving, and that women were often more pessimistic than men about their perspectives on success.

On top of this is a recent report from CNBC, sharing results from a survey from Deel, called “The State of Global Hiring Report”. That report claims that the number of American workers hired by international companies grew 62% last year. It seems that in 2023, EMEA and APAC were the fasting growing hiring regions and that talent from North America was getting tapped the most. With remote work becoming more available and more “normal”, people are able to consider where they want to live and take the job with them. They can now ask themselves, “Where can I live my best life”?  

So, what are the most appealing places for remote workers? Here are the top seven countries where Americans are trying to move abroad, based on the number of visa requests being sent through Deel’s immigration and visa support feature:

1. Portugal
2. Spain
3. United Kingdom
4. United Arab Emirates
5. Canada
6. Germany
7. France

As beautifully summarized at the end of the Axios article, “It remains the case that many more people are seeking to move to the U.S. than away from it. But for younger generations of Americans, the world beyond the U.S. has grown more easily accessible and perhaps more appealing.” 

Looking more closely into younger American perspectives, CNBC shared that 25% of Gen Zers  say they’d move abroad for better social programs, like universal health care, making it their main reason for wanting to live overseas. Additional reasons were wanting a cultural experience, the high cost of living in the U.S., gun violence, and disliking the American political environment. The top 10 countries that they want to move to include:

1. United Kingdom
2. Canada
3. Japan
4. Netherlands
5. Singapore
6. Australia
7. Switzerland
8. Italy
9. Germany
10. Ireland

Over one-third would leave the U.S. indefinitely and another third said they would be gone for 1 to 3 years.