Seeking Cheaper Housing, Americans Are Moving to Europe The expat lifestyle is becoming more than a TikTok trend.
By Gabrielle Bienasz •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Americans are relocating to Europe in greater numbers than in years past, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
With the dollar strong against the Euro, an intense housing market, and a tumultuous political environment, U.S. residents are moving to France, Spain, and Portugal, the story added.
One woman, Stephanie Synclair, told the outlet she struggled to afford to buy a home in Atlanta, even with $300,000 in cash in her pocket — so, instead, she bought two homes in Italy and a storefront, for 60,000 Euros in April.
"I would never have looked to buy in Italy if the market in the US hadn't been so crazy," Synclair said.
There's data to back it up. Sotheby's International Realty told Bloomberg that American inquiries about moving to Greece are up by 40% compared to April-June 2021 — and that Americans contributed 12% of their Italy-based revenue in Q1 2022. Last year, that number was 5%.
Moving abroad can be tricky, but in some ways, it's gotten easier in the remote work era. Countries like Iceland, Portugal, and Antigua, for example, will let workers live there for one or even two years, pending approval from various programs according to Insider.
You can also buy a property or invest a certain amount of money in a country to get a "golden visa." Interest in these programs tends to increase when things are unsettled in the U.S., Murat Coskun, managing partner of Get Golden Visa, told Fortune.
On TikTok, inspired issues like gun violence and healthcare access are discussed widely on tags like "expat," and have billions of views.
There's also a wealth of advice out there for entrepreneurs who seek to move abroad.
Jamie Dixon, remote worker and mom of one, told Bloomberg that part of the reason she moved to Portugal with her family last year was because of anxiety over crime and politics.
"Violence has gone up so much in the US," she told the outlet. "I wanted to give my kid a normal childhood.
