Americans Are Surprisingly Leaving The U.S. In Big Numbers

The American Dream has a new contingency plan, it used to come with a ZIP code now it might come with a passport. In lieu of a sudden exodus, millions of Americans are in a situation where they are quietly asking whether their future might work better somewhere else. Nearly 2 in 3 Gen Z Americans (63%) said they’ve considered moving out of the U.S. within the next two years and that was in 2025. Among Millennials, it’s 52% and even 35% of Gen X and 26% of Boomers are thinking about it. 

That’s not fringe behavior rather a mainstream contemplation of collective consciousness and for many, this isn’t hypothetical anymore. 19% of Gen Z and Millennials say they’ve seriously considered leaving. 6% of Gen Z and 8% of Millennials are actively planning a move. The generational contrast is stark. While just 37% of Gen Z say they haven’t considered leaving at all, that figure jumps to 74% among Boomers. 

Since 2017, the desire to move permanently abroad has become deeply partisan. In 2025, 29% of Americans who disapprove of national leadership say they would like to leave the country for good. Among those who approve, just 4% say the same.  

In 2025, the notion of emigration went from “what if” to “what now.” Americans weren’t just contemplating on that idea anymore, they turned it into action. At least 180,000 Americans moved abroad, and it was enough to push U.S. net migration negative for the first time since 1935.  

Nearly every EU country now hosts a record number of Americans. About 10,000 moved to Ireland and in Paris, luxury home sales jumped 25%, with U.S. buyers mostly being responsible for the surge. For a growing number of Americans, the exit plan has already cleared customs.  

The ripple effects are now palpable and its stretching far beyond airport departure boards. In Portugal, the American population didn’t just tick up; it ballooned from 4,768 in 2020 to 26,000 in 2025. That’s a fivefold jump in half a decade, and it’s mainly concentrated in cities like Lisbon where English is increasingly common across the Atlantic. Applications from Americans for British citizenship climbed to a record 8,790 last year 42% higher than the previous peak in 2024.  The American Dream hasn’t vanished but for millions, it now comes with international shipping.