Why are Americans fleeing their homeland?

For the first time in at least 50 years more people have moved out of the United States then moved in. Is politics and Donald Trump mostly to blame or is some other dynamic at play?

Last year, the US witnessed something that hasn’t occurred since before the Second World War – more people have left the country than moved in. And the bulk of the departures are not merely illegal migrants being politely shown the exit. Despite the high cost and emotional toll of digging up roots and leaving the country, an increasing number of homegrown Americans – for a wide variety of reasons – are making such a radical decision.

An estimated four to nine million Americans live abroad, with recent data showing a surge in voluntary emigration and an estimated 180,000+ US citizens relocating overseas in 2025 – a trend that is continuing to rise. For the first time in decades, the US experienced net negative migration. This recent wave of outward migration is driven by a mix of economic pressures, the rise of remote work, and shifting social and political climates. Some of the popular destinations include: Mexico, Spain, Germany and Thailand.

According to an interview with Expatsi co-founder Jen Barnett by CNBC Make It, “[A] majority of Americans, 89%, said they want to leave the US for political reasons. Others point to an opportunity for adventure and growth (73%), as well as a chance to save money (57%). Roughly two-thirds of respondents hope to move within two years, they have an average monthly budget of $3,856 to work with, and hopeful movers are split among 44% individuals, 39% couples and 17% families with kids.”

Some expatriates took their cue to leave from the high number of celebrities who have said their goodbyes to life in the US, or have at least received dual citizenship and an address abroad. Here is a short list of those celebrities.

Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi: The former talk show host and her wife relocated to a farmhouse in the Cotswolds, England, stating on Deadline that Trump’s re-election cemented their permanent move out of the country.

Rosie O’Donnell: A longtime critic of Trump, O’Donnell relocated her family to Ireland, citing the need to prioritize her children’s safety and her own mental health.

Sophie Turner: The Game of Thrones actress returned to West London from Miami, citing rising gun violence and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “America is a s-show,” she told Deadline, without delving into specifics about president Donald Trump.

James Cameron: The Avatar director, who has long been based in New Zealand, actively pursued New Zealand citizenship, citing political shifts that have “hollowed out” the US.

Meanwhile, many Americans have opted not only to live abroad, but to surrender their American citizenship altogether. The State Department cut the renunciation fee significantly from $2,350 to $450, prompting thousands of expatriates to queue at US consulates globally to finalize their exit plans.

Nearly 5,000 American citizens took that option in 2024, according to data from Boundless, a travel company that provides immigration services to individuals and families. Newsweek quoted the agency, reporting that the number “was up from 2,426 in 2021, and from the roughly 200-400 reported each year before 2009.”

I spoke with Mark Riley, an American from North Carolina who recently moved to Moscow together with his four children and wife, for his reasons in making the big jump abroad.

“I am a graphic designer and I can do my job practically anywhere,” Riley told me over drinks in the heart of Moscow. “One day I was watching a television program about the rise of transgender lifestyles in the United States and that’s when the idea first popped into my head. I asked my wife why we were staying in a country that no longer shares our political and religious views. Six months later my family and I were boarding a one-way airplane to Russia.”

When I asked him if he ever regrets his decision Riley laughed and said yes, but “only in the wintertime.”

In the end, what has Americans on the run is not just the current president and his politics – that’s basically just a bad news cycle at this point. They are fleeing a deeper sense of national exhaustion – rising costs, social fragmentation, cultural alienation, and yes, all the political hysteria. All of these combine into a feeling that the country no longer offers either stability or a shared moral center.

For some, the move abroad is an economic decision; for others, it is ideological or spiritual. But taken together, this outward flow is a clear message: millions of Americans are no longer asking how to fix their country, but how to escape it. That may be the clearest sign yet that the American crisis has moved beyond politics – it has grown to be civilizational.