The Dream Of Starting Somewhere Else
For plenty of Americans, living overseas is more than a vacation fantasy. A 2025 Harris Poll survey found that 52% of Americans believed they could enjoy a higher quality of life abroad, while 49% of those who had considered moving cited lower costs as a reason. When respondents considering a move were asked where they might go, ten countries stood above the rest.
Canada Is The First Place Americans Name
Canada ranked first in the Harris Poll's list of countries Americans considering expatriation would most consider moving to. A separate 2025 Talker Research survey of 2,000 American adults reached a similar conclusion, with Canada receiving the most interest at 19%. Geography surely makes imagining the move easier, but actually becoming a Canadian resident involves an immigration process rather than simply crossing the border.
Canada's Appeal Goes Beyond Being Nearby
Talker Research asked prospective movers what attracted them to Canada, and 41% of those interested in the country cited its health care. Another 28% mentioned its landscape and opportunities for exploration, while 21% pointed to work-life balance. Those answers suggest that Canada appeals partly because Americans imagine getting something different without moving to the other side of the planet.
Canada Still Makes You Qualify
Having plenty of money would remove one hurdle, but it would not automatically produce Canadian permanent residence. Canada's government lists multiple routes, including Express Entry for skilled workers, provincial programs, regional programs, family sponsorship, and programs for certain entrepreneurs and investors. Express Entry candidates who qualify enter a pool where they receive scores, and the government invites selected candidates to apply for permanent residence.
Britain Comes Right Behind Canada
The United Kingdom placed second in the Harris Poll ranking, giving English-speaking countries the first two positions. Britain offers Americans a combination that is difficult to reproduce elsewhere, including a shared language alongside a distinctly different history and culture. Talker Research separately found England among respondents' most desired destinations, with culture, history, landscape, and health care cited as attractions.
Moving To Britain Requires More Than A Plane Ticket
Americans who want to work in Britain cannot simply arrive and decide to stay permanently. One major route, the Skilled Worker visa, requires an eligible job with an approved UK employer, a certificate of sponsorship, and compliance with applicable salary requirements. The visa can last for as long as five years, after which qualifying residents may be able to apply for permanent settlement.
Australia Keeps The English-Speaking Dream Going
Australia took third place in the Harris Poll, making the top three Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Talker Research also found Australia among Americans' most desired overseas destinations. Its distance from the United States makes it a much bigger geographical leap than Canada, but money being no object makes that distance considerably less intimidating.
Australia Wants Particular Kinds Of Newcomers
Australia maintains numerous skilled migration routes rather than providing automatic residence to financially comfortable Americans. Its SkillSelect system allows skilled workers to express interest in several visa categories, including the Skilled Independent, Skilled Nominated, and Skilled Work Regional visas. Applicants provide information about their qualifications and experience before potentially receiving an invitation to apply.
France Is America's Favorite Non-English-Speaking Choice
France came fourth in the Harris Poll and was the highest-ranked country where English is not the dominant national language. That puts it ahead of Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and Germany among the survey's prospective American movers. The attraction fits a familiar American vision of European life, but settling in France requires more paperwork than spending a summer in Paris.
France Actually Has An Option For Nonworkers
Money really can make the French dream somewhat easier. France requires Americans planning to stay longer than 90 days to obtain the appropriate long-stay status, but a long-stay visitor visa exists for people staying for private reasons without working. Applicants must demonstrate resources, accommodation, and medical coverage and formally agree not to undertake professional activity during the stay.
Italy Has The Lifestyle Americans Imagine
Italy placed fifth in the Harris Poll, but another survey suggested its pull may be even stronger. Talker Research put Italy second among its respondents' preferred destinations, behind only Canada. Among people attracted to Italy in that survey, 68% mentioned the food, 66% the culture and people, and 40% the scenery and terrain.
Wealth Makes One Italian Visa Especially Interesting
Italy offers an elective residence visa aimed at people who can support themselves without employment. Italian consular guidance says applicants must demonstrate substantial, stable resources and suitable accommodation, and recipients cannot undertake paid work in Italy. This makes the route particularly relevant to the article's money-is-no-object scenario, although having money does not eliminate the formal application requirements.
Japan Breaks The European Pattern
Japan placed sixth in the Harris Poll, making it the highest-ranked Asian country on the list. Its appearance is notable because the leading choices otherwise lean heavily toward Europe and English-speaking countries. For an American who truly wanted a dramatic change in surroundings, Japan would provide considerably more cultural and linguistic distance than Canada or Britain.
Japan Offers Wealthy Visitors A Curious Option
Japan has a special long-stay program for sightseeing and recreation that fits the money-no-object premise remarkably well. Eligible citizens of visa-waiver countries who are at least 18 can qualify if they meet a savings requirement of more than 30 million yen, with an initial stay of six months and a possible extension that can bring the total to one year. It is a long-stay arrangement rather than an automatic route to permanent immigration.
Working In Japan Is A Different Matter
Someone planning to build a career in Japan needs status that permits the appropriate work. Japan lists separate working categories for professions including engineering, international services, research, teaching, medicine, journalism, management, and other occupations. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs says people planning to work for remuneration or remain longer than 90 days should generally obtain the appropriate long-term status rather than rely on visitor entry.
Mexico Offers The Shortest Leap Into A Different Culture
Mexico ranked seventh in the Harris Poll, making it the highest-ranked Latin American country. Its proximity to the United States gives prospective movers the possibility of a major lifestyle change while remaining relatively close to home. It also offers a formal temporary residence option that can accommodate foreigners who satisfy its requirements.
Mexico's Temporary Residency Can Last Years
Mexico's temporary resident visa is intended for foreigners who plan to remain longer than 180 days but no more than four years. Applicants using the economic-solvency route must provide documentation demonstrating sufficient financial means. That means substantial finances can be genuinely useful in making the dream possible, although applicants still have to satisfy Mexico's immigration requirements.
Spain Comes With Sun And Serious Appeal
Spain placed eighth in the Harris Poll's top ten, while Expatsi's 2024 report said it was the second-most requested country among users of its relocation service, behind Portugal. The attraction is supported by the experiences of people already living abroad. InterNations' 2025 survey placed Spain first in its Quality of Life Index among 46 destinations.
Expats Give Spain High Marks
InterNations found Spain performing particularly well for leisure, health care, travel and transit, and environment and climate. Those results do not mean every newcomer will love living there, since expat surveys reflect the experiences of their particular respondents. Still, they help explain why the idea of turning a Spanish vacation into a permanent lifestyle can be so appealing.
Spain Has A Visa Tailor-Made For Financial Independence
Spain offers a non-working residence visa for people with sufficient guaranteed financial means who want to reside in the country without undertaking professional activity. The visa is explicitly not a work permit, and applicants must document that they meet its requirements. In other words, being financially independent can create an immigration option that is unavailable to someone who needs to immediately earn a local salary.
Germany Makes The American Top Ten Too
Germany ranked ninth in the Harris Poll and also appeared among Talker Research's leading destinations. It offers something different from the Mediterranean lifestyle associated with France, Italy, and Spain, especially for people thinking about employment rather than retirement. Germany has also developed a specific route allowing some qualified foreigners to enter while looking for work.
Germany Lets Some Skilled Workers Job Hunt In Person
Germany's Opportunity Card is designed for qualified people who want to search for employment in the country. Applicants can qualify as recognized skilled workers or through a points-based system, subject to the program's requirements. That makes Germany unusual on this list because certain eligible newcomers do not necessarily need to secure their German job before arriving to begin the search.
New Zealand Completes The Top Ten
New Zealand took tenth place in the Harris Poll ranking. It combines an English-speaking environment with the experience of living far from North America, making it a more dramatic move than crossing into Canada. The country may look effortless in photographs, but permanent residence still depends on qualifying under New Zealand's immigration system.
New Zealand Puts Skills Ahead Of A Big Bank Account
New Zealand's Skilled Migrant Category provides residence pathways for people whose skills and employment meet its requirements. Current rules require applicants to be 55 or younger, have a qualifying skilled job or job offer from an accredited employer, and satisfy requirements involving health, character, and English. Successful applicants can live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely.
Muhammad Faiz Zulkeflee, Unsplash
Portugal Is The Country That Almost Has To Be Mentioned
Portugal did not make the Harris Poll's top ten, but other research shows why it belongs in the wider conversation about Americans dreaming of life abroad. Expatsi's 2024 report said Portugal was the most requested country among its users, followed by Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. The same report's recommendation system also placed Portugal first based on users' answers and public data about issues including budget, visas, languages, and health care.
Money Is Only Part Of The Fantasy
The Harris Poll found affordability was a major concern for Americans considering life overseas, with 86% identifying a more affordable cost of living as important. Yet money cannot eliminate language barriers, immigration rules, distance from family, taxes, bureaucracy, or the work of building a social life somewhere new. InterNations' surveys repeatedly show that destinations that look attractive on paper can score very differently once expats judge finances, administration, housing, work, and ease of settling in.
Dream Destinations And Real Life Are Not The Same
One of the most interesting contrasts is Canada, which Americans put first in the Harris Poll but which ranked 40th of 46 destinations in InterNations' 2025 survey of people actually living abroad. InterNations respondents in Canada reported particular dissatisfaction with personal finances and living and housing costs. That does not make Canada a bad choice, but it demonstrates the gap between imagining life somewhere and experiencing its everyday realities.
The Fantasy Says Plenty About What Americans Want
Canada, Britain, Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Germany, and New Zealand offer radically different versions of life abroad. Their presence on Americans' wish lists suggests there is no single expatriate dream, with respondents gravitating toward everything from familiar English-speaking countries to Mediterranean Europe and East Asia. If money truly were no object, the harder question might not be whether an American could afford to leave, but which version of a new life would actually feel like home.
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