The Expat Dream Is Having A Moment
Ask Americans where they’d move if money were no obstacle, and the answers say a lot about what people crave: calmer politics, better healthcare, more vacation days, cheaper living, and, yes, better pastries. Recent surveys show the “someday” move abroad is starting to feel less like fantasy and more like a backup plan.
Canada
Canada is the runaway favorite, and it makes sense. It’s close, familiar, beautiful, and comes with a reputation for healthcare, safety, and work-life balance. For many Americans, Canada feels like moving abroad without needing to totally reinvent daily life.
John Vetterli, Wikimedia Commons
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom offers an easy soft landing: shared language, deep history, cozy pubs, and enough castles to make errands feel cinematic. Surveys place it near the top, especially for Americans who want Europe without tackling a new language on day one.
Arne Museler, Wikimedia Commons
Australia
Australia ranks high because it feels adventurous but not impossible. Americans picture beaches, sunshine, wildlife, laid-back cities, and a healthier work-life rhythm. The distance is dramatic, but so is the reward: a whole new hemisphere with familiar language and big-sky energy.
Ardash Muradian from Australia, Wikimedia Commons
France
France has the dream baked in: long lunches, beautiful villages, stylish cities, and a slower relationship with time. Americans drawn to France often aren’t just choosing a country; they’re choosing a mood. Think fresh bread, walkable streets, and weekends that actually feel like weekends.
David McSpadden from Daly City, United States, Wikimedia Commons
Italy
Italy is the emotional pick. In Talker Research’s poll, Italy ranked second, with cuisine and culture among its biggest draws. That tracks. If money truly didn’t matter, plenty of Americans would happily relocate to a place where dinner can last three hours and nobody apologizes for it.
Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands, Wikimedia Commons
Japan
Japan has huge pull with younger Americans, especially those drawn to design, food, transit, safety, and pop culture. Gallup found Japan tied with Italy and New Zealand behind Canada among younger American women’s preferred destinations. It’s practical, fascinating, and endlessly photogenic.
Mexico
Mexico is already home to many Americans abroad, and its appeal is obvious: proximity, warmth, food, culture, and more affordable daily living in many areas. From Mexico City to Mérida to beach towns, it offers variety without cutting the cord completely.
Spain
Spain checks nearly every fantasy box: late dinners, sunny plazas, beaches, art, and a pace of life that seems allergic to burnout. It also shows up in relocation interest because it offers Europe with warmth, social life, and a more relaxed everyday rhythm.
frank muller, Wikimedia Commons
Germany
Germany appeals to the practical dreamer. It has strong infrastructure, efficient transit, good public services, and cities that balance culture with order. For Americans craving stability, walkability, and a life where trains are more than decorative, Germany makes a strong case.
Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, Wikimedia Commons
New Zealand
New Zealand is the “disappear somewhere beautiful” answer. Gallup found it among the top preferred destinations for younger American women who want to leave. It offers dramatic landscapes, English-speaking ease, outdoor living, and the feeling of being very far from the noise.
Ireland
Ireland has charm in ridiculous quantities: green hills, literary history, friendly pubs, and a familiar language wrapped in a very different culture. Monmouth found Ireland among Americans’ top overseas wish-list destinations, and as a relocation fantasy, it feels warm, social, and storybook-like.
Giuseppe Milo from Dublin, Ireland, Wikimedia Commons
Switzerland
Switzerland is what happens when “money is no object” enters the chat. It’s expensive, yes, but also clean, safe, organized, and absurdly scenic. For Americans dreaming of mountain trains, chocolate, lakes, and precision-level public services, Switzerland is a polished fantasy.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a long-running favorite for Americans chasing sunshine, nature, and a gentler pace. It showed up in Talker’s top relocation picks, helped by its beaches, biodiversity, and “pura vida” reputation. It’s the kind of place that makes stress feel optional.
Portugal
Portugal is a modern expat darling, even when it doesn’t top every U.S. poll. Americans are drawn to its coastline, food, historic cities, and comparatively approachable lifestyle. Lisbon and Porto have become shorthand for a life with sunshine, cafés, and better balance.
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Luis Ascenso, Wikimedia Commons
Netherlands
The Netherlands appeals to Americans who secretly want to bike everywhere and live in a postcard. It offers canals, efficient cities, strong English fluency, and a culture built around practicality. For people tired of car-dependent life, Dutch daily living can feel revolutionary.
Sweden
Sweden’s appeal is less flashy but deeply tempting: clean cities, nature, parental leave, design, and a culture that takes downtime seriously. Americans who choose Sweden in the imagination are often choosing calm, fairness, and the possibility of living somewhere that feels thoughtfully built.
Tony Webster from Portland, Oregon, United States, Wikimedia Commons
Denmark
Denmark has mastered the art of making ordinary life look enviable. Cozy interiors, bike lanes, public trust, and excellent pastries are a powerful combination. For Americans chasing happiness rankings and low-drama living, Denmark is the sleek, candlelit version of the dream.
Jorge Lascar from Melbourne, Australia, Wikimedia Commons
Norway
Norway is for the outdoor romantic with a practical streak. Fjords, mountains, safety, and strong social systems make it a natural fantasy destination. It’s not cheap, but this whole question removes money from the equation, which gives Norway a very unfair advantage.
Greece
Greece appears in American travel wish lists, and it is easy to see why it becomes a relocation fantasy. Islands, history, blue water, olive oil, and sunshine do a lot of persuasive work. It’s the “what if life looked like vacation?” option.
Austria
Austria offers elegance without shouting about it. Vienna regularly attracts attention for quality of life, and Americans dreaming of Austria picture music, cafés, mountains, and orderly beauty. It feels cultured, comfortable, and just far enough from home to count as a reinvention.
Pierre Blache from Paris, France, Wikimedia Commons
Scotland
Talker’s poll listed Scotland separately, and while it is part of the United Kingdom, it deserves its own daydream. Americans love the romance of Edinburgh, the Highlands, coastal villages, and weather that practically demands sweaters, whisky, and dramatic personal reflection.
Andrew Colin, Wikimedia Commons
Iceland
Iceland is not the obvious everyday choice, but it is a powerful fantasy pick. Safe, strange, starkly beautiful, and full of hot springs, it appeals to Americans who want a life that looks like another planet but still has excellent Wi-Fi.
allen watkin from London, UK, Wikimedia Commons
South Korea
South Korea draws Americans interested in city life, food, technology, beauty culture, music, and transit. Seoul especially has the kind of energy that makes New York look under-caffeinated. For younger movers, it offers speed, style, and a totally different daily rhythm.
Andrew and Annemarie, Wikimedia Commons
Thailand
Thailand is a classic “if money didn’t matter” answer for sunshine seekers, food lovers, and remote-work dreamers. Beaches, temples, street food, and lower living costs all add to the appeal. It’s not just a vacation fantasy; for some, it’s a lifestyle reset.
User:Diliff, Wikimedia Commons
Argentina
Argentina has been gaining attention among globally minded Americans, especially those drawn to Buenos Aires, café culture, architecture, steak, wine, and a European feel at a very different price point. It’s passionate, complicated, beautiful, and ideal for people who like cities with soul.
Michelle Maria, Wikimedia Commons
So, Where Would You Go?
The survey answers reveal more than wanderlust. Americans aren’t just chasing pretty views; they’re imagining healthcare that feels manageable, work that leaves room for life, cities that are walkable, and cultures that make daily living feel richer. If money vanished as a barrier, the map would get very interesting.
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