For more than a century, the United States sold itself as the destination. It was the place people moved to, not the place they left.
But in his latest video, Michael Bordenaro argues that this picture is starting to flip in a serious way. According to Bordenaro, the country is now seeing a level of outward migration not seen since the Great Depression, with more Americans heading abroad in search of cheaper housing, lower health-care costs, safer communities, and what they believe is a better life overall.
That is a big claim, but the reasons he lists will sound familiar to anyone paying bills in 2026.
He says families are leaving because daily life in the United States has become too expensive. Retirees are leaving because their fixed incomes do not go far enough here. Students are leaving to chase cheaper degrees overseas. And remote workers are leaving because they realized they can earn American money while living in places where that income stretches far further.
That last point may be the one that changes everything.
For years, a lot of Americans dreamed about moving abroad but could not make the math work. Now, Bordenaro says, millions of people are finding that remote work, cheaper foreign housing, and special visas are turning what used to be a fantasy into a real option.
And once people run the numbers, many of them seem to like what they see.
The Cost Of Living Is The Main Reason
Michael Bordenaro says there are all kinds of reasons people talk about when they explain why they want out of the United States.
Some mention politics. Some mention safety. Some say they simply want a different lifestyle.
But Bordenaro insists the main driver is much simpler: cost of living.
He says that is the number one reason he keeps hearing from viewers who already live abroad. In his telling, the housing costs in the United States have become so absurd that for many people, especially retirees or families trying to live on a budget, the numbers just stop making sense.
He points to the gap between income and home prices to show how broken the math has become. According to Bordenaro, the median household income sits somewhere around $75,000 to $80,000, while the median home price is about $400,000. That puts the typical home at around six times average income, while in more affordable eras, he says, homes were closer to three times income.
That is not a small difference. That is a whole different reality.
And even if someone already owns a home free and clear, Bordenaro argues the pain does not stop there. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, and the rest of the cost of living can still crush people, especially older Americans living on retirement income.
That is the thing a lot of people miss. The dream is not just hard to buy into now. It is expensive to maintain, too.
Why Other Countries Look So Tempting
Bordenaro makes the case by comparing the United States to several cities and countries where he says Americans are now going in larger numbers.
He says the average monthly rent in Miami is around $2,700 and in New York City around $3,900. Then he stacks that against Lisbon, where he says average rent is closer to $1,400, Valencia at around $1,100, Athens at about $900, and Medellín at roughly $700 a month.
Those numbers are hard to ignore.
Even the most expensive place on his list, Lisbon, still looks dramatically cheaper than major U.S. cities. And once someone starts imagining half-price housing, lower food costs, and a more relaxed pace of life, the United States starts losing one of its biggest advantages.
Bordenaro describes this as cost-of-living arbitrage. In simple terms, it means earning money in a high-income country like the United States, then spending it somewhere much cheaper.
That can transform an ordinary middle-class salary into something far stronger overseas. He says an American making $80,000 a year may be average here but could suddenly land in the top slice of earners in a lower-cost country.
That is why so many expats tell him they feel like they can “live like a king” once they leave. Maybe that phrase is a little overused, but the underlying point is real. Money often buys more space, more breathing room, and less day-to-day stress elsewhere.
Remote Work Helped Open The Door
Ten years ago, this would have been harder.
Bordenaro points out that before the pandemic, only about 5% of Americans worked remotely. Now he says something closer to 25% to 30% work remote at least part of the time.
That shift changed the map.
If a person no longer has to show up in a U.S. office every morning, then suddenly the world opens up. A job that used to require living in a high-cost metro area can now be done from Spain, Portugal, Mexico, or Thailand if the employer allows it.
Bordenaro says many countries are actively trying to attract this kind of American migrant through digital nomad visas. He says more than 50 countries now offer them, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Thailand, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
And many of these programs, he says, only require an income of around $2,000 to $4,000 a month.
That is one of the more striking parts of the video. A lot of Americans hear “move abroad” and imagine it is only for the wealthy. Bordenaro argues that in many cases, it is the opposite. These visas are being built for ordinary remote workers, not just rich retirees or globe-trotting elites.
That helps explain why this trend is gaining traction.
Retirees And Students Are Making The Same Calculation
Bordenaro says two groups stand out in particular: retirees and students.
For retirees, the issue is not complicated. A lot of older Americans are trying to live mainly on Social Security and a small amount of savings. In the United States, he says, that can mean living right on the edge or even in poverty.
In other countries, the same income may still not make someone rich, but it can buy a much more comfortable and less stressful life. Bordenaro says retirees abroad may not live “like a king” on Social Security alone, but they can often enjoy more of the good parts of life without panicking over every purchase.
Health care is a major reason why.
He says the average American spends around $13,000 a year on health care, while countries like Portugal, Spain, and France come in far lower. He also says many expats report getting private health insurance abroad for just $100 to $200 a month, far below what many Americans pay here.
Students are making a similar calculation.
Bordenaro says more than 100,000 American students are now studying overseas, and he ties that directly to tuition costs. In the U.S., he says, paying $30,000 or $40,000 a year for college is no longer unusual. In Germany, public universities are nearly free, while in Italy tuition might run $3,000 to $5,000 a year.
That is a huge gap.
Once students get a taste of life abroad, some of them do not want to come back. That probably should not surprise anyone.
Americans Are Moving In – And Some Locals Hate It
One of the more honest sections of Bordenaro’s video is where he admits that Americans moving abroad are not always welcomed with open arms.
He says Lisbon has become “ground zero” for this backlash, with locals increasingly angry that Americans and other foreigners are helping drive up housing costs. He says in some parts of Portugal, Americans now account for about 58% of foreign home buyers.
That is a staggering number.
Bordenaro says home prices in Lisbon have more than doubled in the past five years, and he notes that people in Barcelona are angry for similar reasons. Locals, he says, feel priced out by outsiders earning stronger incomes and paying more than local salaries can support.
On this point, I think he is right to acknowledge the downside. It is easy to romanticize moving abroad when you are the one getting a bargain. It is harder to admit that your “better life” may be making life worse for people who were already there.
That does not mean Americans should never move. It does mean this trend is not cost-free for everyone involved.
More People Want To Leave Than Before
Bordenaro says the desire to leave the U.S. has risen sharply.
He points to polling that found about 10% of Americans said they would have moved abroad during the 2008 financial crisis if they could. Now, he says, that number has climbed to about 20%.
He also mentions a poll showing that 40% of American women ages 15 to 44 would consider leaving permanently if possible.
That is not a fringe mood anymore.
It does not mean those people will all pack up and go. Plenty cannot. Some do not want to leave family. Some cannot work remotely. Others would struggle to find local jobs abroad that pay enough to live well.
Still, when one in five Americans says they would consider moving overseas, that says something bigger than wanderlust. It says a lot of people no longer feel fully convinced that the best version of their life is waiting for them here.
Leaving Is Easier Than Escaping U.S. Taxes
Bordenaro also reminds viewers that becoming an expat does not mean the U.S. government forgets you.
He says the United States is one of only two countries in the world that taxes its citizens even after they move abroad. So even if someone relocates permanently, they still have to file a U.S. tax return.
That helps explain another trend he highlights: a jump in people seeking to renounce U.S. citizenship.
According to Bordenaro, requests to renounce citizenship rose 48% in 2024, and now there is a backlog. In his view, that shows some people are not just experimenting with life abroad. They are convinced enough by the lower-cost lifestyle that they are willing to cut legal ties to keep it.
That is a pretty dramatic step, and most people will never do it.
But the fact that more are even considering it says a lot about how deeply the affordability crisis has changed the conversation.
A Search For Relief, Not Just Adventure
Michael Bordenaro’s core point is not that America is emptying out or that no one still wants to come here.
He notes that the country still draws wealthy immigrants, especially millionaires, and that plenty of people still see value in living in the United States.
But his bigger message is harder to dismiss: a growing number of Americans are looking at the cost of housing, health care, education, and everyday life and deciding that the smarter move might be somewhere else.
That is not really about wanderlust. It is about relief.
People are not only chasing beaches, old cities, and romantic expat fantasy. Many are chasing a monthly budget that finally works, a retirement that feels stable, or a life where one paycheck does not get eaten alive by rent, insurance, and taxes before the month is half over.
And that may be the most telling thing in the whole story. For generations, the American promise was that life here, while never perfect, was worth the cost.
More people now seem to be asking whether that is still true.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
