Every travel story in CNN Travel, Business Insider, Huff Post is the same formula – the U.S. is a bad country, so this individual/couple/family packed up and moved to country X where life is wonderful.
This story is not by any means as bad as others but “I have many negative things I can say about America,” she says.
All of the subjects in this genre led an extraordinarily privileged elitist life – because of their American background. You can read hundreds more examples in the Myth 1, 2 and 3 series linked in the right column of this blog.
The subject of this story traveled to France in her early 20s, then Portugal, then on to South America where she lived in multiple countries, eventually traveling to France at least twice per year. She has an undegrad degree in Spanish and French, a Masters in Spanish, and a Masters in Music.
She was a music educator who now works as a freelance writer. (Most subjects of these “I moved to country X” stories are freelance writers).
Most of this detail is left out of the CNN report – particularly the very relevant undergraduate and graduate training in Spanish and French.
Interesting, in France it is illegal to evict a tenant over the age of 80 – so landlords don’t want to rent to people in their 70s. In France it is also not possible to take out a mortgage if you are elderly.
Reading travel and moved abroad stories for the past two years taught me that U.S. media dislikes America. 90+% of these stories are the same formula – America is terrible so this privileged American moved to another country where life is wonderful. Separately I took a look at the backgrounds of the story tellers, and they too are typically privileged Americans who attended elite private universities, studied and/or worked abroad and now work as story tellers – telling the stories of other freelance writers. It’s a circular writing group!
In fact, of those who wrote “I moved abroad” stories, one-third were almost entirely highly educated, attractive young American women who work as freelance writer – and married a foreigner to obtain residency, and another one third were individuals who already had prior dual citizenship or a right of descent ancestry immigration privilege. Most Americans do not have these privileges!
Another one: Ditch the US: Your Ultimate Survival Guide to Moving to Canada, Mexico, or Europe
These writers promote leaving the U.S. because, they typically imply, the U.S. is the worst country in the history of the world:
More and more Americans are thinking about moving to other countries. This isn’t just a passing thought but a well-planned decision.
People are looking for better lives, healthcare, and more affordable places to retire.
Am estimated 2-3% of Americans live abroad, with 38% of them in either Mexico or Canada. An estimated 0.7-1.3% of Americans retire abroad, with about half having prior close relationships with the destination country (typically having been working there for years, with established permanent residency, they chose to retire where they live, or they had prior dual citizenship or right of descent ancestry and family living in the area).
Rarely, do we see honest articles like this one: How come Americans are not allowed to move to Europe? | by Alan Walker | Americans Moving to Europe | Medium