The media regales us with aspirational stories of Americans who moved abroad, usually because they say, the US is awful, and they live happily ever after in country X.
An estimated 1.6%-2% of Americans are living abroad at any time. Based on the stories in the media, about 40% involve a privileged, educated, wealthy background, American woman who married a foreigner, and another 25% who have prior dual citizenship or a right of descent ancestry privilege to obtain residency or citizenship.
About 1% of Americans retire abroad – but about half of those had prior dual citizenship or residency in the host country, or had family living there. Many of these retire abroad because they had been working there for years and own their home there – that’s where their life is.
How many eventually move back to the U.S.?
There is no official count – only surveys and inferred data.
One share of those living abroad are there for education, work assignments, military, government jobs and so on. Up to 80% of this group eventually returns to the United States.
The other group includes those who have retired abroad or married a local citizen. Of this group, an estimated 10-30% eventually return to the U.S.
The combined estimates range from 30% to 50% of those who move abroad, eventually move back to the U.S.