{"id":6653,"date":"2026-02-22T15:36:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T23:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coldstreams.com\/travel\/?p=6653"},"modified":"2026-02-26T11:25:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:25:24","slug":"people-moving-abroad-coming-back-after-finding-abroad-isnt-utopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coldstreams.com\/travel\/2026\/02\/22\/people-moving-abroad-coming-back-after-finding-abroad-isnt-utopia\/","title":{"rendered":"People moving abroad coming back after finding abroad isn’t utopia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nope Brigade | Ph.D. Candidate (@nopebrigade0) | TikTok<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some who “fled” the US – in this case to Canada – discovers the housing situation is worse and Canada enforces its immigration laws – such that this individual is only there on a six month visitor visa and is running out of money (not permitted to work on a visitor visa).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is a Ph.D. candidate (means a grad student) studying the extreme right, she says and identifies as a “political refugee”. However, no one forced her to leave – she voluntarily chose to “move to Canada” on a tourist visa. No one stopped her at the border crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was unaware that housing costs in Canada are higher than in the U.S., especially in parts of British Columbia and is pleading for someone to give her “free” or “below market rate” housing, as a guest in Canada – so she can have the convenience of staying near family in the US, presumably in the PNW. She complains she is “shut out” of Canadian services such as health care – as those are only available to citizens and permanent residents and not voluntary tourists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There seems to be self-centered, naive privilege seeking going on here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, she had not researched this before moving. It seems likely she and her partner will have to return to the U.S. She says they moved to Canada, on a tourist visa, implying an intent to stay there, which may allegedly violate Canadian immigration rules and they may be subject to deportation, said some legal background commenters to her online video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a commenter suggests, she left the U.S. because the U.S. is awful, moved to Canada, where costs and access to services are awful, and now expects Canadians to offer her free or reduce price housing<\/em> and is disappointed that Canadian government services are not available to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: How many Americans who move abroad \u2013 move back to the U.S.? \u2013 Coldstreams Travel and Global Thinking<\/a> – up to 50% of those who move abroad eventually return to the U.S. And a reminder that very few Americans actually move abroad – about 1.6-2% are living abroad, and about 1+\/-% of retirees move abroad, with about half of those already having permanent residency or dual citizenship in their destination country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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@nopebrigade0<\/a>

You\u2019ve been asking where I am and how you can help: housing is what my partner and I need most in this moment. Donating (in my linktree) or sharing this video would also be a huge help. Thank you, new Canadian friends. \ud83d\udc99 I hate asking for help but I\u2019m not sure what we\u2019ll do if we can\u2019t figure housing out. <\/p> \u266c original sound – Nope Brigade | Ph.D. Candidate<\/a> <\/section> <\/blockquote>