In the competition for “scare headlines” in the past week (excluding Iran/Israel/U.S; far too many to choose from, as the media and politicians aren’t hewing to their usual positions), I’m going with The Wall Street Journal’s “American Are Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers,” which taken at face value—never a smart idea today—sounds vaguely apocalyptic. Reporters Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson say that the “exodus” is the largest since the Great Depression (in 1935, “the destination of choice was the Soviet Union”), with “more people moving out than moving in,” in part because of opposition to Trump’s policies, but also school shootings, cheaper healthcare, increasing remote employment and savings that stretch further in countries like Albania (!), Bali, Thailand, Portugal, Ireland, and even the UK, which is hard to believe. And, as the reporters say, it’s not a 2025 “phenomenon,” but one that’s increased since the pandemic.
It’s never a good sign when an article begins with a question: “In its 250th year, is America, land of immigration, becoming a country of emigration?”
The Journal deserves a kernel of credit for not burying the approximate number of ex-pats—which is what The New York Times would do, and will, in an inevitable follow-up story, probably not giving WSJ a nod for “breaking” the story—which amounts to 150,000 people in 2025, with a larger count expected in 2026. “The new American dream,” the reporters say, “for some of its citizens, is to no longer live there.” That assertion is, at least currently, far-fetched, I think, and is backed up by just anecdotal evidence.
Here’s one: “Buffalo, N.Y., native Kelly McCoy had been struggling to make ends meet on her $80,000 salary as an insurance analyst until she moved to Albania in 2024 to take advantage of its American visa. She likes to tell the story of how, after she was treated for a concussion and broken arm at a local hospital [no explanation of how Kelly was injured!], she wandered the halls confused why nobody was trying to charge her.” She’s since moved to Romania, but works as a relocation consultant, “helping other Americans with more limited means join the emigrant wave.” To Albania. There’s something off about this personalized nugget, but given that the entire article is a jumble of contradictory stats and random explanations for why a small number of U.S. citizens are ditching (for now) the “American dream,” I’ll let it go.
The Brookings Institution think tank, regarded as “liberal” by most who still care about such make-work bureaucracies, supplied the statistics; although a WSJ “analysis” pegs it 180,000, an example of incomplete or unavailable data. Given that the United States’ population, estimated early this year at some 342 million, the 150,000 (or 180,000) citizens doing the “Donald Dash” doesn’t strike me as a page-one story, as it was in the Journal last Friday. More significant, I think, is the claim that 100,000 foreign college students are choosing countries other than the U.S., mostly because it’s cheaper. The combination of Trump’s bellicose war with American universities, “culture” confusion on campuses, stridently political professors, and tuition costs that are still spiraling out of control also factor into the equation.
There’s no blame attached to the emigrees—and shouldn’t be—for who can argue with U.S. residents who’re seeking cheaper real estate, senior citizens who desire more relaxing surroundings, and younger people, naturally adventurous, expanding the “gap year” to a “gap half-decade.” It’s their lives and they’ll do what they want.
After I sold my Baltimore newspaper in 1987 I planned on starting another free weekly, either in London or New York. I spent a month in London researching the possibilities, and met with a number of successful publishers, but concluded that the city wasn’t yet steeped in the “free newspaper” model and decided on Manhattan. It was the “safer” bet, and worked out; besides, had I emigrated it’s very likely I wouldn’t have met my wife and that wouldn’t do.
Anyway, these immigration/emigration maneuvers go in cycles. Trump, with his administration’s irrational, and unconscionable, antipathy to all immigrants (I still don’t believe the President gives two hoots about “illegals,” but uses the issue as a cudgel) is of no use. America spends billions on foreign aid, wars and “infrastructure,” so it’s crazy that the country can’t construct an apparatus to properly investigate candidates, weed out the criminals, and encourage others who want to live and start businesses here. It’s not a Panglossian view; just one that in the 2020s has no currency with either political party.
—Follow Russ Smith on Twitter: @MUGGER2023