An estimated 9 million Americans currently live abroad, and that number has been climbing steadily. What was once a fringe decision — leaving the United States for a new life in another country — has entered the mainstream conversation. The reasons vary: rising cost of living, healthcare frustrations, a desire for slower pace, remote work flexibility, or simply the pull of a culture that feels like a better fit. Whatever your motivation, the “AmerExit” trend is real, and it is accelerating.
But wanting to leave and actually doing it are separated by a mountain of logistics. Visa paperwork, financial restructuring, healthcare transitions, shipping your life overseas — the process can feel overwhelming when you look at it all at once. The good news is that thousands of Americans navigate this every year, and the path is well worn. This guide breaks it down into six concrete steps, from choosing your destination to building a support system in your new home.
If you are still in the early research phase, our comprehensive guide to leaving the US covers the full picture. This article focuses on the practical sequence — what to do first, second, and third so you do not end up scrambling at the last minute.
Step 1: Choose Your Destination
This is where most people get stuck the longest, and for good reason. There are roughly 195 countries in the world, and narrowing that down to one requires honest self-assessment. What matters most to you? Cost of living? Climate? Healthcare quality? Proximity to the US? Language? Safety? The answer is different for a 28-year-old remote worker than it is for a 60-year-old retiree.
The data-driven approach works better than gut feeling here. Instead of picking a country because you had a great vacation there (a common and often regrettable strategy), start by identifying your non-negotiable priorities and then filtering countries against them. Our country matching quiz does exactly this — it scores 95 countries across dozens of factors and gives you a ranked list based on your personal priorities.
A few principles that experienced expats swear by: visit before you commit (ideally for at least a month, not just a week-long vacation), research the visa situation before you fall in love with a place, and talk to people who actually live there — not just travel bloggers passing through. Expat forums, Reddit communities like r/expats and r/AmerExit, and Facebook groups for specific countries are invaluable for ground-truth information.
Step 2: Secure Your Visa
Your visa determines everything: how long you can stay, whether you can work, and what tax obligations you trigger. The visa landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years, with dozens of countries now offering pathways specifically designed for remote workers, retirees, and investors.
The main visa categories to understand:
- Digital nomad visas: Over 50 countries now offer these, typically requiring proof of remote income ($2,000–$5,000 per month depending on the country) and lasting 1–2 years. Popular options include Portugal, Spain, Costa Rica, Croatia, and Colombia.
- Retirement visas: Countries like Panama (Pensionado visa), Malaysia (MM2H), Thailand (Long-Term Resident visa), and Portugal (D7 visa) offer residency for retirees who can demonstrate sufficient passive income or savings.
- Investment/Golden visas: For those with capital to deploy, countries like Portugal, Spain, Greece, and several Caribbean nations offer residency (and sometimes citizenship) in exchange for real estate purchases or other investments.
- Employment visas: If you have a job offer from a foreign company, the employer typically sponsors your work visa. This is the most straightforward path but limits your choice of destination.
Use our visa checker tool to see which visa options are available for your specific situation and destination. Start the visa process early — some applications take 3–6 months to process, and you do not want your timeline held hostage by bureaucratic delays.
Step 3: Sort Your Finances
The financial preparation for moving abroad is more complex than most people expect, and it involves three distinct areas: banking, taxes, and cost planning.
Banking: Many US banks will close your account when you move abroad. FATCA (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) has made American customers a compliance burden for both domestic and foreign banks. Set up an expat-friendly US bank account before you leave — Charles Schwab and Capital One are the most commonly recommended. You will also want a multi-currency account like Wise for international transfers at the real exchange rate instead of the marked-up rates banks charge. Read our expat banking guide for the full breakdown.
Taxes: The US is one of only two countries that taxes citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live. You will still file US taxes every year. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) lets you exclude up to $126,500 of earned income, and the Foreign Tax Credit prevents double taxation if you pay taxes in your new country. Our tax comparison tool helps you understand the tax implications of different destinations, and the FIRE calculator can model how your savings timeline changes in a lower-cost country.
Cost planning: Build a realistic budget for your first year abroad, including one-time costs (flights, shipping, visa fees, security deposits) and ongoing costs (rent, food, insurance, travel). A common rule of thumb is to have 6–12 months of living expenses saved before you go, plus a buffer for unexpected costs. Use the cost of living tool to compare your current expenses with your destination.
Step 4: Healthcare Abroad
Your US health insurance will not work overseas (with rare exceptions for some plans that cover emergency care abroad). This is one of the areas where moving abroad can actually save you money — or cost you significantly if you do not plan it properly.
You have several options:
- Local public healthcare: Many countries offer residents access to their public healthcare system, either free or at very low cost. Portugal, Spain, Costa Rica, and Thailand all have public systems that expats can access after establishing residency. Quality varies but is often surprisingly good.
- International health insurance: Companies like Cigna Global, Allianz Care, and IMG offer plans designed for expats that provide coverage worldwide. Premiums are typically $150–$500 per month depending on your age, coverage level, and whether you include US coverage.
- Local private insurance: In many countries, private health insurance is dramatically cheaper than in the US. A comprehensive private plan in Mexico might run $100–$200 per month. In Thailand, $50–$150. This is one of the biggest financial advantages of living abroad.
Browse our relocation services directory for vetted international health insurance providers and other services that make the transition smoother.
Step 5: The Logistics
This is the unglamorous but essential phase: the physical act of moving your life from one country to another. Give yourself a realistic timeline of 6–12 months from decision to departure.
What to ship vs. what to sell: Most experienced expats recommend selling or donating the majority of your possessions. International shipping is expensive ($3,000–$10,000 for a partial container), slow (6–12 weeks by sea), and creates customs headaches. Ship sentimental items and things that are genuinely hard to replace. Buy everything else at your destination, where it will likely be cheaper anyway.
Document preparation: Get apostilles for important documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, diplomas, police clearance). An apostille is an international certification that makes your US documents legally valid in other countries. You can get them from your state's Secretary of State office, and the process typically takes 2–4 weeks. Some visa applications require apostilled documents, so handle this early.
Housing: Do not sign a long-term lease before you arrive. Book short-term accommodation (Airbnb, furnished apartments) for your first 1–3 months and use that time to explore neighborhoods, understand the local rental market, and find housing you actually like. Long-term leases negotiated in person are almost always better deals than what you find online from abroad.
The departure checklist: Cancel or redirect your mail (USPS mail forwarding works internationally but is slow — consider a virtual mailbox service), update your address with the IRS, notify your banks, set up a VPN for accessing US services abroad, download offline maps for your destination, and make digital copies of every important document.
Step 6: Build Your Support System
The logistics of moving abroad are hard. The emotional adjustment is harder. Loneliness is the number one complaint among new expats, and it catches people off guard — especially those who had strong social networks in the US.
Start building connections before you arrive. Join expat Facebook groups and Reddit communities for your destination city. Look for InterNations events, Meetup groups, coworking spaces (even if you work from home, the community is worth the membership), and local language exchange meetups. Learning even basic conversational skills in the local language opens doors that English alone cannot. It shows respect, it builds genuine connections with locals, and it makes daily life dramatically easier.
Maintain your US relationships intentionally. Time zone differences make spontaneous calls harder, so schedule regular video chats. A monthly “catch-up call” with close friends and family keeps those bonds alive in a way that sporadic texting does not.
Ready to find your best country?
Find your ideal country — take the quizThe Bottom Line
Leaving the US is not a weekend project. It is a 6–12 month process that requires research, financial preparation, paperwork, and emotional readiness. But it is also not as impossible as it might seem from the starting line. Millions of Americans have done it, and the infrastructure for expats has never been better — better visa options, better banking tools, better online communities, and more information available than at any point in history.
The key is to start with your destination and work backward through the logistics. Do not try to solve everything at once. Pick the country, research the visa, sort the finances, plan the healthcare, handle the logistics, and build your community — in roughly that order. Each step makes the next one clearer.
Ready to take the first step? Our country matching quiz analyzes your priorities against real data from 95 countries to find your best fit. And for a deeper dive into the decision itself, our complete guide to leaving the US covers everything from the emotional journey to the practical details. You can also explore our moving abroad checklist for a printable task-by-task breakdown.