The Best ExPat Destinations

Working abroad has reached an all-time high and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down in 2023. The challenging part is choosing a country that fits your lifestyle and career goals.

Around 9 million American civilians are currently living abroad, which, for scale, is one New Jersey’s worth of us out there roaming the world. Where to go, though, isn’t an easy question to answer. Some places are just plain easier for Americans to move to than others.

According to Thrillist.com, a popular travel site, more and more countries are pushing to attract the most talented expats. When it comes to the ideal country for expats, the choice is almost always between the lifestyle a country promises and the financial and careerbuilding opportunities.

In this article you’ll find some of Thrillist’s best countries for American’s who want to live abroad as written by a diverse cast of experienced expats giving us their reasons why these countries are a MUST on your list to move to.

Thailand is the most livable of tropical paradises, with strong infrastructure and incredibly low living costs. In busy Bangkok, $600 a month comes with high-rise perks like a pool, sauna, and gym; in ultra-chill Chiang Mai, an established community of freelancers and other self-employed folk spend nearly half that. And if you can do without big-city comforts, there are even better deals to be had on island bungalows in beautiful beach towns, where you’ll subsist on the freshest, cheapest, and very often spiciest seafood of your life.

Thailand

Tight rules can make long stays in Thailand tricky, though not impossible: Depending on the type of visa you get, you can stay for anywhere from a few weeks or months to a few years.

“In Mexico, we spend less on all our expenses added together than we did just on rent in the US,” says longtime expat Tim Leffel, who literally wrote the book on moving abroad. From the Caribbean to the Pacific, along tropical beaches and in cool mountain highlands, most foreigners in Mexico pay between $400 and $1,000 on rent. The biggest deterrent might be the bureaucracy—plan on all paperwork taking an extraordinary amount of time—but it’s relatively simple to fly to the US once a year to restart the clock on a six-month tourist visa.

Without a doubt one of the greatest cities in the world, Mexico City is among the most popular places to relocate. Newcomers ca n get their bearings and work on their Spanish with cosmopolitan comforts in the Condesa and Roma areas before branching out to more affordable locales like Juárez, San Rafael, or Narvarte. Alternatively, Oaxaca City lures with its mezcal, mole, and architecture, while Puerto Escondido and its low-key beach vibes are equally as certain to draw you in.

Home to lively local culture, ancient jungle ruins, and scores of tiny, laid-back islands (some of which you can even rent!) lolling in the blue of the Caribbean, Belize has all the things we love about destinations like Mexico, but with a fraction of the crowds. It’s also the only country in Central America whose official language is English and accepts US dollars, making it a Grade A destination for Americans to come and find a patch of sand to call home. Belize recently became one of many nations around the world to introduce a visa specifically for remote workers. With the country’s Work Where You Vacation visa—the very name of which will make you feel seen—you can stick around for six months. The downside: The visa promises a shorter stay than many, and you’ll need to have a relatively high income—at least $75,000 for individuals and $100,000 for couples/families— to qualify. The upside: Belize’s visa promises far less paperwork than most. Besides proof of income, all you’ll need is a valid passport, proof of a bank account, a clear criminal record, and travel insurance to enter.

Life up north comes with diversity, amazing food, low crime rates, excellent public education, healthcare, a stable economy, eco-consciousness, ketchup chips, and most importantly, more nature than you can even bother to care about. Wander around Canada’s mountains and glaciers and beaches and islands to ski, surf, kayak, dive, hunt, hike, or just hibernate in a house on the prairie. And you can take your pick of several different ways to move to Canada. You’ll probably already know the language (though French certainly adds another layer to cities like Montreal!), so you can skip the culture shock and go straight to cultural immersion. That said, Canada’s notoriously livable cities are getting silly expensive, and Canadians are oddly cliquish when it comes to hiring. They tend to value “Canadian experience,” whatever that is, over the skills you bring from abroad.

A steady democracy that spends its money on education instead of the military, Costa Rica has been chummy with the US for more than 150 years, making culture shock minimal for those who wish to call it home. Though, be forewarned: Tourist visas are a cinch, but residency can be slow going for anyone who’s not working for a big company. And once you get here, residency is going to be top of mind. A million Americans visit the country every year, and the Ticos have put those dollars back into infrastructure—reliable airports, deluxe highways, huge conservation districts—that make the country easy to get around and easy to enjoy. The healthcare system and public health insurance are also above par, and the literacy rate is one of the world’s highest. If you have a full-time job, you get Aguinaldo—an extra month’s salary at Christmas. Not surprisingly, the people here report being pretty dang happy.

With the US dollar now worth $1.41 Australian dollars, it’s more affordable than ever to live in one of the most culturally and geographically diverse continents on the globe. While most Americans stick to tried-and-true hubs like Sydney and Melbourne, smaller cities like Darwin, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Broome also lure expats with cheaper rents, unparalleled scenery, and the chance to really connect and co-mingle with Aussies.

If you’re between the ages of 18-30, the Working Holiday Visa lets you live and travel around the country for a year—or up to three if you do enough specified work. Just be warned that application processing times are extra-long right now as the government tries to catch up on approving those requests submitted before the country locked down.

Source: thrillist.com