Key takeaways:
- Interest in moving to Europe from the U.S. dwindled in 2023, as online searches for living abroad dropped by 14%.
- The United Kingdom, Germany and Portugal saw the sharpest drops in interest, more than 20%, compared to one year prior.
- Out of the top 15 most sought-after countries in Europe for Americans, only France and Greece gained in popularity in 2023 as destinations for moving abroad.
- The UK, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Italy are the top 5 most popular European countries in 2023 for Americans looking to relocate.
- Residents of expensive coastal U.S. metros, including New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Miami and Los Angeles drove most of the searches.
Significant changes in visa laws and tax breaks for foreigners in some European countries are putting a damper on Americans’ enthusiasm for moving to the old continent, and this is already evident in where they’re looking or, rather, where they aren’t looking anymore for a potential move abroad.
Online searches from the U.S. that show a strong moving intent, such as moving to, living in, retiring in and relocating to, have seen an overall decrease of 14% in 2023, from a total of 189,000 to 162,000 monthly searches, according to My Dolce Casa‘s research and analysis of over 1,000 Google query combinations for 44 European countries.
Among the biggest losers in popularity are the United Kingdom (-32%), Germany (-24%) and Portugal (-21%). Only France and Greece have managed to maintain and grow their appeal. Google searches for moving to France from the United States were up 8% in 2023, and for moving to Greece up 6% compared to a year prior. Italy’s popularity among wanna-be American expats remained fairly untouched, down by only 2%, while searches for Spain were down -5%.
Interest in moving to Norway, Denmark and The Netherlands has also seen double-digit percentage decreases in 2023, although the searches for these countries for moving from the U.S. is lower, ranging from 4,000 to about 7,000 per month, on average.
The Biggest Losers in Popularity
1. The United Kingdom
- Annual decrease in searches: -32%
- Average monthly searches in 2023: 29,600
- Average monthly searches in 2022: 43,900
The most common avenue for Americans to move to the U.K. is with a work visa, an area of immigration law which has seen a range of changes in 2023 that impact the flow of American and other non-EU citizens relocating to the UK. As such, the interest in moving to and living in Great Britain has seen a major drop in 2023, by as much as one-third.
Among them are stricter rules for students switching to work visas and restrictions on student dependents. Starting in 2024, only postgraduate students on a Ph.D., doctoral, or research-based higher degree can bring dependents to the United Kingdom.
Moreover, the UK has expanded the Skilled Worker Shortage Occupation List, which may attract skilled workers in specific sectors but simultaneously makes it harder for those not on the list to find sponsorship. There is an increased emphasis on the genuineness of the vacancy for Skilled Worker visa applications, with stricter scrutiny of the applicant’s suitability for the job they are sponsored for.
These changes could result in a decreased interest from Americans and other non-EU citizens in relocating to the UK due to the perceived tightening of immigration pathways and increased complexity of the visa and residency process.
In spite of the recent drop in popularity, the country remains the most searched by Americans dreaming of moving abroad to Europe, as language and culture similarities represent a great advantage over other non-English speaking countries.
2. Germany
- Annual decrease in searches: -24%
- Average monthly searches in 2023: 9,600
- Average monthly searches in 2022: 12,600
Germany has historically been a destination for young Americans looking for jobs and for military families, and less so for retirees. As such, Germany’s recent significant changes to its employment-based immigration laws are potentially impacting the number of people interested in moving there.
For one, the Skilled Immigration Act, designed to attract more skilled workers from non-EU countries by creating an open system for foreign candidates to fill positions in Germany, in fact increased the competition for available jobs, dissuading many potential movers who are not highly skilled in certain fields, like mathematics, IT, sciences, and medicine.
Germany’s focus on filling its labor shortages and attracting top foreign talent led to a perception that it is becoming harder for non-skilled workers to move and find opportunities in Germany, which can contribute to the decrease in the number of US-based Google searches for moving to Germany.
3. Portugal
- Annual decrease in searches: -21%
- Average monthly searches in 2023: 17,200
- Average monthly searches in 2022: 21,900
Americans’ love affair with Portugal of recent years is losing some of its spark. Online searches for moving and living in Portugal have dwindled by 21% in 2023, following Portugal’s two major announcements in 2023 to amend the Golden Visa Program and to end the income tax exemptions program known as NHR for foreigners, starting in 2024.
Specifically, Portugal has ended the option to acquire Portuguese residency or Golden Visas through home purchases. This could significantly affect the appeal for the new stripped-down Golden Visa, as real estate investment has been one of the most popular routes to obtaining residency in Portugal by Americans. Moreover, starting next year, Americans living part time in Portugal will be paying the same taxes as everyone else.
These changes are part of a broader effort to address Portugal’s housing crisis, but they have contributed to a decrease in interest among potential applicants from the United States who were previously considering the real estate buying route for residency.
Nonetheless, Portugal maintains its appeal to Americans as it continues to receive among the most online searches of all European countries, an average of 17,200 per month, thanks to its attractive culture, weather and lifestyle. The option to retire to Portugal using a D7 visa is still available for those who qualify.
The Most Popular Countries for Americans and the Top U.S. Metros Driving the Searches
1. United Kingdom
Americans interested in moving and living in the U.K. were searching online about 30,000 times per month in 2023, on average, the highest of all 44 European countries analyzed. Culture similarities and a shared language make it easy for Americans to live and work in the U.K., and this understandably puts it at the top of their preference list when it comes to choosing a country to move to.
The highest interest for living in Great Britain in 2023 was coming from the metro areas of New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Boston and Atlanta, which are pools of talented professionals in search of better work opportunities across the pond.
In addition to work visas, another common pathway for U.S. citizens to claim British residency is through their ancenstry, if they can prove one of their grandparents was born in the United Kingdom. According to the most recent data from the UK Office for National Statistics, roughly 200,000 Americans live in the United Kingdom.
2. Portugal
The small country of Portugal has gained immense popularity among U.S. citizens in recent years, outranking historically popular destinations like Spain and Italy for moving and retiring abroad. From its pleasant weather to its welcoming people and amazing culture, Portugal continues to be the darling of Americans.
As such, Portugal was the subject of 17,200 monthly online searches in 2023 for terms related to moving, living, retiring and relocating abroad. People from expensive West Coast metros, such as San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles, are the most interested in moving to the more affordable and safer country, which also has a beautiful climate relatively similar to California.
Portugal surpassed powerhouse Ireland, which received 14,500 monthly searches, as well as Spain, which received only 14,300, and Italy with 12,600.
Although a lot of people dream of leaving the U.S. for Portugal, only about 700 per year get legal residency in Portugal. As of the most recent official statistics from Gabinete de Estrategia e Estudos, 7,000 U.S. nationals have Portuguese residency.
3. Ireland
Online searches originating mainly from Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, Portland and Denver are driving the interest in moving to Ireland from the U.S. As the third most popular destination country where Americans dream of moving, Ireland attracted an average of 14,500 monthly searches.
In fact, of the top 3 most popular countries, Ireland was the only country to mantain its popularity year over year, searches having declined only by 4% compared to 2022. According to the latest official data, about 38,000 American citizens live in Ireland.
Language similarity and friendly immigration programs, such as citizenship by descent, make the country appear more attractive to U.S. nationals, especially to those whose parents or grandparents originated from Ireland. Additionally, being the only English-speaking country in the EU, Irish residency offers freedom of movement in the EU, an attractive proposition for many Americans wanna-be expats.
4. Spain
Attracting a similar level of interest as Ireland, Spain was searched about 14,300 times per month by Americans looking to move abroad in 2023. Historically one of the most desired countries in the world for relocation, Spain maintained its high popularity among Americans, seeing only a slight decrease of 5% from 15,000 monthly searches last year.
U.S. nationals have several pathways to immigrate to Spain, including a great Golden Visa program, a Digital Nomad Visa program, and retirement visas. Spain is particularly attractive for Spanish-speaking Americans, which is evident in the fact that Miami was the top U.S. metro driving the searches for moving to Spain in 2023. It is followed by Dallas – Ft. Worth, Denver, San Francisco and Washington DC.
5. Italy
Los Angelinos and New Yorkers were the most interested in moving to Italy in 2023, followed by people from Seattle, Dallas – Ft. Worth and San Francisco. Italy has long been a favorite country to move to by Americans because of its attractive lifestyle, natural beauty, and affordable real estate, being the no. 1 homebuying destination.
Italy was the fifth most popular country among Americans looking to live abroad in Europe, with 12,600 searches, down only 2% year over year. The retirement visa and citizenship by ancestry are the two main avenues for Americans to move to Italy, while work visas and finding work in Italy are difficult to achieve.
Methodology:
- My Dolce Casa is a research blog for moving, living, working and retiring abroad.
- My Dolce Casa analyzed monthly U.S.-based Google search volumes using Google Keyword Planner for Jan-Oct 2023 and Jan-Oct 2022.
- The research includes 1,008 keywords with the following combinations: “moving to [Country]”, “living in [Country], “retiring in [Country]” “relocating to [Country]” and other similar searches derived from these keywords that showed a clear intent for moving, living, retiring or relocating in the countries analyzed.
- Search volumes for 44 European countries were analyzed and compared.
- Searches for the United Kingdom included: United Kingdom, U.K., England and Great Britain.
- Only searches performed from the United States were included in the analysis.
- The countries were ranked based on year-over-year changes in average monthly searches and by total average monthly searches.
- The final rankings include the most popular 15 countries based on the highest monthly search averages in 2023.
- U.S. Metros from where searches originated in 2023 were identified using Google Trends, where available. Interest for search terms in Google Trends is measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
- When citing this research, please credit My Dolce Casa by linking to this report. My Dolce Casa grants you permission to use the research, quotes, and visuals in this article with proper credit.
- Sources:
