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New study: Searches to move abroad post-election spike, Alabamians favoring Ireland

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Following the election, significant spikes in searches for moving out of America suggest heightened interest in international relocation, including in Alabama.

The relocation tech company moveBuddha identifies the states with the highest interest in top international destinations and each state's top move-to country.

The outlet reported an 854% increase in visits to its article on countries that pay new residents to relocate in the two days following the election, compared to the previous week.

'Traffic for Countries that Pay You to Move There' 854% increase in traffic for those seeking the article 'Traffic for Countries that Pay You to Move There' in two days post-election vs. previous week.

Following this, moveBuddha analyzed Google Trends data to find:

  • Post-election searches for "how to move out of the country" spiked 800% from Nov. 5 to Nov. 6.
  • Texans led these searches, with the United Kingdom and Italy, known for financial relocation incentives, as top destinations.
  • Additionally, moveBuddha identified each state's top-searched country to move to out of 15 leading relocation spots.
State
Top country(ies)
Alabama
Ireland
Alaska
Japan
Arizona
France, Italy
Arkansas
United Kingdom
California
France
Colorado
Ireland
Connecticut
Italy
Delaware
Denmark
District of Columbia
Spain
Florida
United Kingdom
Georgia
United Kingdom, France
Hawaii
Japan
Idaho
Mexico
Illinois
United Kingdom, Italy
Indiana
Ireland
Iowa
United Kingdom
Kansas
Denmark
Kentucky
United Kingdom
Louisiana
France
Maine
Ireland
Maryland
United Kingdom
Massachusetts
United Kingdom
Michigan
Switzerland
Minnesota
Canada
Mississippi
Italy
Missouri
German
Montana
France
Nebraska
Italy
Nevada
Italy
New Hampshire
Italy
New Jersey
United Kingdom, Italy
New Mexico
Italy
New York
United Kingdom
North Carolina
United Kingdom, Italy
North Dakota
Thailand
Ohio
United Kingdom
Oklahoma
Germany, Denmark
Oregon
United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Ireland
Pennsylvania
Italy
Rhode Island
Italy
South Carolina
Italy
South Dakota
Ireland
Tennessee
United Kingdom
Texas
Germany
Utah
Italy
Vermont
Canada, New Zealand
Virginia
United Kingdom
Washington
United Kingdom
West Virginia
Italy
Wisconsin
Canada
Wyoming
Spain, Portugal

Where do American expatriates mostly live?
As of 2023, an estimated 5.5 million American expatriates live abroad and according to the Association of Americans Resident Overseas, here are the top 10 countries with the largest American expat populations.

Country
Estimated # of Americans
Mexico
1,182,346
Canada
1,050,898
United Kingdom
325,321
Israel
281,137
Germany
238,652
Australia
218,216
South Korea
129,499
France
117,462
Japan
111,021
Spain
108,684

What's Driving the Interest in Moving Abroad?
Post-election, searches for moving abroad and to specific destinations rose, suggesting more Americans are open to exploring new opportunities overseas.

About moveBuddha
moveBuddha.com is one of the largest moving company booking websites in the United States. The company was founded in 2015 and is best known for its Moving Cost Calculator online instant quoting tool and its Should I Move For Work? decision tool.

View the original press release on newswire.com.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
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