Americans leaving – A record net outflow of Americans—driven by politics, restrictive immigration policies and deportation efforts—has turned relocation tours into a destination in their own right. In San Diego last weekend, hundreds of Americans paid for a weekend of visa advice
Last weekend, Jesse Derr and his wife, Jess Yeastadt, spent a five-hour drive from Phoenix to San Diego. By the time they reached the Hard Rock Hotel, they were no longer talking only about leaving—they were trying to learn how to do it.
For Derr, 41, and Yeastadt, 45, the weekend was built around one goal: move to Mexico. They weren’t alone. Hundreds of Americans were in San Diego last weekend, drawn by the same question—how to start over somewhere else.
A record number of Americans are leaving the U.S. In 2025, the country saw a net negative migration of between 10,000 and 295,000 people, according to research from The Brookings Institution. Brookings’ widest estimated range was among people who left voluntarily, estimating between 210,000 and 405,000 people did so last year. Brookings research also says it’s the first time in at least 50 years that more people moved out of the country than moved in.
Restrictive immigration policies and deportation efforts play a role, Brookings said. But the reasons being given by the people packing hotels for weekend relocation events are broader than immigration enforcement alone: Derr and other attendees described plans built around school. work. raising a family. retirement—and politics.
Expatsi, a company offering relocation tours for Americans, has become a key part of that push. Launched in 2022, Expatsi held its second annual Move Abroad Con in San Diego on May 9 and 10. About 600 Americans from around the country attended, double the number of people at the inaugural event held in May 2025.
According to a sampling of 218 attendees, a majority—89%—said they want to leave the U.S. for political reasons. Others said they hope to move for adventure and growth (73%), as well as to save money (57%). Roughly two-thirds of respondents hope to move within two years. Their average monthly budget is $3,856. The group of hopeful movers was split among 44% individuals, 39% couples and 17% families with kids.
Derr said political reasons are a major part of his family’s potential exit. He pointed to recent policies affecting reproductive rights. including the Supreme Court’s decision to remove the federal constitutional right to abortion. He also cited the court’s rulings weakening the Voting Rights Act. which Derr said signals the country is “going backwards.”.
Mexico, in his view, offers alignment. Derr said Mexico’s 2024 election of Claudia Sheinbaum—Mexico’s first female president—and federally mandated gender equality laws match the values he and Yeastadt are seeking.
Attending the weekend event, Derr said, made plans that felt “insurmountable” start to look possible. Talking with a relocation expert to Mexico was part of that shift. He said the expert helped them understand what they can and can’t bring abroad. what income requirements are needed to secure a visa. and other “everyday livelihood” considerations.
“We really walked away from the weekend with zero unknowns,” Derr said.
His timeline, he added, depends on what happens in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. If the Democratic party gains control of the House and Senate and takes “immediate. measurable action to reverse the destructive decisions made by this administration. ” Derr said it would affect both their timeline and their motivations to move.
The conference price reflects the seriousness people are bringing to the decision. Guests paid between roughly $500 to $1. 000 for tickets to the weekend’s events. which included two days of programming from over 50 experts. Attendees moved through dozens of breakout sessions covering visas. taxes as a foreigner. immigrant health insurance. and how to relocate to hot spots such as Portugal. Mexico. Canada and New Zealand.
In San Diego, Von Bradley, 45, had been looking into moving and working abroad for the last year. A government worker, he said southern Spain is at the top of his short list, driven by warm, sunny weather. His priorities. Bradley said. are to find a place with a lower cost of living so his dollars can go further in his eventual retirement. and to live somewhere that supports a healthier lifestyle—he specifically mentioned access to nutritious foods in a walkable city.
The financial path to leaving can be uneven, Bradley said, with costs varying by destination and desired lifestyle. The initial move generally includes visa and other paperwork processing fees of a few hundred dollars. along with transportation and shipping costs that can reach tens of thousands of dollars. As an example of what people are doing in real time. Make It previously reported on a Chicago couple who spent 10 months saving more than $20. 000 to move to Valencia. Spain. in the spring of 2025.
Bradley said his Plan A is moving abroad through a work transfer. If that doesn’t happen, he said he’ll rely on the resources he’s gathered through the Expatsi network. “It was interesting to me to see just how many people are considering this,” Bradley said. He described the information as overwhelming in a particular way—“like drinking through a fire hose”—and said he took a lot of notes and collected a lot of leaflets so he would have information to fall back on.
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