Surge In Americans Moving To Europe—Roe Vs. Wade, A Strong Dollar And Cost Of Living Crisis

Real estate vendors and brokers specialising in second homes and second passport applications have reported an increasing trend in Americans looking to leave the U.S.

It’s a trend that has been spurred on by a variety of factors—a strong dollar versus the euro, political events across the U.S., the cost of living crisis (most notably the increasing cost of house prices) and the fact that post-pandemic, more people can work from anywhere and are looking to redefine their relationships with work.

The facts speak for themselves:

• In June, the median sales price of a home across the U.S. was $416,000, as reported by The National Association of Realtors. That’s a 13% increase year-on-year and makes the cost of a house out of reach for many—there is less and less demand for mortgages, as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
• As reported by AP, the euro has hit parity with the dollar for the first time in 20 years, making Europe and its homes, a much cheaper option than any other time this century—the most interest has been seen in Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece and France.
• Real estate specialist Sotheby’s, as reported by Bloomberg, said that interest in moving to Greece increased by 40% in the three month period of April to June 2022, compared to the year before (although undoubtedly, the pandemic may have a part to play in these decisions).
• Real estate agent Knight Frank also reported that the demand to move to France and Italy from the U.S. is the highest it’s been in three years.
• As another example, according to figures from the Portuguese government, the number of U.S. residents in Portugal increased by 45% in 2021 compared to 2020.
• This is being given impetus by the Great Resignation that is currently taking place—Fortune recently noted that 40% of people in the U.S. are considering leaving their jobs (these figures have stayed relatively constant over the past few months in surveys conducted by Microsoft and McKinsey).
• And it isn’t just Europe—Apex Capital Partners has seen a rise in Americans showing interest in obtaining Canadian citizenship (along with other investor immigration programs) because they are unhappy about the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Since the pandemic began there has been a 200% increase in interest and a further increase since the court ruling.

Of course, while it might be technically and financially feasible for more people to move to Europe, that doesn’t necessarily mean it would be easy to adapt. For one thing, consuming in and moving about European cities is completely different, but the hardest thing to take might be the space issue—nearly everything is smaller in Europe, including the houses.