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News — Despite headlines over the past decade, one might be tempted to think that Americans’ interest in moving abroad is on the rise. However, using a nationally-representative sample, a study led by Tufts University and the University of Kent found that US-born citizens’ aspirations to live abroad, when measured more comprehensively, actually stayed stable between 2014 and 2019—a period in which the United States witnessed deepening political polarization. The study was published in International Migration Review.

Surveying both liberal and conservative voters, this article interrogates whether, and if so how, political factors underlie the migration aspirations of US-born citizens—a group of people often assumed to have the privilege and options to relocate elsewhere, typically “voluntarily” and for a mix of economic or social/cultural/lifestyle reasons, rather than being pushed out politically by war, revolution, or violence.

While left-leaning panelists in our sample are indeed more likely than conservatives to consider living abroad, not only did liberals continue to rank exploration and adventure as their primary motivations in 2019, but it was also only in rare cases that their considerations appeared very serious, with just 6.3 percent of liberal panelists (and 2.2 percent of their conservative counterparts) reporting wanting to figure out how to make a move abroad happen someday, or having already begun making plans to do so, in that year.

Our results from 2014 to 2019 suggest that even when Americans do express aspirations to live abroad, such aspiration will likely remain concentrated more toward the realm of possible consideration than imminent intention. In addition, our results suggest that even when migration aspirations do emerge, they will not only continue to be motivated largely by social and lifestyle factors other than politics (such as seeing the world or finding a more fulfilling, rewarding, or sustainable lifestyle) but also be stronger among weak national identifiers and political liberals, rather than equally valent from both sides of the political aisle.

Keywords

American emigration, migration aspiration, national attachment, politics, exit, voice, loyalty