Cecilia Lei

It wasn't the easiest task.

For years, the U.S.

hasn't comprehensively tallied who leaves the country.

The record numbers of departures can be partly attributed to Trump's immigration policy.

A White House spokesperson told the Journal the U.S.

economy was outpacing other developed nations and that while deportations are increasing, the country was also attracting high-net-worth foreigners.

Beneath the surface, though, there's a more interesting and longer-term trend happening here that predates the start of Trump's second term in office.

Remote work, mounting living costs, and the notion that a more accessible life awaits elsewhere.

Americans have left for places like Bali, Colombia, Thailand, and Mexico, but they've been particularly drawn to Europe.

Some of the numbers are striking.

In the past 10 years, the number of Americans in Spain and the Netherlands has more than doubled.

And in Portugal, the total number of Americans living there since the pandemic has gone up by 500 percent.

These moves don't appear short-lived.

The Journal reports that the number of requests to renounce citizenship in order to get a foreign passport or to avoid taxation abroad has jumped, and applications for British and Irish citizenship have been increasing too.

Over the last few years, these moves have not always been welcomed.

Countries like Spain have pushed back on so-called digital nomads, and outside of Europe, there have been some protests against gentrification caused by American salaries.

The Journal says, for the U.S., the trend has presented a bit of an existential question.

Are these moves a credit to the U.S.

economy, in the sense that salaries afford a nice life overseas?

Or is this indicative of some deeper loss of faith in life here?