Jessica Mendoza

This shift started before the COVID pandemic, but it really exploded during that time.

That's when remote work uncoupled where you could live from where you could work.

And the numbers reflect that trend.

One thing enabling the surge?

American wages.

Even middle-class American salaries are high compared to most around the globe.

And that's letting more people move abroad.

Joe and Drew talked to dozens of people who've made the move.

And Joe actually bumped into one of them at the supermarket.

That's Michael LeBlanc.

Like many other Americans that Joe and Drew talked to, Michael and his wife Stephanie started thinking about leaving the U.S.

during the pandemic.

The LeBlancs lived in Los Angeles, where Michael is from.

Both had careers.

Stephanie was working for the Kuwaiti consulate in the cultural office, and Michael worked as a creative producer at a software company.

But even with full-time jobs, between groceries, housing, and childcare for their two young kids, their everyday expenses could be a burden.

And on top of that, there was healthcare.

These kinds of concerns over health care costs were something Drew and Joe heard about a lot in their interviews.

And it's not just the cost of living.

The LeBlancs, they were just feeling overwhelmed by an American culture of hustling all the time just to keep up.