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Economic necessity, the rise of digital nomad visas, the perceived decline of Western societies, increased global connectivity, and a desire for belonging will drive a significant increase in expatriation from Western countries in the future.
The video posits that a significant "flood" of expats will emerge in the future, driven primarily by economic necessity in Western countries like the United States. The destruction of the middle class, characterized by a rising cost of living that outpaces wage growth, coupled with recent tech layoffs, is forcing many to seek alternatives. This economic pressure is making people re-evaluate their options and look for ways to escape the "cash burn" and increasing financial struggles.
A major catalyst for this trend is the proliferation of digital nomad visas and work permits offered by countries worldwide. These programs attract skilled workers by providing legal avenues to live and work abroad, often coupled with attractive living conditions and lower costs compared to Western nations. Many individuals are discovering that they can achieve a higher standard of living, access affordable healthy food, and benefit from stable housing markets in countries that are actively seeking foreign talent and investment.
Furthermore, the video argues that a perceived decline in Western societies, marked by rising crime rates, a decrease in social trust, and escalating expenses related to security and insurance, is pushing people to seek more orderly and secure environments. The ease of global connectivity through the internet allows individuals to explore and virtually experience international destinations, often finding them more appealing, safe, and welcoming than their home countries. This increased exposure, combined with a desire for personal belonging and a sense of community, fuels the desire to relocate.
Finally, the concept of returning to one's home country or ancestral homeland is presented as another significant factor. Historical examples and personal anecdotes illustrate situations where individuals felt compelled to leave Western countries due to perceived societal shifts or distrust, finding better opportunities and a stronger sense of belonging elsewhere. The video concludes that for those who do not find the unique opportunities or sense of belonging in their current Western nation, returning to their home country may offer a more fulfilling path.
Many individuals are leaving western countries due to economic pressures, including a rising cost of living that outpaces wage growth and increased financial struggles. Perceived declines in societal order, such as rising crime rates and a decrease in social trust, also contribute to this trend.
The future expat wave refers to a projected significant increase in people emigrating from western countries. This surge is driven by a combination of economic necessity, the availability of digital nomad visas, and a desire for a better quality of life elsewhere.
Digital nomad visas and work permits offer attractive opportunities for skilled workers seeking to live abroad legally. These programs provide pathways to countries that often have lower costs of living and a higher standard of living than many western nations.
For many expats, the cost of living abroad is significantly lower than in western countries, allowing for a higher standard of living. This includes affordable housing, food, and other daily expenses, making financial stability more attainable.
The western middle class is emigrating due to economic pressures like rising living costs and stagnant wages, coupled with factors like tech layoffs. They are seeking better financial stability and a higher quality of life that may not be available in their home countries.
Yes, many expats seek and find a stronger sense of belonging and cultural warmth in other countries, especially if they perceive their current western country as declining. This desire for community and connection is a significant driver for relocation.
Many people are leaving the US due to economic necessity, with rising costs of living and stagnant wages making it difficult to survive. The destruction of the middle class and recent tech layoffs are pushing individuals to seek better financial opportunities and a higher standard of living elsewhere. The desire for a better life and financial stability is a primary driver for this emigration trend.
Yes, the proliferation of digital nomad visas and work permits globally is creating easier and legal avenues for people to live and work abroad. These programs attract skilled workers by offering attractive living conditions and lower costs compared to Western nations. This makes relocating internationally more accessible for those seeking new opportunities.
Some viewers perceive a decline in Western societies, citing rising crime rates and a decrease in social trust as reasons for seeking more orderly environments abroad. While one comment disputes this with recent FBI data showing a drop in violent crime, the perception of increased crime and decreased safety contributes to the desire to relocate.
Yes, there are concerns that an influx of expats, particularly those with significant financial resources from countries like China and Korea, can drive up local prices. This competition for housing and goods can make it more expensive for everyone in popular expat destinations like Thailand and Mexico.
Expats are relocating to various countries, with Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand and the Philippines, being frequently mentioned destinations. Ecuador and Mexico are also noted as popular choices for those seeking a better quality of life and financial stability. Some individuals are also considering returning to their ancestral home countries.
There is a perception that competition for remote jobs has become fierce, especially with the rise of many aspiring digital nomads. Some also report that fields like drop shipping have seen a significant decline, indicating potential challenges in securing remote work or online income streams.
0:01 YouTube Alex here and I want to answer the question why will there be a flood of expats in the future in this video. So stick with me and let's get into it. The first reason is going to be economic necessity. We're seeing the destruction of the middle class in Western countries like the United States where I'm from. We're seeing a dramatic increase in the cost of living without a corresponding increase in wages or wage growth.
0:24 We're seeing a lot of former middle-class people who are getting priced out of the West. Their cost of living seems to go up every year, taxes seem to go up every year, and yet their wages are not keeping up. Couple that with the tech layoffs, and you've got a recipe for unhappiness for lots of people. The layoffs are continuing to peak. I'm recording this in March of 2024. Last month, February, had the highest number of layoffs to date. It could increase even more this month, unfortunately.
0:49 With costs higher than ever, people are really struggling and they're trying to figure out how can I stop the cash burn? The answer to that is in the form of digital nomad visas. For example, if you look at a lot of countries around the world, they are creating these nomad visas to encourage skilled workers to come and live in their country. They're often coupled, of course, with work permits so that they're following the laws and the rules by doing so.
1:17 This is a really attractive offer. You're seeing all kinds of different countries offer this now. There are a lot of people who don't expect to be rich, but they also don't want to be serfs. They don't want to live in bad neighborhoods, they don't want to live around rough characters, they don't want to have to send money to address crime. There are countries out there that have a greater sense of order than what Americans have become accustomed to in recent years.
1:41 They're finding overseas, 'Oh wow, my rent doesn't go up 10-20% every year because they built plenty of housing.' They find out, 'Oh wow, I can have healthy food at an affordable price because in America, healthy food is expensive.' I mentioned it in my previous point, but there is mutual benefit for the countries that opt to offer these special visa programs. They'll see a lot of benefits in terms of people spending money in their country and allowing their citizens to get that money to boost their local purchasing power and to benefit everyone.
2:14 There's a mutual benefit situation there. It's a positive win-win game. The local people make money from their businesses, and the foreigners benefit from a higher standard of living. The number three point is that the West is in decline. It's fairly obvious if you look at the crime in major Western cities. It's out of control. If you look at the prices, they're out of control. The only thing that seems to stay the same are the wages.
2:36 I have conversations with people from Gen X or the boomer generation where we're discussing how America used to be a high-trust society, and it's no longer a high-trust society. I posit that crime is underreported in the United States. I know I've been a victim of crime. I've talked to neighbors about it, and they said, 'Oh, the local police don't do anything about it anyway, so don't bother reporting it.' This crime in Denver, Colorado, or San Francisco, California, comes with an expense.
3:00 That shift to a low-trust society means people are having to spend more money on security companies, are having to spend more money on insurance. These costs get passed down onto consumers. It's not the businesses that are paying for this in the end; it's people like you and I. Regardless of how you feel about the causes, and everybody has different beliefs as far as what the causes of these issues are, but what a lot of us can agree on is that the prices aren't coming down.
3:25 The American government does not want deflation. They don't want to have to deal with the repercussions of deflation. I recommend reading up on what the consequences of deflation in the United States would be in a perpetual growth economy, and it wouldn't be pretty. It's a real problem.
3:41 Fourth point as to why more people will leave in the coming years is that with the internet, it's easier than ever to learn about the world. If you're curious about a certain international destination, you can pop it into YouTube or Google and read blogs and articles and watch videos. You have all this content to engage with. You can even throw up Google Street View and take a walk around the area to see what it looks like for yourself without even having to have your feet on the ground in that location.
4:06 I show videos to some family back home of Bangkok, and they are shocked. They come in thinking, 'Oh wow, they had one perception,' and now they're like, 'Wow, that looks really advanced. It looks safe, it looks clean. It looks like people are very polite. It looks like people are getting along.' How different from the United States where it seems like we're at each other's throats.
4:29 Also, they're surprised at how beautiful the beaches are, how modest the prices are. I will never call it cheap, but it is priced for tourism. It's designed for people to come here and enjoy. A little additional note: you don't get the sense of the whipsaw economy like in the United States here in Thailand. None of my friends have been laid off; they've all kept their jobs. They're in different industries. There's this greater sense of unity I notice here that I just really admire and respect.
4:52 Every time I come to Thailand, it seems like the English is better and better, and there's this sense of optimism in the air, which makes it easier and easier for Western tourists to come here when they have this confidence. 'Hey, if I'm in the city center or if I'm at a gorgeous beach, then I'm going to have some level of English communication where I don't always have to be pulling out Google Translate.'
5:15 With the increased diversity in the West, more and more people are being exposed to cultures different than their own. I know in Japan, the Latino community from LA has had a big impact there in certain urban parts of the country where people feel that the Hispanic culture is much warmer and kinder than the Japanese culture, which, I'm part Japanese, and I would agree with that. When I've spent time around Hispanic people, I've always been surprised at how warm they are compared to what I grew up with.
5:41 The fifth and final point here is that some people are going to want to move back to their home country or the home country of their parents. I'll briefly share the story of my two great-uncles in Japan. They were living in the United States in the late 1930s. They started to get the sense that something was going wrong in America. One of them said, 'You know what? I don't trust it. I'm leaving.' He went back to Japan. He took his money with him. He was able to run for mayor and get elected mayor of his town.
6:05 The other said, 'No, I trust the US. I'm going to stay here.' He got his land seized, he got put in an internment camp, and lost his land in Oregon. After he got out, he had to go back to Japan, penniless. Now, am I getting into theatrics here or hysterics, suggesting that things are going to get that extreme? No, I'm not. However, I wonder with the uncle that lost everything, would he have been better off staying in Japan? His part of Japan was not as impacted as some other parts of Japan.
6:31 It's certainly something worth considering. I think more and more people, when they see where their home country is at, if they feel that things are going in the right direction, then they'll be more open to going back. They're not going to feel as strong of a sense of attachment to us. I think of the US as an economic zone, it's a place to have certain kinds of opportunities that are unique. But if you don't need those opportunities, or those opportunities aren't presented to you, or you don't earn those opportunities, however you want to spin it, then you may be better off going back to your home country.
7:00 I feel more at home here in Southeast Asia than I do back in the US. I don't have the sensation of being a perpetual foreigner like I feel in the United States. I feel very welcomed by Thai people. I feel very accepted by Thai people, and I love Thailand, and I'm so grateful to be here and to be spending time here. So thanks so much for watching this video. It has been a brief overview of why I think the middle class will start leaving the United States.
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