Where to Flee

Last update: February 16, 2021

THIS WEB SITE COMPILES INFORMATION FROM ACROSS THE INTERNET AND BOOKS ABOUT THE BEST (and worst) PLACES TO MOVE TO.

Expat frustration: unrecognized residency cards leads to three days sleeping at airport in Spain

Expat exits from the Gulf States "threatens the economy"

"...GCC countries are experiencing an accelerating shift in the labour market due to an exodus of expatriates" - Trade Arabia

Buying property in Greece

Story at UK Times [English]

The "misinformation" on expat living

Living Abroad: Challenging the Myths of Expat Life is unique in that it is not a “how-to” book or even a “why to” book. Instead, it is an insider’s look from someone who has lived life abroad and written for travel/retirement publications. Using informative and often amusing examples from his own life and travels, the author tackles questions and myths he has heard in his experiences meeting other expats as well as talking with potential expats via email and at conventions.

Story at WBOC

Getting health care for international workers getting harder to obtain

Story at Employee Benefits

Being an expat business person in Mexico

Story at Mexico News Daily

Why do people relocate?

The curious allure of expat life – What makes a person give up their homeland and relocate somewhere entirely different?

Story at The Australian

Corruption rankings, country-by-country

"Corruption and COVID-19 worsening democratic backsliding"

Ranking at transparency.org

January 28, 2021

Moving from Philadelphia to Chongqing

"I first moved to Chongqing in 2015, but I had visited the city previously. The most striking changes have to be the malls. The growth of malls is nothing short of incredible. Just off the top of my head, I can think of The Oval, The Ring, Aegean, Xin Kong Plaza, IFS, Xing Fu Square, MixCity, and Raffles City. Along with the malls, there seem to be new skyscrapers everywhere I look, and it's not just in the major commercial districts."

Story at China Daily

Crossing from Greece to Ireland by car

One man's story at Irish Times

Saudi Arabia testing engineers before entry

"...to ensure quality of engineering work and to safeguard society."

Story at Saudi Expatriates

Grasping the expat lifestyle

Story at Linked-in

Why expats are coming to Athens

Foreigners long overlooked the Greek capital in favor of the islands. But since the worst years of the Greek economic crisis, Athens has seen an ever-growing stream of foreigners drawn here.

Story at Protothema

The expat experience under Covid

Story at MSN News

"Shock" for German expat moving to Australia

The differences between Germany and Australia vary, but increases in regard to recreatonal life. Story at UK Daily Mail

The end of "passporting" after Brexit

Story at UK Express

And more: fees for international money movement going up after Brexit - story at This is Money

Expat employees of Huawei face firing for marrying locals

The Daily Telegraph

January 13, 2021

No citizenship path despite residency

List of countries where there's no way forward or the procedure is "problematic." Discussed in a frank way at Nomad Capitalist. (Countries discussed are Malaysia, Panama, Latvia, Singapore, Montenegro, Malta, Greece, Peru, Uruguay, and Dominican Republic.)

American expat in Australia

18-year old woman's experiences at UK Daily Mail

Brexit problems: banks closing expat accounts

Accidental procedural issues described at UK Times

How To Move Abroad And Why It's The Best Thing You'll Do - AMAZON

Switzerland at the top of this Top Ten List

Living and working abroad comparison - story at MSN News

The campaign to capture "digital nomads"

Story at Forbes Magazine

How we retired to Greece

She and her husband, Americans in their 60s, moved here without speaking Greek and only weeks after she retired from her job in Arkansas. They settled on Athens after considering Tampa, Fla., Barcelona and Venice and say it’s a great fit for what they want: easy travel and an affordable place to live.

December 3, 2020: Story at MSN News

Moving internationally while black

"Moving Abroad Doesn't Mean Leaving Racism Behind, Say Black American Expats"

Story at CN traveler

Related: "How racism and discrimination affect black people in China and Hong Kong" - SCMP

"What It Means to Be a New Yorker in Exile"

Story at Town and Country

Tax reduction benefits for foreigner workers moving to Greece

November 25, 2020: Article at Daily Hellas [in Greek - to read in translation, use Google translate tool]

The changing fortunes of the formerly highly-sought expat cities around the world

Take a pandemic, combine it with a global recession and add a sprinkle of pent-up nationalism. For skilled foreign workers around the globe it’s an increasingly bitter cocktail. From financial-powerhouse Singapore to the U.S.’s tech hubs to oil-rich Kuwait, life has gotten much tougher for workers living abroad who until recently were courted for their expertise."

Other countries (for example Greece) are noticing these changing patterns and are creating packages to lure them. Story at Bloomberg

Best places in Europe for American expats 2021

"The 20 finalists were chosen from a first selection of 120 destinations."

Story at Forbes Magazine

December 3, 2020

Locked down in Paris

An expat talks about "reconfinement" - Story at Vogue

It’s a strange and ongoing reality. Been there, done that. Or, more accurately, not going there, not doing that. Reconfinement is like the movie sequel that didn’t need to get made; and already, people are wondering whether these next few weeks aren’t actually the means to an end, but the confirmation of a periodic, nationwide new routine. If other countries across Europe are also imposing strict measures to battle this second wave, confinement in France is among the most extreme. Once again, there is a permission form we must fill out in order to go out, and it stipulates the same limits on duration and distance for exercise."

Philippines stops retirement VISA program

Suspended temporarily due to huge jump in applicants from China - story at MSN News

For more about expat Philippines, see our page on The Philippines.

October 24, 2020

USA stops American citizen and visa services in Turkey

Fears over kidnapping and terror plots

Story at CBS News

The problem of Expat depression

Living abroad has its rigors - story at Daily Sabah

Scandinavia dominates polling for expat "environment and sustainability ranking"

September 30, 2020 - Information gathered by InterNations.

"Finland, Sweden, Norway fill the top three places in the environment & sustainability ranking, with Denmark placing 6th. The U.K. placed 28th while the U.S. placed 30th. InterNations asked over 15,000 expats representing 173 nationalities and living in 181 countries to rate 65 different aspects of life abroad."

Arrticle at Forbes Magazine

The retraction of expat community in Singapore due to the pandemic

The worldwide pandemic has forced major changes in many places, and Singapore, a longtime magnet for expat living, has created impediments to hiring outside of the country.

...In the first 5 months of this year alone, 60,000 foreigners lost their jobs in Singapore. Foreign employment fell by 5.7% in the first half of 2020, compared to 2.7% in the local workforce. And for the first time since 2003, Singapore has seen a shrink in the population...

"Why It Sucks to Be An Expat In Singapore Now" by Edoardo Liotta - article at MSN News

Japan re-opening doors

"Labor-starved Japan welcomes return of foreign workers. Tokyo will open borders to non-tourists next week"

Article at NHK News Japan

Completion of Brexit means major changes for Expat community

With the coming end of the Brexit transition period on December 31, changes are impacting financial systems where expat Brits live.

Article at Yahoo News

Related article at UK Telegraph – "Banks must give customers 'fair warning' before closing expat accounts, MPs warn"

Voting and the estimated nine million Americans living outside of the USA

In Hong Kong, home to about 85,000 Americans, postal workers said in August that standard mail to the United States would take two to three months to arrive. For voters registering to vote in New York state, where even if you register by email you still must sign and mail in your paperwork, standard mail is now out of the question to make the Oct. 9 deadline by which voting forms need to have been sent.

Story at Yahoo News

September 12, 2020

Kiwi expats go home

The "brain-drain-gain" benefits New Zealand - story at BBC News

Expat in the South of France

About the writer James Baldwin and a profile of him from Architectural Digest. Story at MSN News

Expats stuck outside of Kuwait

Unable to enter due to expired residency permits - story at Zawya News

Expat families exiting from Hong Kong

Hong Kong traditionally ranks in the top ten (if not number #1) in appreciation by expats for this Chinese city, but the coronavirus has had a major and significant impact.