A lot of people spoke of and searched for opportunities to move offshore indicating there is a strong post-election desire to GTFO.
November 18, 2025
By: Bobby Casey, Managing Director GWP
Election season can be a particularly stressful and dramatic time of year for many. Sadly, most governments have become so large that the stakes only get higher and higher with each season.
In the US, every election has been called “the most important and consequential election of our time”. I can’t help but diagnose the US government with some sort of Borderline Personality Disorder with a side of Histrionics.
I see a lot of people who are fed up, and the elections are just the final straw. I don’t blame them. Some sardonically say, “If you don’t like it leave”, as if to say “Good riddance”. I say, “If you don’t like it, leave”, but I say it in a congratulatory way. I’m actually quite happy for people who try to find a level of freedom that suits them best.
Everyone has that one catalyst that has them slamming the brakes on their current trajectory and trying something new. The post-election desire to GTFO is as good a stimulant as any to look at your offshore options!
Big events often lead to big changes
Donald Trump winning a second term as President of the United States, left a lot of people very upset. Not just the liberals, but libertarians and other independents.
In one sense, getting the results at least brought some finality to all the drama. But in another, people wonder what the implications for them are for the next four years and beyond.
Of course it’s not everyone. But it’s noticeably more than before the election, according to Sky News:
- Google searches for moving abroad increased by more than 1,000% for certain countries after the US election result became clear, data shows.
- US searches for “move to Canada” increased by 1,270% in the 24 hours after the polls closed on the East Coast on Tuesday, according to Google data.
- Similar queries about emigrating to Australia surged by 820%, the figures suggest.
- Data from the Immigration New Zealand website shows 25,000 new US users accessed the website on 7 November – compared to 1,500 on the same day in previous years.
While it might seem like a hasty or panicked choice, it really isn’t when you consider their motives are the same as every other expat and nomad have been for years: government stability, affordable cost of living, accessible healthcare, safety, ease of assimilation and a nice climate. Depending on how you interpret and view the political climate, the post-election desire to GTFO is rather normal.
The trend toward nomad and expat life has continued upward
Remember the last surge was the pandemic lockdowns in 2020. The elastic didn’t snap all the way back. Some had to return to the office, but others did not. The economic aftermath of the pandemic had people not just reevaluating where they worked, but how they worked:
In 2024, there are more than 76 million freelancers in the US gig economy. That’s up 33% from 2017, and the number is projected to grow to 90 million by 2028. The main reason for this explosive growth is the rapid rise of gig economy apps. It’s no longer just about Uber and Lyft, as many online platforms connect businesses with freelancers available today.
2020 saw a record number of citizen renunciations in the US (6,705) while 2021 saw 2,426: a 176% drop.
Renunciation is much more difficult than simply living abroad as a nomad, but depending on the source, anywhere from 4-8 million non-military Americans alone are living abroad. So a few thousand renounced to the several million that simply not living in the US.
It’s not all politically motivated either. Plenty of people work abroad or have significant others abroad, and work and family are probably the two things that can get someone to pack their stuff and go more than anything else.
The workforce is moving away from full-time employees toward freelancers who are hired on a contract basis. The flow of business and even economic conditions are volatile, to say the least, and committing to full-time staff has become difficult, if not impossible, and often unaffordable.
But the freelancer provides an affordable work-around. The worker gets flexibility, and the employers get workers more on an as-needed basis without all the overhead that comes with full-time employees. It can be a win-win for all parties. Freelancers could be seen as sole proprietorship or solopreneurs, if structured correctly.
But this is the growing trend:
What once was incidental and supplemental is now routinely baked into companies’ operating model. An astonishing 72 million Americans, or about 45% of the workforce, reaped at least some of their earnings from independent contracting last year. Those classified as full-time freelancers, defined as putting in more than 15 hours per week, reached 26 million. Freelancers overall and full-time freelancers were up by a staggering 89% and 91% respectively, compared to 2020, according to the 2023 State of Independence in America report by MBO Partners, a US-based direct sourcing platform.
With more and more freelance opportunities rising in high-skilled areas, this could be the segue into work that pays for the post-election desire to GTFO.
Where to go?
Conde Nast lists sixty-six countries with a digital nomad visa. They call out seven as top choices: Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Estonia, Romania , Malta, and Portugal.
Kolekti offered an interesting analysis, since everyone has different priorities when looking for a place to bug out to:
- Safest digital nomad destination: Iceland
- Low cost of living: Mexico
- A thriving digital nomad community: Japan
- Best beach destination for remote work: Barbados
- A great local digital nomad destination: Portugal
- Most diverse food scene: Thailand
- Best digital nomad destination for transport: Germany
- Best city life for digital nomads: New York
- Location with historical interest: Italy
- Good weather all year around: Canary Islands
Regardless of where you go, a few other factors to consider when evaluating your destination:
- Cost of living
- Visa restrictions
- Transportation
- Crime rate
- Accommodations
- Digital connectivity
While there is a lot to think about, and a decent checklist of things to do in preparation for becoming a digital nomad, it’s not insurmountable. Millions of people all over the world are doing it, and it’s not just ultra rich celebrities either. This is a luxury that very recently has become accessible to a lot more people thanks to technological developments in the last few years.
The post-election desire to GTFO is understandable, whatever your reasons. The pursuit of happiness doesn’t have a radius. Remember that.
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