Did you know that the twenty-first century has spawned a new generation of American expats?
The numbers tell the story. The U.S. Department of State’s January 2013 estimate of the number of Americans living abroad exceeded 6.8 million, which was an increase of 500,000 from July 2012. Now, they will be the first to admit that these are estimates because a formal census is not conducted. But considering that over 1 million Americans call Mexico home, it’s a pretty good estimate based on embassy and consulate data.
Author John Wennersten, who spent 11 years as an expat in several countries, identified this new generation of American expatriates. In his seminal book, “Leaving America: The New Expatriate Generation,” he mused, “Americans are surging outward in search of new jobs, new identities and new lifestyles. For today’s restive American, abroad is the place to be.”
This is not surprising news to us. In a My International Adventure study of Americans who professed interest in moving abroad, over 40 percent said they were extremely or very likely to move abroad, nearly one-third within a year.
Our article, “The New American Expats Generation,” provides Wennersten’s take on who the new expats are, what they do when they arrive in their new country, how becoming an expat is so much easier today and what makes expats different from previous waves of Americans moving abroad.
Here’s an excerpt to whet your appetite: “Who are these American expatriates? They are the high achievers, people familiar with the world of information technology, marketing people and young entrepreneurs. They are not the backpacking kids who have decided to teach in China for a year, although that is still part of the equation.”
The new American expat generation is reading this blog.