Cindy Sheahan was at a crossroads. Friends and loved ones were passing away, and her marriage was starting to unravel. She could feel life passing her by — and after years spent raising her kids, she decided it was finally time to put herself first.
“I figured I’d start traveling abroad,” Sheahan, 64, told Business Insider. “My company was kind enough to let me take a sabbatical while I sorted out my world. It turned out to be a mistake for them, because I decided I wasn’t coming back.”
Over the last several years, Sheahan, now divorced, has traveled to nearly 50 countries, including Laos, Portugal, Madagascar, Turkey, and Vietnam. In 2025, she made Palermo, Sicily, her home base. And while she plans to visit the US from time to time, she says she won’t be moving back anytime soon.
“I feel like I outgrew a lot of people and places in the US,” Sheahan said. “Don’t get me wrong — I desperately miss my friends and family, especially my kids. But they’re all able to travel, and they’d much rather visit me somewhere fun than grab a drink at a bar in Denver.”
In Italy, she added, “I eat better, I’ve made new friends, I’ve cut down on expenses — and most importantly, I’m happy.”
More people are moving out of the US, and fewer are moving in
Census Bureau data shows that net international migration — essentially, arrivals minus departures — hit a high of 2.7 million in 2024. By July 2025, that number had dropped to 1.3 million, and if the current trajectory holds, the Bureau forecasts it could fall again to about 321,000 in 2026.
“If those trends continue, it would be the first time the United States has seen net negative migration in more than 50 years,” the Bureau said on its website.
The Bureau attributes the change to two trends moving in opposite directions: fewer people immigrating to the US, and more people leaving the country to live abroad.
Over the past few years, I’ve spoken with more than a dozen Americans — most of them women — about why they moved abroad. Many mention the same mix of reasons: the US has become too expensive, and they want to step away from work and build lives that feel more meaningful. It led them to places like Panama, Spain, Albania, and France.
Cepee Tabibian, a Spain-based relocation coach who has helped many Americans move overseas, told Business Insider that a growing number of her female clients are also worried about the political climate in the States.
“Before, I think people just wanted to move for a better quality of life; to fulfill a dream, to have a softer life. But now a lot of things that are coming up for people are related to the political situation,” she said.
Here are the stories of four women I spoke with about why they left the US and how their lives have changed since, for better and worse.
High living costs have pushed some women out
You’ve probably noticed how much more expensive life in the US has gotten. Data show consumer prices are up about 25% since 2020. For older single women, that can make it especially hard to get by, particularly when Social Security is their main source of income.
For Sheahan, moving abroad was partially a financial decision. She has savings and investments, but in retirement, her most dependable income is the $1,500 she receives each month in Social Security. In Denver, that wouldn’t have covered rent. In Palermo, it pays for her $800-a-month apartment and still leaves room for groceries and nights out.
“I love that I can go to the grocery store and not break the bank. You can buy tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, sundried tomatoes, and everything else for a song,” she said. Healthcare has been cheaper for her, too; seeing a specialist costs her about $40.
Sandy Adam can relate. After she was laid off from her tech job in 2025, she was unable to find another role and retired. But the idea of living on just her $3,608-a-month Social Security benefit back in Pittsburgh made her nervous — especially with annual property taxes of about $6,900 on her 1,700-square-foot home.
“I asked myself: If I tried to live off Social Security, could I afford to stay in that house? I probably could, but it would be really tight,” Adam, 69, said. “Long-term, though, the financial predictability felt increasingly uncertain — my everyday living expenses like groceries were going up too. I wanted to simplify my life, with fewer fixed costs and fewer surprises.”
She decided moving to Europe was “more practical” than trying to make it work in the US.
She now lives in Chatou, a suburb of Paris, renting a 548-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with her dog. She pays $1,679 a month, and while she says it still feels a little expensive, it’s given her “a soft landing” while she figures out where she ultimately wants to settle.
Some women want to reinvent themselves
For many women on the cusp of retirement, moving overseas also gives them a chance to reinvent themselves.
“It’s not just living your same exact life in a different destination,” Tabibian said. “A lot of women who come to me want to quit their jobs and maybe spend some time re-getting to know themselves, or take the time to try something different.”
Natalie Lynch had been working since she was 15. Burned out and priced out of the Bay Area, she decided to wind down her home-staging business of 24 years and move to Europe in 2024, hoping for a more relaxed and purposeful life, not to mention a lower cost of living.
“The pandemic, with its loss of freedom, loss of connectivity, and the very clear message that life can be short, was a real wake-up call for me,” Lynch, 56, told Business Insider. “I decided I needed to make some big changes, even if I didn’t have a clear idea of what the endgame would look like.”
Her time in Europe hasn’t been perfect.
She’s bounced between Italy, Spain, and, most recently, France. With only her dog, Enzo, as her travel companion, she’s felt lonely at times, and navigating European bureaucracy has been challenging — especially since she isn’t fluent in Spanish or French. Still, she said, escaping her hectic life and the rising costs back home has been life-changing.
“While I don’t think I’m living my best life here, it’s a better life than I had in California, so I’m headed in the right direction,” she said. “I haven’t figured it all out yet, but the slower pace of life, not having to grind every day running a business, and being out of the rat race has been a huge gift.”
After gifting herself a birthday trip to Paris in 2019 — complete with a French baking workshop — Dawn Belisle, an attorney and part-time pastry chef from Atlanta, fell so in love with France that she moved there in 2022.
“My spirit felt at peace there in a way that’s hard to describe,” Belisle, 56, told Business Insider. “Everyone was just living. They’re out and about, enjoying each other’s company. They sit at cafés, eating and drinking together. They don’t have the same hustle-and-bustle culture we have in the US.”
Belisle now lives in the Carré d’Or, one of Nice’s pricier, livelier neighborhoods. She spends her days walking the beach, shopping local markets for fresh produce, and lingering at cafés with her French and Italian friends.
She continues to work as an attorney, consulting with a couple of offices, but France has also opened the door to her second act: creating a lifestyle brand where she posts style and travel content and mentors people considering a move abroad. It’s given her a new sense of purpose.
“The peace I have in France is unbeatable,” Belisle said. “I still do a lot and keep a schedule, but I feel more in control of my life here. I’m living to live instead of work, and I’m exploring more. To me, that’s success.”
Madison Hoff, a reporter on Business Insider’s economy team, contributed to this article.
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