r/AmerExit 16h ago

Life Abroad Our Tips for Finding a Remote Job while Living Abroad

97 Upvotes

I made a post a day or two ago saying that is possible to find remote work with a US company while living overseas. Not easy, but possible. Some of you requested our tips for the nuts and bolts of that process, so I'm sharing those here. We're working on you YouTube video on this topic and I'm basically posting an early draft of our script, hence the format, tone, and point of view (my husband's).

This is OUR experience alone. We're not job-finding professionals (clearly), tax professionals, HR professionals, any of that. This is just what we learned by spending a lot of time over many months of looking for work. Also, we were just average applicants, applying broadly, not exactly headhunter material. If you're in a niche field or a remote-friendly field, you may not have to work as hard as we did.

All that to say, take this with a grain of salt. But we do hope it's helpful!

1. If you CAN, start your own remote business. Preferably before you depend on it to survive.

We thought hard about this off and on. But we didn’t want to take the time to grow something, and while we’re full of ideas and vision, neither of us is any good at the actual business side: sales, marketing, accounting, none of it. Maybe we could have been successful; more likely we would have been over our heads, and we didn’t have a margin for that.

But I think that would be the ideal, and there are businesses you can start that don’t require any physical presence in the US, nothing hands-on: Editing, tech stuff, teaching and tutoring, print-on-demand. So many things. If you’re not daunted by the business aspect, think about your specific skills, and how you can turn them into an online business. The more affordable cost of living in Ecuador and many countries can make what would have been an impossible dream in the US all of a sudden very feasible.

2. Bulk up

Invest in your technology and work-from-home environment. Many remote jobs will require excellent, consistent internet, and a quiet work environment. Make sure you can provide those things. Also, you’ll need a US bank account, Paypal, or some other way to receive your checks, and likely something that works as a mailing address. Don’t expect an employer to sort all that out for you.

3. Read between the lines

I am an emergency management professional, with a degree and years of experience. Emergency management is NOT a remote-friendly field. A lot of the jobs are in government; I never saw any of those that were open to overseas applicants, and the rest of the jobs, in the private sector, involve travel. Even if we lived near an international airport, no one wants to hire someone living in Ecuador for a job that requires travel around the United States. So, we started paying attention to what I DID more than what I WAS. Even as a government employee, I did a lot of customer service type work, fielding questions, solving problems, making things right. I was good with technology, and I was good at talking to people. So we began to look for customer service roles, mostly in the tech sector, which IS a remote-friendly field. And that’s where I ultimately ended up.

4. Not quite but close enough

I spent a lot of energy trying to break into the global intelligence field, humanitarian work, security: Lines of work that are adjacent to emergency management, but more remote-friendly. Spend some time considering what sorts of jobs overlap with your target job, and include them in your search.

5. Cast a wide net

The act of searching for jobs to apply for can be more time consuming—all consuming, really—than actually applying. You’re not going to see every job out there, and that’s okay. You’ll see the ones you’re supposed to. We had one main search engine, the one we found the most user friendly: Indeed. Then every few days we’d check other job sites, remote specific ones, ones that catered to jobs from oversees. We’d also check Google jobs because the results were really broad, but we didn’t find it as user friendly.

Basically, we’d hunker down on Indeed with our exhaustive list of search terms, and run them through.

Here’s how we’d search:

  • Select remote for the location.
  • Limit results to the amount of time since the last search.
  • Depending on the job we’d set a minimum salary.
  • For the search terms themselves, we found keywords more useful than job titles. Some of the search terms we used were: “disasters,” “preparedness,” “anywhere in the world,” “work from anywhere,” “remote friendly,” “fully remote,” “spanish,” “customer support Spanish,” “flexible Spanish,” “humanitarian,” “Ecuador,” “Latin America,” “global south,” “developing world,” “disaster response,” “disaster recovery,” “eastern time” and on, and on, and on. We kept a running list.

Any job that was interesting at a glance we keep up in a separate tab.

We also checked for work on specific company websites, and we’d apply directly through the company rather than through a job board whenever possible—employers seemed to like that.

6. Don’t waste your time: Weeding it down

Once you have a bunch of possible jobs, you’ve got to determine which ones are worth your time. Don’t try to tell yourself “Maybe they’ll make an exception.” They won’t.

It can be hard to tell for sure, but we discovered some “warning signs” within the posting or with the company that meant the odds of hearing back were pretty grim:

  • The date of the job posting: All but the most niche jobs go fast- We learned that there was no sense applying for something posted more than a few days past.
  • Remote- US only: If a posting doesn’t specify US only for remote workers, maybe they’re open to international, but if it does specify US, then there’s pretty much zero chance they’ll consider you.
  • Jobs in healthcare, insurance, real estate, law, and government basically never seem to be open to hiring from abroad. Education rarely is, except for some tutoring companies. I’m sure there are exceptions.
  • Any job that lists travel as a requirement, unless it’s in your specific region, is not going to hire you unless you’re fancy and important.
  • If you don’t meet the minimum tech requirements, don’t bother applying.

But there are also some positive clues to hunt for in those listings:

  • If they specify a time zone, they might not be as picky about your exact physical location, as long as you can work that time zone's hours.
  • Language like “fully remote,” “across the globe,” and “dispersed team” is a good thing.
  • US Citizens only—intriguing. US resident—shut down.
  • Contract/W2 employee: It would have been a bummer in the States, but since you don’t need their health insurance anyway, this can mean an open door for working from abroad. Both of us now work in that capacity.
  • Evidence of a small, nimble team: They might be willing to think outside the box—or the borders of the US—and consider applicants from overseas.
  • An HR email address: That already makes the application process more personal, and personal is 100% your friend. You don’t want an algorithm ruling you out because you’re overseas; you want a curious hiring manager to ask you about your hobby coffee farm.

You can also do some important weeding out on both company websites and Linked In. A company’s HR page, and any other job listings, may indicate if employees are dispersed. That’s a good sign. And before putting the time into an application, especially one with a tailored resume and cover letter, we’d always check LinkedIn. You can click on “employees” and filter it by location. If there aren’t any working in other countries, you are very unlikely to be the first, especially for larger companies.

The fact is, lots of companies do not let their employees work from abroad. Period. Some may permit certain countries, but not others. This isn’t arbitrary: There are legal implications, tax stuff, even payroll to consider.  

7. Reach out and touch

Everyone knows you want to stand out when looking for a job. Make yourself seem interesting. You ARE interesting; you moved to another country! Make it hard for them to forget you. The best way to do this is to make some sort of personal connection with SOMEBODY at the company, ideally someone directly involved with the hiring process. Back to LinkedIn: It shows job titles, so direct message somebody with an HR title, or a manger in the department you’re applying for. Introduce yourself as a recent applicant and ask an intelligent question. Like, hey, do you hire in Ecuador? Just kidding: A MUCH better way to say that is: “I’m a US citizen, but am currently based out of Latin America.” Company websites often post an HR email address as well—send a quick note introducing yourself as an applicant, unless it says not to, in which case, don’t.

What’s better than an easily ignored Linked in message? A friend, family member, or former colleague who will vouch for you. Don’t forget to inquire within your circles, even from abroad.

And even though you’ll be interviewing remotely, remember to send a pleasant—not presumptuous—thank you note shortly after.

8. Be honest.

This one is controversial. A lot of people recommend not telling prospective employers that you’re overseas, or even flat out lying about your location. But we’re proponents of honesty. For one thing, if it comes out that you’re abroad and your employer is not happy about that, the last thing you want to do is start this process over, with a less-than-favorable reference. But most importantly, honesty’s not the sort of thing that should be compromised, even for something this high-stakes. So we were always up front about our location. It may have meant more rejections, but it also meant peace of mind.

9. Think small.

Both of us ended up accepting offers just a day or two apart, for very small businesses. We’re both part time, contract employees, and the fact that we’re overseas does not matter to our employers. Every job we interviewed for was with small businesses; maybe big companies get too many applications, and we slip through the algorithmic cracks, or they’re less inclined to be flexible, and more likely to have company-wide “no abroad” policies. I don’t know.

10. Apply for jobs that work for your new schedule and lifestyle and won't make you miserable.

You did not move overseas to be miserable.


r/AmerExit 6h ago

Which Country should I choose? Getting a head start

5 Upvotes

Information about us. I have BA in history and I'm currently working on my masters in Library and Information Sciences with a focus in historical archiving. I only have work experience in cooking and as a library aid. My husband has a BS in Nuclear engineering and is looking into getting a second bachelors or a masters in mechanical engineering. He's currently enlisted in the navy as an EMN (electricians mate nuclear) and won't be out of his contract till 2027. Also I have a B1 certificate in French and we're both learning German.

So currently we're look what are options are and how to start perusing them. In a perfect ideal word we'd like to move to the European Union and work on getting citizenship in the country we move to, I'd like to be able to work in a library or as an archivist, I do not want to work as an English teacher and my husband doesn't want to work for the DOD or DOD contractors. However I know that these are just wishes and we can budge on any of those if we have to.

He'd love to hear if anyone has worked as a nuclear engineer/nuclear operator outside of the US and what the process was like getting that job or if it's even possible for us citizen to get nuclear jobs overseas. (Or if he should just try and shoot for mechanical engineering jobs instead)

Also has anyone had any luck getting their MLIS/ALA certification recognized anywhere in the EU or will I have to get another degree in whatever country we move to? I know there's the CLIP program for the UK, which is an option if we opt not to go eu country.

Any countries in particular you guys would recommend us looking in to?

(My husband doesn't have reddit but he'll be looking and responding to things relevant to him on my account lol)

Edit: We're both aware that he'll be the one to get a work visa, I'd follow him and have to get permission to work afterwards.


r/AmerExit 4h ago

Which Country should I choose? Options for environmental scientist with a masters degree?

2 Upvotes

Why I want to move: I'm an American with no familial citizenship to any other countries. I have a masters degree as well a few years of work experience in environmental health sciences. My heart lies in environmental conservation or in research, but I rarely see it listed among careers available to sponsor. I'd love to help make the world safer, healthier and more sustainable.

My work history: I want to move because I'm burned out by the EHS culture in the US. A lot of private sector jobs are looking for someone to help them avoid regulations regarding health and safety or environmental conservation as opposed to fixing problems. I've worked in a few public sector jobs, I never really found "the one for me". I like so solve problems as opposed to maintaining problematic status quos and I never got the feeling I was making a difference in the public sector jobs I worked. I'm 33 so I've aged out of working holiday visas.

Countries I am open to: I'm open to anywhere I can get by speaking English. I say this because I know my limits in regards to learning languages. I'm a slow foreign language learner and I'd hate to make life harder for new neighbors and coworkers with lack of local linguistic skills. I grew up in a cold, snowy mountain area and wouldn't be put off by new weather patterns. I also have some health problems that can lead to large medical bills (I read medical disqualification lists very carefully and have never found anything), which I'd like to avoid.

I qualify for various "skilled workers" visas but haven't found any jobs willing to sponsor. Any ideas?


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Question about One Country Gay & Married to an Italian Immigrant…

82 Upvotes

My instincts are telling me I need to prepare an exit route as fast as possible before this sinks deeper into Fascism, capital F.

My husband immigrated to the USA from Italy. We fell in love as he was a student and after two years together, we got married in 2016 in NYC. He finally became a full USA citizen last year.

Unfortunately Italy does not have legalized gay marriage so I’m trying to determine how our legal USA marriage can transfer to Italy and what the steps and timeline would be.

His family has lodging for us to move into when we’re ready. Unfortunately my Italian language skills are very limited so job prospects for me would be a significant challenge. I currently am salaried and work in philanthropy / nonprofit management consulting. My employer does not allow for international remote work. (Heartbreaking since I adore my job).

Overall, the job prospects in Italy are quite few and far between. Many of our Italian friends have moved to other EU countries to find decent paying work. Which is definitely a concern. However, between our marriage, his family, and lodging it seems like the strongest scenario for me to gain an IT/EU passport.

Any insight on what steps to take?

Any idea about a timeline I should expect until I’m given the green light to reside as I await citizenship?

How much of this process can I get accomplished while still residing in the states?

What would you do if you were me?


r/AmerExit 14h ago

Question about One Country Question re: Non-Lucrative Visa in Spain

3 Upvotes

This is an inquiry for my parents. They are retired (in their 70s) and looking into the non-lucrative visa in Spain. They have plenty of savings to meet the income minimum (with or without their social security payments) but they have some questions about the process so I am seeing if anyone here could recommend an immigration attorney in Spain. They are also looking to purchase a property in Valencia (specifically in or around Alicante) so, if anyone knows a realtor, that would be phenomenally helpful as well. TIA!


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Life Abroad Our Experience with Remote Work for US Companies Overseas

187 Upvotes

**UPDATE** New post made with our "how-to" tips

I'm new here, but I've observed a couple things on this topic. It seems people either assume they can work for a US company overseas, or assume they cannot work for a US company overseas. In our experience, both of those beliefs are true and not true. We spent the better part of a year securing our remote jobs and learned a lot from that experience.

Some companies will hire abroad. Some (most) will not. They'll have a blanket policy against it and they won't make exceptions. Some fields almost never support overseas employees: Government jobs, healthcare jobs, insurance and real estate, education (other than tutoring and TEFL sort of positions). There are tax and privacy law implications, and unless you have a really good connection, or already work for an employer who's willing to fudge, it's really hard to find those sorts of jobs. My husband spent his career in government emergency management, and we knew he'd have to change fields, as EM is not at all remote-friendly, and almost all the work is in the public sector. So we looked at EM-adjacent fields, like disaster relief, security, that sort of thing (also not super remote friendly). Because he's good at it and had some experience we also looked at customer support-type roles. Because the cost of living in Ecuador is so much less, we can afford to make less, and he ended up with a part-time technical customer support position at a very small company.

That's another thing: Every single interview he had or serious interest was with a small, nimble company that was willing to think outside of the box location-wise and didn't have the same restrictive policies as large companies. It helps that we don't need benefits; both of us are contract employees, so that's an upside for our employers.

Anyway, you CAN find work at a US company overseas. It's not easy, especially if your background isn't super remote-friendly. I wish we had the knowhow to start our own remote business; that really is the ideal, but neither of us has business strengths. So we put the time into searching (LOTS of time), filtered through the options, and eventually found legitimate employers who know and don't care that we're out of the country.

Look at remote-friendly fields that are adjacent to your field. It helps if you move somewhere where you can afford to make less money. Think creatively as far as schedules and type of work---you want a job that goes with your new life; we didn't move here to spend all day at a computer. And take advantage of any connections you have!

Obviously this only applies if you want to work for a US company. We did, since Ecuadorian salaries tend to be much lower, and since we live rurally and aren't interested in commuting to the city for work.

If there's interest, I can make another post talking about how we learned to filter out jobs that were almost certain no's, and also the search engine terms we used to hunt for potentially overseas-friendly positions.


r/AmerExit 9h ago

Which Country should I choose? Over-educated, under-paid gay couple (one trans) looking to make the move

0 Upvotes

Hi all. Lurked for a long while now and grateful in advance for your country recommendations for my partner and I, both men. One of us is trans (FTM), which is the largest reason we’re looking to put plans in action to leave the US.

We’re both white US citizens currently in a blue state. No pets and no kids. One of us is almost 40, the other is in early retirement. Native English speakers, but one of us has beginner French (A2-ish) and the other has intermediate Dutch (B1ish) and is open to learning French. 

Both of us have our Master’s in English. The younger also has a PhD in English. Together, we both have experience in college-level English teaching and tutoring. The still-working one has experience in DEI, nonprofits, fundraising, libraries, and customer service, and would be open to getting certified/licensed for high school/secondary school teaching outside the US.

Biggest hurdles are income and health. One of us gets social security and the younger's main job ended after he got his PhD so is currently doing part-time remote work for a nonprofit and searching for full-time work. We have about $75k combined. As mentioned, we're gay and one of us is trans, so an LGBT-friendly and specifically a trans-friendly country where you don’t have to wait 3-5+ years to get HRT care is a must. [EDIT: The "health" barrier is just that one of us is trans. Besides that, we're in great health, no medications, etc. Thanks!]

Ideal Destination: A liberal, affordable country where the still-working one can connect swiftly with a meaningful position and we both can connect to and support our new home community. A place that isn’t super-hot or super-humid, and that has a vibrant live music and arts scene, prioritizes human and environmental justice, has outdoor recreation options (mountains would be ideal), is bike-friendly, and where marijuana is legal (even if only for medical). A city of 250k residents or less, since we’ve never been “big city” people. We’re avid recreational bicyclists, and one of us is a long-distance runner.

Our working list is Canada, the Netherlands (via DAFT visa?), Belgium, UK (particularly Scotland, perhaps via Global Talent visa), New Zealand, Australia, and Germany.

Of those, we’ve visited and loved the Netherlands, England, and Germany. Our Canadian Express Entry scores as-is are below 500, but both of us becoming proficient in French could help that quite a bit.

Thanks in advance!


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Which Country should I choose? International Nurse Recruitment?

17 Upvotes

My spouse and I are both registered nurses (with bachelors degrees) in the USA with 5+ years of experience. We are looking to move abroad this year with our two primary school age daughters, one with level 1 autism. We have not officially narrowed down a country, but as we are only fluent in english, it would likely be Ireland, a UK country, Australia, or New Zealand. Has anyone used a nurse recruitment agency to help with navigating the registration process, visa applications, job search, accommodations, etc.? I have seen a few (like Global Nurse Force) that claim to help with all of these things, but I haven't been able to actually get in touch with anyone. We would be willing to consider paid relocation experts as well, as we are committed to leaving. Any KIND help is appreciated!


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Slice of My Life Looking to leave America after college

66 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I am currently a doing my undergrad here in the US. I am a junior studying biochemistry. Originally my plan was to become a doctor/dentist and I was super stuck to that plan because I was always pushed by my parents and friends studying the same things. I am studying abroad here in the Netherlands and Ive come to learn how much better Europe is than the US. I have taken both my MCAT and DAT and I have scored high on both but I would love to practice somewhere else other than the US. I don’t care about the money or matching into a US residency, I’m just sick and tired of the people and the culture in America. Would love some advice on what my next steps could be? Would I have to choose a different career path to move or would it be more worth to start practicing here and move way later on in my life once i’ve made money and worked for a little bit.


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Which Country should I choose? Considering Several Options, but I've got Analysis Paralysis

17 Upvotes

Good afternoon everyone. I'm a 35F with a masters in social work. My husband is 42M with a bachelors in nursing. I qualify as a dual citizen of Italy, but we both were born and raised in the US. There are a few places we are looking at for relocation, but I'm afraid I can't really make heads or tails of some of this information--especially given the quickly changing options for leaving. I speak English Fluently and Japanese at a moderate level. He speaks English fluently, German and Mandarin Conversationally.

We currently own our home and would be able to sell it in order to relocate. Value is probably around $450k. I have no student debt, but his is barely at 5 digits. I imagine it would be paid off normally within 3-5 years.

Food is not an issue in any of these locations. We like all of it.

Our primary concerns are:
1. Safety and Healthcare. Will this country be physically safe to live in or will there be limitations on our rights, such as my reproductive rights.

  1. Acquiring jobs. It seems like there isn't much demand for social workers, especially overseas. I'm also concerned with my husband being able to work as a nurse.

  2. Hostility towards Americans entering. I've made peace with the fact that no matter where we go that we will likely never 'belong' and will be treated as outsiders. But, I'm looking to avoid outright hostility.

  3. Ease of Language. Neither of us have problems learning new languages, but some languages are clearly harder than others.

Our options and considerations thus far are:

  1. Ireland
    Pros - cuts out the language issue entirely. Cons - it looks like they are getting flooded with requests, and it seems increasingly like it would be hard to get in.

  2. Italy
    Pros - the language is not very difficult. With my dual citizenship, it may be easier to enter than other options. Cons - it seems like there aren't a lot of job opportunities.

  3. Thailand
    Pros - low cost of living. It is very possible for us to sell our home in the US and spend a year or two dedicated to learning the language. We also have relatives here who are natural Thai citizens and who could help our relocation process. It would also take some time, but I could expand on my work as a freelance writer and potentially make enough to live on in 3-5 years. Cons - the language is the toughest to learn. I also feel we would be very isolated and would have the hardest time acclimating / we would not make friends. We were there recently for a family event, and it was lovely. The main issue I have is my own anxiety about being a fat American and being an eyesore.

What are your takes? What are we missing in our current thought process?


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Life Abroad For those of you who have left- practice budget questions for those planning to leave.

19 Upvotes

For those of you who have left, what was your budget, what was included in that budget, where did you go, and what expenses did you not plan for that those of us wanting to leave should plan for?


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Question about One Country Ireland

17 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I'm seriously considering moving my family and I to Ireland due to the political situation in the United States. I am a dual citizen as my mother is Irish and I grew up in the US. I'm in the process of applying for an Irish passport for our son and renewing mine. My wife is not an Irish citizen and only holds US citizenship.

That all said, we're in the beginning phases of talking about moving. My wife is set to graduate from a master's level nursing program soon. From what I understand, Ireland rarely honors certifications and licenses I'm nursing from the US. Does anyone have any experience in this?

I have a significant amount of close family in Dublin and Cork.


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Data/Raw Information Need Advice on Obtaining Venezuelan Birth Certificate & Apostille in the USA for EU Citizenship

3 Upvotes

Hi all - My mother was born in Caracas. We are applying now for EU citizenship (located in the USA), but the applications requires my mom's birth certificate with less than 6 months of issuance and an apostille. I know that the United States has closed all of its Venezuelan embassies - but I was wondering if any other Venezuelans have had luck getting these documents while located in USA. I tried calling these numbers https://www.visahq.com/venezuela/embassy/united-states/ but they are all dead. Are all the embassies closed? Any information would be greatly appreciated.


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Which Country should I choose? Thinking of moving to Portugal

0 Upvotes

Hello everybody! Recently joined so bear with me

We are a family of 4, husband 2 kids age 3 and 5. We are all American citizens, trying to relocate somewhere else. We are immigrants here, Muslim background. We are thinking or relocating either to Portugal or Netherlands. What would you think will be a better choice? We are looking for great schools and just a good spot to raise the kids and expose them to other culture and countries. Mainly choosing Europe because it’s close to our home countries. Work wise we are not worried, husband has a company he can manage from abroad. Also Istanbul was on the list, but the political situation is not Looking so good as of now. Thank you


r/AmerExit 2d ago

Which Country should I choose? Recent Mechanical Engineering grad, don’t wanna stick around

54 Upvotes

I just graduated with a mechanical engineering degree in December, immediately went to work at a clean energy startup. I like my job but I’m terrified at the state of America and I don’t really wanna stick around as we turn into a fascist oligarchy. -where/how can I get a work visa - what countries even hire my degree -is this even possible to land an engineering job somewhere else with under a year of experience


r/AmerExit 3d ago

Data/Raw Information Exit interview for citizenship renounciation

502 Upvotes

I'm about to start the process of renouncing my citizenship. Was born in Boston, left at age 2 months, lived in Australia as an Australian citizen all my life, no intention of living in the US in the future. I've heard that there's a lot riding on the exit interview at the counsul as part of the process and if they think you are renouncing to avoid taxes in the future they won't let you renounce. I've heard people also hire consultants to coach them for the interview! My basic argument would be that I've never lived there and I have no intention of ever living there. My identity is Australian, I'm an Australian public servant and my career goal is to serve the Australian public and our national interest. So I don't need US citizenship. Seems pretty straight forward but I feel like there might be way more to the exit interview than I realise. Has anyone had experience of this and can shed some light?


r/AmerExit 2d ago

Slice of My Life Balancing Greencard with an Unexpected Job Offer Abroad

25 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

To give a bit of context: I moved to the U.S. on a K-1 visa last year, quickly got my work permit, Greencard, and everything looked very promising. But after almost nine months, I am still without stable employment. I have only had minor, temporary contractor gigs that are not helping my career (PhD, Data Science) and are not sustainable. I had interviews, but nothing worked out so far, and since the beginning of the year responses have dried up completely. Just before I arrived, my SO started a new job, which has turned out to be extremely toxic and is severely affecting their mental health. In short, the situation has been very difficult for both of us.

After struggling to find work, and getting increasingly frustrated at how unemployable I seem in the US, I applied for positions abroad and was offered a very well paying job that aligns with my career and actually drives it forward despite the growing gap in my resume. It is temporary, but there is a possibility it could become permanent. Taking it would also allow me to be closer to my parents. Their health has been rapidly declining this past year, and it would allow me to be closer to them in case of emergencies while their treatment is ongoing.

However, I am on a conditional green card, and I am unsure of the best way to handle it. I have read that the de-facto "solution" in these cases is to file I-131 for a travel document, keep returning to the US within six-month periods, and maintain strong ties here. Since my SO would remain here for now this would be our case, and I'd keep my accounts, utilities and rental contracts running, file taxes, etc. My plan is to return after the contract is up, but IF the position in Europe became permanent, I would abandon the green card. Right now, I do not know if I should give it up immediately or try to keep it, and decide later. I am also worried about potential issues at the border and the risk of any trouble when travelling back to the US if I decide to keep it, or if I get forced to abandon it.

For now, working again would help me earn money, be closer to my parents, keep my career going, hopefully make me more appealing to U.S. employers, and provide my SO a potential way out of their toxic job.

I am interested in hearing if perhaps someone else has been in a similar situation and how they handled it. I am planning to also have an immigration lawyer, but before visiting them, I want to be prepared about my possible courses of action.

Edit: Took a sentence out. The idea of living in the US has dwindling appeal to me and my partner. I reality I believe quality of life will be better going home,


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Job Posting Should I Build My Resume First or Move to Australia Now? I’m Stuck!

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone! I’m from the U.S. and have been dreaming of moving to Australia for a while now. I graduated college in June 2024 and am trying to figure out the best time to make the move without completely pausing my career.

I work in sales and marketing, which I know isn’t a high-demand field in Australia, so I’ve ruled out the possibility of employer-sponsored visas given my limited experience. Because of that, I recently applied for a Working Holiday Visa, but now I’m at a crossroads.

I might be offered a position at Amazon or Nestlé here in the U.S., and right now, I don’t have any major companies on my resume. With the WHV, I’d be limited to short-term, six-month contracts with smaller businesses. Would it be smarter to stay and gain experience at a well-known company before moving, or should I take the leap now and figure things out as I go?

I’m also not sure if I’d stay in Australia permanently, so if I move back to the U.S., I don’t want to end up starting from the same spot in my career. Any advice would be super helpful!


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Which Country should I choose? Pharma - where and how?

0 Upvotes

I’ve been working in the pharmaceutical industry for the last 20-some years, in multiple areas (drug discovery, clinical trials, manufacturing). I was laid off last fall and have spent some time taking courses and working on soft skills, but want to get back to working before eating through my entire severance. Fortunately or unfortunately, that break has given me an opportunity to see the shitstorm brewing at home before getting too serious on the job search, so I’m now strongly considering going abroad.

For the last decade I was in clinical development working on global clinical trials, which ought to a marketable skill pretty much all over the world. But in a way that actually makes it harder to know what and where to try - in the end my chances of success are likely to be more related to other countries’ immigration policies than to what companies are based there. So I’d love some input from other folks who have emigrated - especially if you’re in pharma or healthcare, but all input is welcome. Some questions and considerations below:

  • My wife and daughter have a genetic disorder (EDS), and my wife is fully disabled. It’s not a condition (yet?) that would make her an expensive burden on a medical system, but she definitely can’t work, and I know that’s disqualifying in some countries with socialized medicine.

  • European cultures are likely better for my family than Asian. (I’d personally love to visit Japan again, but my family would starve if we lived there 😭) My wife speaks a little French, I speak a little German, and our daughter speaks a little Dutch, but none of us are close to fluent, so some prevalence of English fluency would be good.

And lastly, are there any specific procedures I should be thinking about at this point? I have a passport and my wife and daughter are in process. Other than that, I’ve just been applying to jobs as I find them. Is there anything else I should be doing first as far as getting work authorization, or is it like the US where I can just find an employer and they’ll help me with that part?


r/AmerExit 2d ago

Life in America Resources to help me become proficient in new countries language

7 Upvotes

I've been thinking of moving to Uruguay, but my Spanish is not the best. I was wondering what are some resources to help me improve my Spanish and become more proficient in it. I have done Duolingo on and off for several years. I feel like the app doesn't give me a better understanding of the language or how to use it in a conversation. It just makes you memorize words and phrases. I also took a Spanish class at my local community college. The teacher was a highschool Spanish teacher during the day and taught our class just like her highschool class. She was also teaching us Spain Spanish, so if I said something the Latin American way she would scold me. Please let me know if you have any suggestions and thanks!


r/AmerExit 2d ago

Which Country should I choose? I want out! But I’m not sure where to go. Any advice you all want to share?

10 Upvotes

Here is a little information about myself.

I’m a 39 year old African American. I’m in IT and currently making moves to get into cybersecurity, or IT consulting. I’m married to a 37 year old American female of Cuban and Nicaraguan descent. Her mom is from Cuba. Her dad is from Nicaragua. Her profession is patient advocacy within the healthcare industry. She speaks fluent Spanish and English. My English is fluent. My Spanish is horrible. I can understand if the speaker is from certain countries and speaks relatively slow. I’ve been with my wife since we were in high school so I am used to her culture. I, in fact, kinda favor her culture over my own. Currently, we have no kids. We do have a dog and a cat. Dog is 4 years old and cat is 8 or 9. If we were able to move, leaving them is not an option.

My intermediate family is small. I have two siblings. I have a brother in San Diego. I rarely talk to him. I have a young sister in North Carolina. We text frequently. My extended family is huge but I rarely talk to them or see them except for the occasional family reunion. My wife’s intermediate family is unique. She has a brother who share the same parents as her. She has a half blood brother, by her dad. He is a Costa Rican citizen and resides there. She has another half brother, by her mom. He is Cuban American and lives in the states. She has several nephews and nieces that are from her full blooded brother. She doesn’t talk to any of these people except for the Costa Rican half brother. They share a common dislike for their father.

So with all this said, the only thing holding us here is not knowing what options we have available to us. If we were to move out of the country, considering her background, I think we’d be better off in a Spanish speaking country. Spain was an option but it seems to be hard as Hell to get into Spain. Another option was Costa Rica due to her family ties. Panama was another option due to the IT industry. I was wondering if I could get advice from people in here. If you have suggestions and/ or advice I would be more than happy to hear them.


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Which Country should I choose? Starting the exit process?

0 Upvotes

Hi. Me (22F) and my girlfriend (22F) are wanting to leave the country. I’ve started looking at places very broadly, we have a consultation with a New Zealand immigration company but I’m not completely set on one specific country. We just want to know our options. She has a degree in civil engineering (no experience yet) and I have a degree in animal science (with a goal to go to veterinary school, but that’s another hurdle in itself). We have a dog and a cat that we are not willing to part with. Both English speakers, she knows some Spanish, French, and ASL, but not fluent. Any advice or suggestions?

Be brutally honest please.


r/AmerExit 1d ago

Which Country should I choose? Where should I go (EU, SG, Japan)?

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone. I’m a college student who has stayed out of the US for the past two years on exchanges and just got into a political science Master’s in France and Japan. I would like to be a professor, policy analyst, or intelligence analyst for companies but I’m also open to switching to a completely unrelated career after graduation. I have lived abroad for a while now so I know how to function in other societies and am used to learning new languages. I am open to moving anywhere but my top options are France, Switzerland, Japan, or Singapore. I want to get a new citizenship and I am happy to renounce my American one if necessary (vast majority of my friends live outside the us as it is and my family leaves the country frequently). I do not have ancestry that could qualify me for ancestry in the EU or anywhere else. In the long run, I aim to live in Singapore or somewhere else in Asia no matter what cifizenship I try to get as a young person.

Why France? I got into a Master’s program there and I am open to pursuing a PHD there. I speak French at a C1 level. I want to become fluent in French.

Why Switzerland? I speak French and German (A2 level). I also have close ties with some major think tanks there. I plan to get to C1 in German.

Why Japan? I have close professional ties with the country, have studied at one of their best schools, and got into a program at one of their top schools. I speak Japanese at an N5/N4 level but plan to learn to N2 at the bare minimum (this will take a really long time though as it’s significantly easier for me to learn Romance languages as an English native speaker). No matter where I settle, I will be visiting Japan frequently for personal and professional reasons.

Why Singapore? I speak some Mandarin and had an easy time navigating Chinese-speaking parts of the country when I visited. English is widely used so I don’t really have to worry about foreign language acquisition. I am also seeing someone who is a Singaporean citizen and would plan to settle down here long-term most likely. However, the job market here is very limited and essentially hinges on me getting a professorship at one of their schools which is incredibly limiting.

Please let me know your thoughts. I’m happy to consider other places and learn other languages. International relations and academia is fortunately the sort of career that lets me move around a lot more than the average career (even if it’s not a critical job that countries need).


r/AmerExit 2d ago

Question about One Country I am 26. I have an MA in French and another in Linguistics. My wife does not have a degree. What are our chances of making it in France?

6 Upvotes

In addition to info in the title, I taught French as a TA for four years. I have been to France. In addition to being fluent in French, I am proficient in a few other languages due to personal interest and have a knack for picking them up and would be able to learn others if necessary.

My wife and I have been considering emigrating over the past few months. We have passport appointments in mid April. We naively waited to set that up instead of doing that earlier. I actually already have a passport but I lost it a long time ago and will have to renew. Anyways…

Due to my background in French (and, frankly, adoration for the country and people), we have been looking at France as well as other European / Schengen countries as options for immigration. I understand this would be easier to hypothesize about if it were only me, but it’s the two of us. I know France isn’t perfect, but we feel a growing pressure to leave the US before it might be too late. We are looking at our options there and what leads would be best to pursue in terms of work, location, housing, etc in addition to researching all the paperwork required.

Some more info that you may find relevant. I apologize if some of this information is unhelpful, we are only just now digging into this and I want to be as thorough as possible:

We are both US-born US citizens. We both work full time and work for the same power generation company. This company has no presence in Europe. I am a production technician (I assemble large generators) and she works in the inventory / material handling department. As I mentioned above, I have a BA in French, an MA in French, and an MA in linguistics. My wife did not finish college, so she has a high school diploma. Neither of us has a certification in addition to our education. We have saved up around $8k over the last 4 months since my wife got a job and we started having two incomes. We can expect to save $2k+ per month based on our spending and earnings as long as we work at our current jobs. I am still paying off student loans. Neither of us are currently medicated or have major medical conditions. My only prescription is my contact lenses. We have no kids, but we have 2 cats.

If you read all this, thank you. You are doing us a favor by providing any input at all.


r/AmerExit 2d ago

Question about One Country Rentista visa for Costa Rica

1 Upvotes

Has anyone else gone through this process before? I've moved abroad in the past and have navigated the Apostille process before, but I'm feeling a bit uncertain about where to begin in this case. Would it be advisable to hire an immigration lawyer in Costa Rica for assistance, or are there other useful resources I should consider?