A new WIRED report profiles Americans who moved to Europe in the wake of Donald Trump's re-election, only to find themselves planning a return home. The article focuses on the gap between the romanticized version of European life promoted on social media and the professional and economic realities these expatriates encountered. While political anxiety drove many to leave, the report suggests that career stagnation, lower pay, and cultural friction are now pushing some back.
One subject, Annie, relocated to a town outside London with her husband in late 2024. She told WIRED that the UK's health care, standard of living, and disposable income fell short of her expectations. She cited problems with NHS maternity care and noted that appliances like dishwashers and dryers, common in the US, are treated as luxuries in Britain. She also described frequent anti-American mockery in the workplace, and the couple now has an exit plan for next summer.
Other cases echo the pattern. Sarah Wood González returned to New York after three years in Spain and Edinburgh, saying she missed the American work style that "moves much faster" and defaults to collaboration. Josh, who moved to Berlin in 2023, struggled to find work and described Germany's bureaucracy as worse than before, adding that he missed the "ease of daily life" in the US. Both asked for anonymity or partial anonymity, citing fear of online backlash.
The report also cites data showing a surge in US emigration: US migrants doubled in the first quarter of 2025, Spain recorded a record number of American residents, and UK residency applications from Americans hit their highest level since 2004. A survey by the expatriation company Expats found 71 percent of 58,000 respondents cited the US political climate as a reason to relocate. The WIRED article is a single source, so it offers no contrasting perspectives, but its interviews and figures paint a consistent picture of disillusionment among some political expatriates. As one subject put it, the UK is "a place of 'it is what it is,'" while Americans are taught to strive for better. For these migrants, the better option increasingly looks like home.Here is the article in strict JSON format as requested.```json {