San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (Photo: Jezael Melgoza)

Relocating to another part of the world is an exciting, yet exceedingly daunting, prospect for most people in search of greener pastures, but the process is by no means impossible. In fact, if you’re looking to move abroad, there are actually more resources than ever out there to help get you started. So, if that dream job happens to be located overseas or if you’re simply looking for a new adventure (or maybe trying to escape the clutches of an incoming authoritarian regime), take heart: you can make this happen!

One such resource you may want to look into if you’re considering moving abroad is a little site called Expatsi. Started by a couple, Jen Barnett and Brett Andrews, who spent literal years researching their own move abroad, Expatsi is not just a toolbox for aspiring expats but also a community of like-minded people looking to help each other out along their journeys which is active on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

After batting the idea around for some time, Barnett and Andrews, who met in 2015, began to seriously look into leaving the U.S. in the midst of the pandemic. The research they did trying to narrow down where they might want to live helped build the foundations of Expatsi, which is now their full-time business aimed at helping others navigate the dicey waters of moving abroad.

After nailing down their top ten potential new home countries, the pair had initially decided they would spend a decade visiting each nation, taking a trip to one each year. Mexico was somewhere right around number ten on their list, but thanks to stumbled-upon TikTok videos featuring the city of Mérida on the Yucatan Peninsula, they decided to move that particular trip up — and wound up falling in love with the place. In the spring of 2024, they made the leap and haven’t looked back.

Born in the wake of their own experience is Expatsi, where you can find country guides and webinars; connect with experts sporting various backgrounds; dive into resources covering healthcare, housing, immigration processes, and many other topics; and create your own top ten list with help from the Expatsi Test, which poses questions about your reasons for seeking to move abroad, as well as the kinds of living conditions you’d be comfortable with.

Street musicians doing their thing in Barcelona, Spain (Photo: Richard Hewat)

How do you envision securing healthcare? What level of infrastructure/development do you need? What kinds of things would you prefer to be legal (e.g. recreational cannabis, gambling, same-sex marriage)? The 20-question test is a multiple-choice affair that takes just 5-10 minutes, but will offer you a great jumping off point.

I’ve personally taken the test a couple times, tweaking my answers a little bit the second time around. Both times, I got Spain as my number one option. Here is what my top ten looked like on the second go-around:

1. Spain

2. Greece

3. Portugal

4. Australia

5. Mexico

6. Italy

7. Argentina

8. Canada

9. Colombia

10. Croatia

If you have even an inkling of starting a new life in a new place, whether six months or five years from now, but have no idea where to begin, Expatsi is a great resource to help you hit the ground running.

-LTH

Find Your New Home Abroad With Help From These U.S. Expats Living in Mexico