0:00 / 0:00

The thoughts that run through expat heads but never get said out loud because they sound: ungrateful for opportunity you created, judgmental of people still stuck, conflicted about choices you made, uncertain about decisions you can't undo. Nobody talks about the complicated internal experience of relocating internationally because everyone's performing either: "moving abroad was best decision ever, everything is perfect" or "I miss America so much, this is so hard." Both are true sometimes. Neither captures full reality of choosing life completely different from one you were raised to expect. The expat experience isn't Instagram highlight reel of beaches and adventure. It's also: grieving place you left while knowing you can't go back, judging people who complain without taking action, feeling smug when you avoided disaster they're experiencing, wondering if you'll ever fully belong anywhere. Nobody admits those thoughts because they make you sound: arrogant for feeling vindicated about leaving, cold for not grieving America the way you're supposed to, uncertain about decisions you've already committed to. But those thoughts exist alongside: relief your kids are safer, gratitude for different perspective, pride in choosing difficult path, clarity that staying would have been worse. Complexity doesn't fit into content that performs well. People want clear narrative: leaving was obviously right or obviously wrong. Not: leaving was right decision that's also hard and sometimes makes you feel things you're not supposed to feel. What thought about living abroad do you never say out loud? ๐Ÿ†˜๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

@nomadveronica
477 views34 likes2:31ENJun 7, 2026
428 words2308 characters20 sentencesReadability: High School

Transcript

Here are thoughts that I have in my head as an expat that I never say out loud because they sound bad or ungrateful or complicated, but I'm going to share them here now, but let's just keep it on the DL, okay? I'll just pretend I never said these things. Number one is that I miss America sometimes, but then I immediately realize that I just miss what I think of as America, not the actual America. Maybe I miss how things could be. Number two, I judge Americans who complain but refuse to leave because they absolutely could leave. Number three, I feel kind of smug when terrible news happens in the United States and I've already gotten myself out. Number four, I'm relieved that my kids won't become American adults. They'll be a totally different breed of third culture humans that actually appreciate this world. Number five, I get annoyed by expats who romanticize everything and make it seem like it's so wonderful to live abroad. It's still hard to live abroad. It's just better than the United States. Number six is that I worry that I won't ever belong anywhere now that I've chosen to leave the United States because I don't belong there anymore and I don't think I'll ever really belong anywhere abroad. Number seven, part of me wants America to fail, to just prove that I was right about leaving when I did and not waiting for the actual collapse to happen. And number eight, I don't know if my kids are going to resent me someday for doing what I have done to them, making them move to all these different countries around the world. I mean, I have explanations to give them, but I don't know how that will actually make them feel when they grow up and reflect on what our life looked like as we move to all these countries. If you don't know me, I'm Veronica. I'm an American mom of two girls that left the United States five years ago and have lived on three different continents while we figure out where we want to make our forever home. Now I teach other Americans how they can get out of the United States and match you to visa programs around the world. I've got 217 different visa options in my database that you might qualify for. If you're ready to leave the United States behind and explore what life would be like if you moved abroad, the exit plan consultation link is in my bio.

HD Downloads

Sign in required for HD downloads

Related Videos

If picking a new country was as easy as comparing crime statistics and educational outcomes, than obviously that country would be overrun with expats. The best countries to move to are not one size fits all. Before you get your hopes up about any particular country, I suggest you take a step back. Determine your visa eligibility first. Some countries are trying to attract retirees. Other countries are welcoming digital nomads. And there are countries only looking for wealthy expats. Your income type and amount will determine what countries will take you. Schedule your exit plan call if youโ€™re ready to stop daydreaming and start packing. #creatorsearchinsights

If picking a new country was as easy as comparing crime statistics and educational outcomes, than obviously that country would be overrun with expats. The best countries to move to are not one size fits all. Before you get your hopes up about any particular country, I suggest you take a step back. Determine your visa eligibility first. Some countries are trying to attract retirees. Other countries are welcoming digital nomads. And there are countries only looking for wealthy expats. Your income type and amount will determine what countries will take you. Schedule your exit plan call if youโ€™re ready to stop daydreaming and start packing. #creatorsearchinsights

67.0K1:30
You say you want to leave America for another country, but you never do. Here is exactly where you can go, an island paradise with friendly English speaking people and no paperwork required. Yet, you still wonโ€™t go. Weโ€™ve gotta change your mindset about leaving America. Itโ€™s not healthy to just keep saying you want to leave but never doing what you say you want. You can absolutely move to another country and I will show you how. ๐Ÿ†˜๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ #TikTokEncyclopediaContest #creatorsearchinsights

You say you want to leave America for another country, but you never do. Here is exactly where you can go, an island paradise with friendly English speaking people and no paperwork required. Yet, you still wonโ€™t go. Weโ€™ve gotta change your mindset about leaving America. Itโ€™s not healthy to just keep saying you want to leave but never doing what you say you want. You can absolutely move to another country and I will show you how. ๐Ÿ†˜๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ #TikTokEncyclopediaContest #creatorsearchinsights

71.3K2:58
There are a lot of people who love the idea of moving abroad. There are fewer people who are actually ready to make it happen. If you have been stuck researching how to move abroad from the US, how to leave America, where to live overseas, or how to move abroad with kids, but you still do not have a plan, this page is for you. A lot of smart people get trapped in analysis paralysis. They keep consuming more content because it feels productive. But more information does not always create movement. Sometimes it just creates more confusion. You do not need fifty more tabs open. โ€จYou need the right order of steps. โ€จYou need a strategy that fits your life. โ€จYou need someone who understands how to move from vague dream to actual plan. I help Americans who are tired of researching moving abroad and ready to start taking action. Follow if you want practical guidance, realistic next steps, and a clear path toward living abroad. ๐Ÿ†˜๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

There are a lot of people who love the idea of moving abroad. There are fewer people who are actually ready to make it happen. If you have been stuck researching how to move abroad from the US, how to leave America, where to live overseas, or how to move abroad with kids, but you still do not have a plan, this page is for you. A lot of smart people get trapped in analysis paralysis. They keep consuming more content because it feels productive. But more information does not always create movement. Sometimes it just creates more confusion. You do not need fifty more tabs open. โ€จYou need the right order of steps. โ€จYou need a strategy that fits your life. โ€จYou need someone who understands how to move from vague dream to actual plan. I help Americans who are tired of researching moving abroad and ready to start taking action. Follow if you want practical guidance, realistic next steps, and a clear path toward living abroad. ๐Ÿ†˜๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

3120:18
The life you've built in America isn't the life you wanted. It's the life you could scrape together under constraints of: wages that don't cover basics, healthcare tied to employment, housing costs consuming half your income, constant financial stress, survival mode as default state. You didn't choose misery. You chose best option available within impossible constraints. But those constraints are geographic. Change geography, change constraints, change what's possible. The apartment you can barely afford in America becomes the nice place with breathing room abroad. The paycheck that barely covers survival in America becomes the income that allows saving abroad. The constant stress about one emergency destroying you financially becomes manageable situation where emergencies are expensive but not catastrophic. Same income. Same skills. Same person. Different location. Completely different life. You're not stuck because you lack resources. You're stuck because resources you have don't work in location you're in. Move those resources to location where they work better, and you're not stuck anymore. But moving requires: tolerating uncertainty about how things will work out, being uncomfortable while figuring out new systems, releasing familiar patterns even when familiar is miserable, trusting you can build better life from scratch. Most people choose familiar misery over unfamiliar uncertainty. Devil you know feels safer than devil you don't, even when devil you know is grinding you down. This is why people stay in: jobs they hate, relationships that don't work, locations that don't serve them, lives that feel like slow suffocation. Because at least they know how to survive current misery. Unknown is terrifying even when unknown might be better. But what if you're not choosing between misery and uncertainty? What if you're choosing between: familiar misery that will continue indefinitely, or temporary uncertainty that leads to actually building life you want? When you're in survival mode, you're making choices based on: what's cheapest, what's fastest, what gets you through next month, what keeps crisis at bay. Not what you actually want. What you can manage given constraints. Those choices compound into life that doesn't reflect your preferences. Reflects what you could piece together while drowning. But when you move somewhere your income works better, you're not in survival mode anymore. You have breathing room to choose based on: what you actually want, what serves your family, what creates life you're proud of. That's not small difference. That's the difference between life you're enduring and life you're choosing. Living in America isn't default you're stuck with. It's choice you're making every day by not choosing differently. And choosing differently is available to you. Link in bio for people ready to choose. What would you choose if survival wasn't consuming all your energy? ๐Ÿ†˜๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

The life you've built in America isn't the life you wanted. It's the life you could scrape together under constraints of: wages that don't cover basics, healthcare tied to employment, housing costs consuming half your income, constant financial stress, survival mode as default state. You didn't choose misery. You chose best option available within impossible constraints. But those constraints are geographic. Change geography, change constraints, change what's possible. The apartment you can barely afford in America becomes the nice place with breathing room abroad. The paycheck that barely covers survival in America becomes the income that allows saving abroad. The constant stress about one emergency destroying you financially becomes manageable situation where emergencies are expensive but not catastrophic. Same income. Same skills. Same person. Different location. Completely different life. You're not stuck because you lack resources. You're stuck because resources you have don't work in location you're in. Move those resources to location where they work better, and you're not stuck anymore. But moving requires: tolerating uncertainty about how things will work out, being uncomfortable while figuring out new systems, releasing familiar patterns even when familiar is miserable, trusting you can build better life from scratch. Most people choose familiar misery over unfamiliar uncertainty. Devil you know feels safer than devil you don't, even when devil you know is grinding you down. This is why people stay in: jobs they hate, relationships that don't work, locations that don't serve them, lives that feel like slow suffocation. Because at least they know how to survive current misery. Unknown is terrifying even when unknown might be better. But what if you're not choosing between misery and uncertainty? What if you're choosing between: familiar misery that will continue indefinitely, or temporary uncertainty that leads to actually building life you want? When you're in survival mode, you're making choices based on: what's cheapest, what's fastest, what gets you through next month, what keeps crisis at bay. Not what you actually want. What you can manage given constraints. Those choices compound into life that doesn't reflect your preferences. Reflects what you could piece together while drowning. But when you move somewhere your income works better, you're not in survival mode anymore. You have breathing room to choose based on: what you actually want, what serves your family, what creates life you're proud of. That's not small difference. That's the difference between life you're enduring and life you're choosing. Living in America isn't default you're stuck with. It's choice you're making every day by not choosing differently. And choosing differently is available to you. Link in bio for people ready to choose. What would you choose if survival wasn't consuming all your energy? ๐Ÿ†˜๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

3781:39