SOUTHEAST ASIA — Chad Dunn runs a relocation business in Da Nang, Vietnam, that helps Americans move to the coastal city, with many clients first finding him through his TikTok videos about daily life abroad. Dunn, who previously worked on the floor of a Hyundai plant in Savannah, Georgia, said the service has grown quickly.

"I can pick you up from the airport, set you up with a phone, a bank account, and get you settled in an apartment in under a week. It's becoming very popular." Dunn said.

Americans living in Vietnam and Thailand stream videos of their daily routines on TikTok from beachfront cafés, city apartments and nighttime street walks. In Da Nang and Bangkok, rent, food and transportation can cost a fraction of what they do in major U.S. cities for people earning or saving in U.S. dollars. Foreigners in Vietnam are typically limited to teaching English and similar jobs where pay is often lower than in the United States, and many expats rely on remote work, savings or U.S.-based income streams.

Describing his decision to leave the United States, Dunn said, "Life in America was pretty unfulfilling and pretty stressed out. Like most folks, just in a rat race."

Estimates from the Association of Americans Resident Overseas, based on United Nations data, show the number of Americans living in Southeast Asia grew from about 32,000 in 1990 to nearly 88,000 in 2024. Those estimates do not include Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam. A study published by the Brookings Institution estimates that U.S. net migration turned negative in 2025, the first time in at least half a century, though people born in the U.S. who move abroad make up a small portion of those figures.

Global expat surveys have ranked Vietnam and Thailand among the most attractive destinations for affordability and quality of life. Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communication at Cornell University, said the shift toward Americans moving abroad has been building over time, particularly as more people can work remotely. "The images that circulate about life and work are filtered through a glossy prism." Duffy said.

Chris Michaels left a corporate role in the toy industry in Chicago and moved to Thailand in 2018, retiring early at 46. He has now spent more than seven years there.

"I'd get up, go to work, go to the gym, go to sleep — rinse and repeat." Michaels said of his former life. "The No. 1 question I get now is 'Help me leave the United States and move to Thailand'."