Cost-of-living crisis fuels expat fever as nearly half of Europeans expect to live abroad

LONDON, Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A great expat reshuffle is quietly underway across Europe, and a new international study from digital insurance platform Feather has revealed where people are heading.

Surveying 2,000 adults across the UK, France, Germany and Italy the research revealed that nearly half of every nation surveyed expects to be living in a different country at some point in the future, rising to 57% of the French, the highest in the study, followed by Germans (52%), Italians (49%) and Brits (48%).

Germans have the most well-developed ideas, with nearly one in three (31%) seriously considering or actively planning a move, and one in ten (10%) actively planning one right now. In the UK, it's 28%, in Italy, 25%, and in France, 23%.

In every market surveyed, the cost of living crisis is the single biggest force making people more open to a life abroad, cited by 53% of Britons (the highest in the study), 48% of the French, 43% of Germans and 32% of Italians.

But each nation is chasing something different. The French prioritise lifestyle over cost, the only country in the study where quality of life (40%) beats cheaper living (35%). Italians, uniquely, are pulled hardest by work: career opportunities (20%) and work-life balance (18%). Brits are led by the promise of a cheaper life, with 45% citing a lower cost of living.

The top destination in each market: UK: Spain (24%). France: Canada (17%). Germany: Austria (17%). Italy: Spain (20%).

Commenting on the research, Holly Rubenstein, travel expert and host of The Travel Diaries podcast, said: "For decades, moving abroad was a binary decision: you either emigrated for good, or you stayed put. This research captures how completely that's changing. Over the next decade, the classic sunshine-and-scenery checklist will give way to a different question: where can I build the happiest, healthiest version of my life?"

Rob Schumacher, CEO and co-founder of Feather, says: "Wherever people land, the practicalities of healthcare, employment, housing and tax systems are what determine whether that move actually works in the long term. The destinations that suit someone's life on paper aren't always the ones that suit it in practice."

To explore more insights from the Future of Expats survey, visit feather-insurance.com/blog/future-of-expats.