Their parents may have moved to the U.S. in pursuit of the American dream, but some first-generation Gen Z Americans say they feel hopeless and a sense of doom.
Rather than a land of promise, they said, they see skyrocketing costs of living and health care, as well as loads of student debt and a chaotic political system. And just one generation in, some first-generation Americans said they’re moving out of the U.S. or seriously considering it.
But the decision isn’t an easy one and often comes with a combination of exhaustion, isolation, courage and a healthy dose of guilt over leaving the place their parents worked so hard to make home.
The concept of “doomism” that’s become popular with Gen Z is often illustrated by viral rants about leaving the U.S. and step-by-step TikTok tutorials on applying for dual citizenship. Young Americans are more likely than older adults to say there are countries that are “better than the U.S.,” according to Pew Research.
About 3 million Americans live abroad, an increase of more than 1.27 million people since the 1990s, according to an estimate by the United Nations.
“I thought I would fall in love with America and the American dream of progressing and making something of yourself and feeling proud,” Rania Salah, 23, said.
Salah was born in the U.S. but spent her childhood in Jordan. She graduated from American University with a degree in public health in 2022. In May, she moved out of her apartment in Virginia and is now living in Turkey. Next up is Qatar.
Salah said her breaking point came after applying to more than 500 jobs while struggling with her physical health. She was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease, and she realized the quality of life she wanted would not be attainable for her in America.
“I graduated and immediately started working,” Salah said, “but I have lupus, so my go, go, go was kind of forcibly stopped. I had to quit my job … just because my lupus was getting really bad.”
She posted her story of living with an autoimmune disease on TikTok and it drew over 2.5 million viewers.
Salah said her rheumatologist was ecstatic when he found out she was leaving the country. “He was anticipating that a lot of my stress would go away when I move abroad, and therefore my lupus would get better,” she said. “And also the quality of food. So he was very, very excited for me.”
Although inflation shows signs of cooling, food prices rose 2.2% from April 2023 to April 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rent has also steadily increased since the pandemic, with the national median for an apartment approaching $2,000.
Salah said she’s confident in her decision to leave the U.S., despite some of the trade-offs that come with exiting a democracy and living under Qatar’s emir, or ruler.
“That being said, I am happy to give up my right to vote as a trade for a significantly better quality of life. It’s cleaner, it’s safer. There’s more opportunity in mobility,” she said.
Still, America remains a top destination for immigrants.
“Almost 20% of all the immigrants around the world are in the United States,” said Jeanne Batalova, a senior policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute in Washington.
Batalova said children who were born to immigrants in the U.S. have mixed experiences.
“They are doing well in terms of the educational and economic outcomes,” Batalova said. “But at the same time, some groups are struggling. They are struggling because of residential segregation, because their parents might be lacking legal status or they might be coming from a low-income family.”
Michael Christian, 26, was born in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, and his parents are from Antigua.
“The grass may be greener on the other side … but I do know that it’s been difficult here,” Christian said.
Because his parents weren’t familiar with the college application process and weren’t able to provide much academic support to him growing up, he joined the Marine Corps after high school.
His life changed forever when he was diagnosed with leukemia while serving in Saudi Arabia in 2021.
Given the stress of his medical treatment, struggling to find a job outside of the military and not being able to afford the lifestyle he wants, Christian said he plans to move to Austria by the end of this year and then eventually Spain.
He fully transitioned out of the military in June and said the recent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump has made him want to leave even sooner than before.
“There’s no one on this planet who could be that bad of a person that we need to assassinate just to keep them out of the presidency,” Christian said. “How radical the American culture and society is getting in its entirety is making me go, ‘I really need to get out of here.’”
Maz Do, 27, is an author in New York who said they also are searching for something different.
Do said her parents left Vietnam and Indonesia because of violence and the lack of economic opportunities. Now, however, she said leaving America could help her learn more about her heritage.
“I felt very lost and I identified sort of just as Asian American,” said Do, who is embarking on a Fulbright trip to Indonesia later this year. “I think of course there’s the guilt, and I’ve reckoned with that by understanding and defining success on my own terms.”
Salah, Christian and Do all agree that the turbulent political climate has given them another push.
Now that President Joe Biden has stepped away from the 2024 election, following the first presidential debate in which President Biden performed poorly and former President Trump was slammed for spreading falsehoods, many Americans have expressed concern about what will happen in November — and some Gen Zers still flirt with the idea of leaving the country.
“It was kind of like I was watching a comedy movie or an ‘SNL’ skit. That’s what it felt like,” Salah said about the debate. “I felt very sad about the state of the country that my siblings are living in, and the people that are leading it.”
“I wasn’t comforted at all by his resignation, what does it matter now?” Salah said.
Do added, “There’s a real feeling that particularly the Democrats are just flailing right now. And it just makes things kind of scarier.”
“I’m relieved,” she said in response to Biden dropping out, “but I know there’s a long road ahead.”
Christian and Salah said they won’t be voting, and Do said she is still learning about the process for voting abroad right now.
“I think American politics is a joke,” Salah said. “I think we’re seeing that no matter which party is in power, no matter which face it is, it’s kind of the same system.”
