It’s even hard if you have money. So many Americans think they can just pack up and move to another country. I’m about retirement age, and I can’t tell you how many people have asked if I’m going to leave the country or tell me they plan to. So far, only one had line of sight to actually doing it because his family was from Spain and he owns property there, which makes a big difference.

For most countries there’s an application process and you have to show that you’re a bet benefit. Even at that, it’s usually a multi-year process.