Between 2010 and 2015, the number of Americans selling their stuff off and retiring abroad has increased 17 percent, according to Michigan Live.
Just under 400,000 American retirees are now living abroad, according to the Social Security Administration. The countries they have chosen most often: Canada, Japan, Mexico, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Retirees most often cite the cost of living as the reason for moving elsewhere said Olivia S. Mitchell, director of the Pension Research Council at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
While seniors try to stretch their Social Security—which they can still receive while they are outside of the U.S.—a big obstacle is that Medicare is not available abroad. Of course, for some, finding places with more advanced sensibilities on affordable healthcare makes up for higher living costs in those countries.
Joseph Roginski, 71, says that while the cost of living is higher in Japan, access to health care is not. "Things are very expensive here. It is impossible to live off Social Security alone," said Roginski, who was stationed in Japan in 1968. "But health insurance is a major factor in staying here."
And as more and more Americans leave the country, like New Yorkers leaving Manhattan for less expensive outer-borough housing, the ex-pat communities abroad increase. If the Republican Party has its way, there won’t be any reason to live out your days in the country you once called home.