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It's Been a Minute

Enough is enough. Is it time to leave America?

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Spirituality, Society & Culture, News, Religion & Spirituality

4.68.8K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2026

⏱️ 18 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Young women, more than any other group, say they would leave America. Their list of reasons is long and plentiful. 

Have you ever thought about leaving the US, and starting over somewhere else? Maybe living the hygge lifestyle in Denmark, or soaking up the sun in Costa Rica? According to Gallup – a surprising number of women are considering it. In a poll released in November, 40% of women between the ages of 18 and 44 said they’d move to another country permanently if they had the chance. That’s four times higher than it was a decade ago – and this sentiment among women is unique to the US. But what’s behind young women’s willingness to imagine life elsewhere? And what does that say about the future of this country?

Brittany breaks it all down with Constance Grady, senior correspondent for Vox’s culture team who covers gender, and Scaachi Koul, senior writer at Slate and co-host of the BBC podcast Where to be a Woman.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Support for NPR and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen.

0:11.7

So I'm curious to hear from the both of you. If given the opportunity, would you move away from the U.S. and live somewhere else?

0:19.5

I think it would be interesting to live temporarily in another country, but I think I would

0:23.7

most likely always come back to the U.S.

0:26.0

I definitely would live someplace else if given the opportunity.

0:29.1

Absolutely no problem.

0:30.3

I think there's a part of me that's like, let's blow this popsicle stand.

0:34.8

Sachi, same question to you, though I know you already moved from Canada to New York.

0:39.2

Yeah, I came here on purpose.

0:43.4

Like, what am I going to do?

0:44.8

Go back to Canada?

0:45.8

They don't want me either.

0:46.8

I'll tell you that.

0:49.1

Have you ever thought about leaving the U.S.?

0:51.7

Starting over somewhere else?

0:53.3

Maybe living the Hugua lifestyle

0:54.9

in Denmark, or soaking up the sun in Costa Rica. I definitely have. And according to Gallup,

1:01.3

a surprising number of other women are considering it as well. According to a poll released in

1:06.4

November, 40% of women between the ages of 18 and 44 said they'd moved to another country permanently

1:14.1

if they had the chance. That's four times higher than it was a decade ago. And this sentiment

1:20.7

among women is unique to the U.S. Only 19% of men in the same age group say they'd move. And Gallup says no other country has ever had that big of a gap on this question between younger men and younger women.

1:34.1

But what's behind young women's willingness to imagine life elsewhere?

...

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