Do NOT Move to These 7 Countries in 2025. Here's Why

This is my eight places abroad you should not move in 2025 and why. Plus three you should actually check out or you might actually enjoy living in today. You've all seen the dream videos the move to Mexico and live like a king for a thousand dollars. I'm guilty of it myself, I've been there. The Thailand on ten dollar a day headline on YouTube. The Portugal is the incredible deals. The can't miss country and yeah of course I've made a few of those too because they hit right with the algorithm that's just how YouTube works. But here's what almost nobody tells you at least not until you've already sold your house and gone all in quit your job and landed overseas with a suitcase full of expectations. There are places you should definitely not move to in 2025 especially if you're American and not because they're necessarily dangerous. There's other factors that come into play and it's not because of scams or sort of tricks or any of that tourist crap but this is because the country has actually changed and what you may have heard before might not be true anymore. The costs are up, the locals have pushed back, the vibe just isn't what it once was. It's sour so you don't want to be late to the party if the clock's already struck midnight on your dream destination. For a lot of us we only get one shot at this so each of these places used to be a cheap tropical escape for tens of thousands of Americans but now they've become overcrowded Instagram fantasies packed with digital nomads or western prices inflation or protests of people shouting gringo go home. So before you pull the trigger let's get real about the cost of living abroad. In this video I'm going to walk you through my eight countries that might not be worth it anymore and after I'll mention three that I think are still safe bets for expats and retirees looking to live abroad today. But first let's talk about the places where retirees are getting priced out of a real quality lifestyle. Places where expats are being quietly asked to leave or loudly and violently told to get out. Places that look great in postcards and in YouTube videos but feel very different on the ground when you're actually there. We'll keep it simple a few pros and a couple cons for each of the countries and then I'll give you my opinion. No rose-tinted tourist goggles just what's in the news right now today. Number eight is my old hometown Mexico City. I was there in the 2010s. We're going to start with this the darling of digital nomads CDMX Mexico City el monstruo. The pros are somewhat obvious it's a huge sprawling incredibly diverse mega city like nowhere else on earth and just three or four hours a simple flight from Denver or Calgary and you're there. There's nothing like sipping mezcal on a leafy sidewalk patio cafe and roman norte or listening to a jazz trio play under a jacaranda tree at the old legion. The food is world class there's michelin stars there's street tacos there's art there's energy it's the full-on cultural capital of Latin America and the go-to hub for many remote workers fast internet decent health care and easy flights back to the state but here's the problem first rising resentment you don't need to search hard to find but locals are calling out foreigners for gentrifying entire area codes of the city renters are being evicted airbnb's and short terms are replacing homes and there's graffiti that literally says this used to be our neighborhood second safety is always a concern in Mexico whether CDMX is safer than other regions or states it's not a crime free bubble petty theft kidnappings and armed robberies happen especially if you wander off the beaten track or worse if you live in an expat bubble and think you're immune to the violent realities of Mexico. Third there's real price creep here that $600 apartment you read about in 2019 the same one I paid 400 bucks for 10 years before that it's listed on airbnb now for 1500 a month and it's booked solid through the high season in my opinion CDMX is still amazing a one-of-one but the word is out and it might not be welcoming you with open arms anymore it certainly isn't the rambling old city of Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs and naked lunch for Chris Deza that I fell in love with as a kid and a backpacker. Number seven is Cape Town South Africa stunning it's one of the most photogenic cities on earth and I've often dreamed of hiking up its stunning hills above the ocean a visit is on my absolute must-do bucket list the pros are many you've got the world-class wine surf beaches table mountains and a lifestyle that feels almost mediterranean for an absolute fraction of the cost a villa with a pool and a view of the ocean totally doable right now but and this is a big but you know it always is first you've got to deal with load shedding is load shedding that's a fancy local term for scheduled power outages you can be editing your vlog showering before a date or just making your morning smoothie when the lights go out and they're going to be out for hours this isn't just here and there second there's a massive inequality Cape Town is one of the most divided cities you'll ever see you're either in a gated community with armed security or you're locked outside and the contrast is stark and very visible living behind walls would change how I feel personally about freedom and that history of apartheid is still very much present third crime not just pickpockets carjackings home invasions armed robberies gun crime it's not a guarantee but it's not rare SA is a high-risk move and this is one of the few cities on earth with a higher murder rate and more gun crime than American places like St. Louis and Detroit that said statistically it is still safer and less murderous than many of the Mexican towns we talk about in my opinion Cape Town is paradise but with a bit of a panic button it's worth a visit but probably no more for most of us six Barcelona Spain the pros don't even get me started I freaking love this town I can't get enough of it it's got gaudy architecture Mediterranean beaches jamón ibérico and chilled vermouth served at a standing bar that's been there since before your grandfather was born Barcelona is magic the ocean vistas from the top of the city's hill majestic you can walk to the beach you can visit the Picasso museum and you can be home by siesta for a little nap I mean it is a great town but there's a big catch three of them actually first the over tourism thing the backlash is real the locals aren't just annoyed they're furious they're fed up they're protesting signs they're hanging notices from their balconies tourists go home they don't want you there airbnbs have displaced thousands whole blocks have lost their soul the last time I was there in 2022 even El Raval the old Chinatown felt super gentrified and overcrowded second there's real language friction you thought you'd be practicing your Spanish well good luck man it's cattle in here and locals take it seriously learning Spanish might still leave you feeling like an outsider or worse a colonizer and third exploding costs the digital nomad visa sounds great until you realize that rent prices for foreigners are double what locals play and their climate El Raval apartments have more than doubled in the decade between my last two visits to Barcelona and they're just going up in my opinion Barcelona is an ancient beautiful behemoth but maybe a bit too edgy for most expats at least for now you should probably steer clear I do have a sweet spot for the town in my heart five Lisbon Portugal the word is out it's beautiful Lisbon was the first EU capital to go all in on welcoming digital nomads and it worked maybe too well the pros are clear gorgeous great weather incredible seafood beautiful tiled buildings and a pretty easy visa if you make even remote even modest remote income but there's so many expats and transients and travelers and you know they brought their problems along for the trip it's a real part of living in Portugal today first there's a housing crisis local families are being pushed out of city centers prices have skyrocketed entire blocks have been procured for short-term rentals and now the government is scrambling to backtrack and reverse course and fix what they've sown but resentment is boiling over in this town second it's overrun let's just face the fact everyone and their podcast co-hosts moved here in 2021 after the lockdowns ended even traditional cafes can feel like co-working spaces now English has become the dominant language in entire districts for better or worse not Gibraltar but it's lost some of that local flavor that you are probably hoping for if you're dreaming of retirement in Portugal third there's real infrastructure strain public hospitals and transit systems are groaning if you think Lisbon with its gorgeous libraries and bookstores is still a sleepy secret straight out of the pages of Harry Potter it's not the word is out on Portugal and JK Rollins isn't writing in the quiet corner anymore in my opinion Lisbon is lovely but you're no longer early you're late to the party and you might just be part of the problem in 2025 number four I get complaints that I don't talk about it enough this one's close to home literally and emotionally the Philippines I've always had a soft spot for the Philippines and everything Pinoy but it's a definitely maybe for me a beautiful complicated maybe why does it make the list I get it some of you are probably already freaking out you're in the comment section right now everyone speaks English people are warm they're open they're genuinely kind the islands are jaw-dropping and I mean that you can still find a beach that feels like it's yours and yours alone and the cost insanely low relative to the rest of the world a couple thousand bucks a month and you're living like a laid-back bond villain with a hammock and maybe even a helper or a famous Filipino maid but you know it's coming first let's talk infrastructure this is like a serious pothole problem the electricity optional the roads are maybe paved creatively the internet I hope you like spinning wheels and drop zoom calls if you work online bring a backup sim backup routers backup sanity or maybe just drop 600 bucks on Elon Musk's Starlink and pray the weather is good and it doesn't rain second probably too much politics and policing for my liking corruption isn't a glitch it's the operating system in the Philippines the legal system let's say you don't want to try it some provinces are perfectly fine others you better have local friends and local knowledge and even the long-stay visa situations got murky that golden SRRV it might be off the table or wrapped in new red tape for anyone like me retired under 50 or come with a serious price tag and then there's the climate typhoons floods erosion sea level rise isn't theoretical here it's taking bites out of the beachfront property every year and that dream house on the sand might be driftwood by 2035 and I'm thinking long term when I'm talking retirement in my opinion visit enjoy maybe fall in love snorkel sing karaoke but don't move your whole life there on a whim for some Americans it's definitely paradise but not for me at least not till the visa costs come back down for people under 55 three I got a sweet spot for this one Costa Rica Pura Vida gorgeous jungles greenery surf towns chill culture no army great health care I mean too many pros it's like the Switzerland of Central America it is dreamy and I have a ton of Canadian friends who winter there every single year if you've watched my other videos you know it's hard to get friends to visit Southeast Asia I mean the flight time differences are real but let's get honest about some of the other issues the first is cost of living Camarindo you're gonna pay $3,000 a month for a one bedroom with a broken AC imported food is super pricey electricity bills can shock you more than the outlet a beachfront villa will set you back millions of greenback American dollars out of my range second there's overcrowding the best beaches are full of crypto bros and burnt out tech guys finding themselves there's more yogis and surfers than Goa and Bali combined they're stretching the resources and the infrastructure thin and it seems like the clock's getting real close to midnight third bureaucracy and traffic you want to buy a car get a driver's license in Costa Rica pack a sandwich block a few days off the calendar my Canadian friends spend all winter here loving it and all summer back home complaining they're entangled in the golden handcuffs of a jungle paradise in my opinion Costa Rica is still great still beautiful but not budget not for beachfront or a quiet retreat number two you didn't think I'd really leave this one off the list did you Thailand I lived there I loved there especially in Bangkok you know it's my Paris of Southeast Asia and I still recommend Thailand for everyone how could I not but there are caveats to this beautiful country in 2025 the pros too many to count the food is unreal the health care is affordable and dependable you can get a $10 massage that makes you forget your own name and a condo for under 500 bucks a month and the culture art and class of a city like Bangkok is just straight up world class but here's the rub first there's dual pricing it's real if you're a foreigner you pay more at temples at hospitals at government offices it adds up it gets annoying and the banking system is remarkably bad for expats second the visa games or shenanigans or whatever is going on they just keep changing the rules some visa require bank deposits some require school enrollment some just disappear honestly I can't keep track of the Thai bureaucracy every time I update my cost of living abroad guides they seem to make more changes it's really like a game of cat and mouse third there's tourist fatigue here let's not be pretend locals are polite but they're tired of you they're tired of too many people especially in Chiang Mai and the southern islands and if it's not Khao San Road or Soi Cowboy Pattaya has got to be the loser back home expat burnout capital of the world there's just a couple too many lady bars in my opinion it's still a strong option but the golden age of Thailand retirement might be behind us but you know Phuket, Khar Pae Diem, if it's your dream I've been there I loved it and I have no regrets about my time in Thailand all right before we get to the last one let me give it to you straight most of these places are sick of you and I admit I'm part of the problem this list is like my dirty laundry it's all the places I partied and backpacked and crisscrossed in my 20s and 30s when I was first learning the having the literal time of my life seriously you and I and the millions of others who came looking for the good life on the cheap with remote jobs and wide eyes the warnings are for us the gringo go home signs the chance the protests they're real there's a changing subcurrent and feeling around the world and like fair enough I get it but the digital nomad and golden visas they're disappearing getting stricter or just straight up more expensive and the rent in a lot of these countries it's up 200 percent that's real those numbers don't lie so in my opinion if you're arriving today in 2025 and thinking you're early to this lifestyle abroad you might already be too late in many of the places we've talked about in this video but you know there's a but there's a little bit more coming so this begs the obvious question where should you go instead if nowhere on the list I'm glad you asked thank you so much I'm gonna give you three places I do recommend in 2025 and more importantly for the next five or 10 or 15 years these are the places that I think of when I think ahead to 2030 to 2040 to a place where I want to grow old in a quiet peaceful beautiful villa number three you might question me on this it's Cambodia Cambodia is a wild card and I kind of love it but it's still a bit scary on the outskirts it is the absolute wild west of Southeast Asia extremely free and definitely not for everybody Phnom Penh is growing fast Siam Reap is more than just Angkor Wat now it's cafe culture music and young creatives looking for the next up-and-coming spot you can rent a decent place for 250 bucks a tuk-tuk ride is a dollar and a full local meal is a couple bucks like these prices don't lie those numbers are real the visa system is generous long-term stays are possible without acrobatics people are curious warm and generally still welcoming of foreigners they're certainly not burned out or bothered by foreigners like some of the neighboring countries in Southeast Asia so if you've got like a pioneer spirit Cambodia can be your first big life abroad adventure but just don't forget parts of it are still dangerous and it is the wild west so make sure you pack a fistful of dead presidents in case you need to buy your way out of trouble option two Malaysia I can't leave it off the list I'm in love I'm serious now we're talking infrastructure we're talking order we're talking calm we're talking clean city streets right in the heart of tropical Southeast Asia KL feels like Bangkok's quieter more livable cousin fast trains great airports amazing food the mm2h program Malaysia my second home offers real retirement options even if they're a bit pricey for some Penang and the Cameron Highlands are favorites for foreign retirees they have a slower place cheaper rents and English-speaking locals who are generally welcoming and appreciative and it's also one of the best countries in Southeast Asia for health care with costs that won't bankrupt you and services that won't kill you Malaysia still offers real affordable luxury right now for retirees looking for that perfect place to retire abroad finally you know the ringer my home place my love my Vietnam number one I saved the best for last or at least my favorite place to live abroad it might not be yours that's fine this video is always just my own opinion and Vietnam isn't just cheap it's the best value the name gives you beaches fast wi-fi and an expat scene that isn't too loud yet Hanoi gives you history colonial influence cafes and a rich vein of Viet culture Saigon gives you or at least me a buzz like no other a balloon rip of excitement and energy it's hustle culture and business conducted on the back seat of a motorcycle you can still live well on a thousand dollars a month that ain't hype that ain't fake or ridiculously well on 1500 a month private hospitals are solid the food is delicious healthy and cheap and the locals are still curious and welcoming of foreign of foreigners with genuine smiles and intrigue if you're thinking of moving to Vietnam right now in 2025 I made an easy entry point move to Vietnam master class in 60 minutes so you don't get stuck or screwed while you're trying to figure it out over here it's just 49.95 and you can start watching it right now it includes answers to all my frequently asked questions from subscribers and members housing options health care banking dating and how to set up your new life in Vietnam for the first 30 to 180 days on the ground if you're curious about Vietnam and want to know if it's the right move for you click the link in the description and start watching my 60-minute move to Vietnam master class right now look I want to be clear I don't hate these eight countries in fact I love most of them or I love living and traveling in them back in the day and I'll always have my memories of the good years in these countries but if you're planning on living abroad in 2025 and for the next decade or longer you need to look past the rose tint to the changes that are happening in the world you have to ask yourself is this place still affordable is it still welcoming is it still sustainable for the next decade or two of my life because god forbid if you're gonna retire let's hope you got 10 or 20 good years left and if not go somewhere else on the list the good life is still out there it's just that you've got to find the right place for you and in fact it might just be waiting for you in southeast asia or on a beach in vietnam right now i'm evan a click this video to learn more about life in vietnam or this one if you're curious about retiring in all the different countries in southeast asia thanks so much for watching