Once Immigrants Came to the US. Now It’s Americans Who Are Leaving.

By Nicole Chang

Joshua Schoolcraft and Morgan Cable are among a growing number of Americans choosing to leave the country. Many cite a rising sense of instability along with high costs.

Joshua Schoolcraft and Morgan Cable. The couple moved to New Zealand in December. They are part of a growing number of Americans choosing to leave the country.

The United States has long stood at the center of the immigrant narrative, the literal and symbolic endpoint of the American Dream. For decades, people from around the world in search of a better future crossed oceans and borders to build lives here.

That pattern has begun to shift, however. For the first time in half a century, the US saw net negative in-migration last year, even as more Americans are deciding to leave.  

“We’re really excited,” said Joshua Schoolcraft and Morgan Cable. The couple left the United States for New Zealand just days before Christmas. Speaking during a video interview conducted one day before their departure, they added, “We’re very, very ready.”

With advanced degrees and stable, professional careers, Schoolcraft and Cable easily fit the description of a “successful upper-middle-class” profile. Which makes their decision to move abroad all the more curious.

But pinpointing a single reason for their decision to immigrate is difficult, they noted. Instead, political polarization, growing social tension, and anxiety about the future all accumulated over time.

“It wasn’t one specific moment,” they said. “It was when we realized that the issues we were worried about weren’t temporary.”

Record numbers of American citizens are choosing to depart the country, citing many of the same issues — political instability, violence and the high cost of healthcare, among them. A Gallup poll in November found that 40% of American women between the ages of 18 and 44 said they would move to another country if they had the chance.

New census numbers also show the US saw a steep drop in population growth over the last year. The decline was fueled in part by the plummeting number of immigrants coming into the country, as well as of Americans leaving.

A budding relationship

Schoolcraft and Cable first met after graduating from college through an internship program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Working in the same research environment, their relationship deepened through conversations about work, daily life, and broader social issues.

Schoolcraft went on to work at JPL as a computer engineer, contributing to software and systems development for space exploration projects. Cable also remained at JPL, where she worked in scientific research and analysis while completing her doctoral studies.

Cable acknowledged the decision to leave was not taken lightly but that eventually their conversations about it had shifted from the hypothetical to practical.

Still, there were moments, they said, when the move felt more like escape. “Honestly, yes,” Cable said. “That feeling was there, which is why it became even more important for us to be honest with each other.”

‘The waiting was long’

The first step was research. The couple studied New Zealand’s immigration system and visa categories, assessing how their education, professional experience, and occupations might align with available pathways.

“At first, everything felt vague,” Cable said. “We had to figure out whether immigration was even possible.”

They focused on New Zealand’s skilled and professional worker visa programs. The process involved organizing academic and employment records, criminal background checks, medical examinations, and responding to additional documentation requests as they arose.

The process took more than a year from application to final approval. During that time, they continued working in the United States while adjusting plans based on the timing and feasibility of the move.

“Submitting the paperwork wasn’t the end,” they said. “The waiting was long, and during that time we kept asking ourselves whether this was the right choice.”

What it means to be an immigrant

After the visa was approved, their plans took shape. They set December 22, 2025, as their departure date, organized the sale of their home and belongings, and packed for a new chapter abroad.

Schoolcraft and Cable are conscious that their experience rests on structural advantages. Being white Americans, working as an engineer and a scientist, and operating in an English-speaking environment all highlight the reality that immigration does not occur under equal conditions for everyone.

“Yes,” they acknowledged. “We don’t think our experience is universal.”

At the same time, preparing to immigrate reshaped their understanding of what it means to be an immigrant. Cable said that while the word—once applied to “other people”—now applied to them as well.

“And it made us more aware of how immigrants have strengthened American society and become part of it,” she added.

Letting go

New Zealand was one of several countries the couple considered, but over time it emerged as the best match for their priorities. Relatively strong public safety, social cohesion, and a less volatile political climate influenced their decision.

More importantly, compared with the United States, New Zealand felt like a place where social trust had not fully eroded and where community life still functioned.

“It’s not perfect,” Cable said. “But overall, it felt calmer.”

At the same time, she emphasized the importance of avoiding idealization. “We don’t see it as a utopia. Every country has problems. We weren’t expecting perfection.”

Immigration is not simply physical relocation. For Schoolcraft and Cable, it also involves letting go of a vision of the country they once trusted and the life they had planned here. Informing close family and friends about the move also proved difficult.

“We’re not rejecting where we came from,” they said. “But when we explained that the U.S. no longer felt like home, sadness came before anger.”

They do not see the move as irreversible. Life changes, they noted, and the United States remains home to people they love. Still, they recognize that the roughly 15-hour flight between the two countries makes frequent travel unrealistic.

Living as foreigners

Living as foreigners in New Zealand means confronting a mix of curiosity and uncertainty on a daily basis. Since settling there, Schoolcraft and Cable have focused on adapting to their new surroundings — establishing routines, learning institutional and cultural differences, and understanding the communities around them.

Another goal is integration. They have begun learning te reo Māori, New Zealand’s Indigenous language, while studying the country’s history. They describe this not as a symbolic act, but as a practical step toward understanding the society they now live in.

“We don’t want to live as if we automatically belong here,” they said. “There’s a responsibility to learn first.”

As they seek stability, connection, and a sense of belonging that develops over time, the couple is quietly laying the groundwork for a new life in New Zealand. They note that the moment the country feels like home will likely have little to do with traditional notions of achievement.

“It will be something very small,” they said. “When everyday life feels familiar, and we feel a sense of belonging without having to force it.