As part of MoveHub’s report on global moving trends in 2017, we set out to find how moving behaviours and destinations have changed over the past year. Interestingly, we found that there has been an upsurge in moving enquiries made by millennials – 18 to 35-year-old young professionals – of around 60%. This suggests that the will to live abroad and experience different cultures is ever growing among young people.

A reason why an increasing number of young people are ready to up sticks and move overseas is likely to be the fact that not much is holding them back. Today’s young people have considerably less spending power than their parents’ generation, and long term investments such as buying a house are considered a pipe dream by many. It’s not surprising, then, that many young professionals are breaking ties with their birth countries and seeking a more affordable and better standard of living overseas.

The motivation to move to somewhere for a higher quality of life was evident in the results of our ‘Attitudes Towards Moving’ survey. Of the 20,000 asked, the majority chose better job prospects as the main reason to move country, whilst the cost of living at the destination was thought to be the most important thing to consider before making the move. This shows that young people are moving abroad for profound reasons, to advance themselves and their career in a hospitable environment, rather than for the change of weather.

A change in destination, not appetite

Despite it being clear that the appetite among millennials to experience life abroad is stronger than ever, the destinations in which they’re choosing to move to seems to be changing. The report found that moves to the ‘big three’ established expat havens – the US, the UK and Australia – were all down in comparison to the previous financial year. The UK took the biggest hit as inbound international moves plummeted by 22% whilst Australia saw 6% fewer expats arriving at its shores, suggesting that the high cost of living in these countries is forcing many people to consider alternative destinations.

 

View the full report here