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After experiencing a drive-by shooting in Kansas City, 37-year-old Sam Correll decided he was “just done” with the U.S. It was the summer of 2024, and 60 days later, he and his partner, 29-year-old Spencer Claiborne, had sold their home in Missouri and moved to Europe.
They are among more than 1,000 Americans who have expatriated over the past year—a phenomenon that has been on the rise since the beginning of the year. Roughly 1,285 U.S. citizens left the country in the first quarter of 2025, according to a report from CS Global Partners, which analyzed statistics from the U.S. Federal Register. That is about 102 percent more than in the last quarter of 2024.
Should Americans continue to leave the U.S. at that pace, 2025 could mark a record in the number of U.S. citizens relocating abroad—an exodus that could put the country’s economy in trouble.
Leaving the Midwest for a Small Country in Europe
Correll and Spencer had considered leaving the U.S. for a while before the event that prompted them to decide the time had come for their big move.
“I was actually at a cheesecake factory picking up a piece of cheesecake to take to a friend in the hospital, and there was a drive-by shooting during prom season,” Correll said. “I got knocked over from the stampede of kids running away from the shooter outside. And I was just there, like, ‘What are we doing? It’s time for a change,’” he said.
Correll and Spencer swapped Kansas City—the city of the Chiefs and Taylor Swifts, as their European friends know it—for Albania, a country that was not on their radar when they started their search for a new home away from home.
“We went to Portugal, Malta, Italy, Spain, the U.K., and had a great time, but we didn’t really click with a specific city or anything,” Correll said.
Then they learned that Albania offers Americans 12-month visa-free travel on arrival. “It’s a really, really easy destination to leave and then figure it out as you go, as opposed to someplace like Portugal or Italy.”
That made the difference for Correll and Claiborne, who were able to depart their previous life behind quickly—leaving their first home, which they had bought in Kansas City in 2019.
“It was a historic stone cottage that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we really poured a lot of heart and soul into,” Claiborne told Newsweek. “I like to say it was like a child. We had finally gotten it all finished and it was exactly what we wanted—and that was the point in which we were selling,” he said.
Claiborne was a little hesitant at first to let it all go, “Like, man, we just spent all this time and effort and energy to make our house perfect,” he said. “But I wasn’t going to let that hold us back.”
Now Claiborne, who is talking to Newsweek from their sun-kissed terrace in Albania with views of the sea, “can’t imagine a better place to live.
Striking Out on Their Own—by Helping Others Do the Same
Both Correll and Claiborne left good jobs behind—one was a tech consultant working with global companies, the other sold accounting software and helped large companies implement enterprise systems.
But one of the things they love about living in Albania is that the work culture there is not nearly as demanding as in the U.S.
“The U.S. is just so work-oriented. You wake up before the sun rises, you get in your car, you commute to work, you work, and then you go home after the sun sets, and maybe you have a couple hours of television,” Claiborne said.
“And I think as I got more into the kind of rut and routine of a corporate career, I realized that’s not something that was going to make my soul feel happy for another 30, 40 years,” he added.
The lower cost of living in Albania, as well, has helped to make up for some of that lost income.
While Claiborne and Correll worried about taking a pay cut and striking out on their own, they found something they love doing in Albania: helping others who might want to leave the U.S. through their company, Smile Abroad.
They started with an idea to open a dental tourism business there, but that quickly morphed after they realized, through Facebook and Reddit, “the sheer number of people that were feeling similar to the way that we were feeling, especially as this year progressed and as the new administration came into power,” Correll said.
The couple has been receiving five to 10 calls a day for months from people seeking urgent assistance in “getting out” of the U.S. A Reddit post discussing their experience moving to Albania has garnered nearly 500,000 views as of now.
Through the business route opened up by their new initiative, they were able to apply for residency. “It’s very straightforward for Americans. The requirements are very minimal, to be frank. It’s a very easy path,” Correll said. “This is up to the immigration office, but oftentimes Americans are issued five-year residency permits upon their first application.”
Thriving in a Different Culture
Correll and Claiborne have been pleasantly surprised by Albania, a place where the first question someone asks you upon meeting you is not, “What do you do?” they said. They have found the peace of mind they were seeking in disconnecting from the U.S., which now feels a world away.
“I think I was having a conversation the other day with an Albanian friend of mine trying to explain the concept of food deserts, which is something that we have a lot in America, where there’s no grocery store, no access to fresh food within walking or driving distance of a lot of homes,” Claiborne said. “That’s just not a concept here in Albania. There’s fresh fruits, fresh veggies.”
The couple have found a thriving community of digital nomads and expats, and they have been trying to mingle with the locals.
“It’s also been wonderful to disconnect from the noise and the chaos that’s going on in the United States,” Claiborne said. “One of the things I like to tell people when they have a consultation call with us is that, after you get out, a lot of people do what we did—which is you kind of sleep, you kind of hibernate for like a month,” he explained.
“And then you come out of the fog and you’re free from the noise. You can hear fireworks in the distance without ducking, thinking it’s gunshots. And you can kind of relax and enjoy life. And so that’s definitely been what I think we’ve gained from this.”
Surprisingly, both think they have been made more patriotic by living in Albania. “Hearing our language teacher talk about how, during communism, it was the voice of American news, the Radio Free Europe, that alerted them to the fall of Yugoslavia. You know, it’s really opened my eyes to the good that America and Americans do and have done across the globe,” Claiborne said.
But neither is thinking about going back to the U.S. anytime soon. “I think prices are too high. Of course, never say never, but I’m very happy being in Albania now,” Claiborne said.
“I very much appreciate and love the country that I was born in, but it’s in a dark spot right now. And for my mental health, at least, it’s not a place that I want to be,” Correll said.
Read the full interview with Sam Correll and Spencer Claiborne:
What is your name, and what do you do?
Claiborne: My name is Spencer Claiborne. I am 29 years old and I am now a relocation consultant helping people move to Albania. Before this, when I lived in the United States, I sold accounting software and helped large companies implement enterprise systems. So quite the career change.
Correll: I’m Sam Carell. I am 37 years old. I was a tech consultant in the U.S. working with global companies, building their websites and the back end of that sort of thing. And since moving to Albania, I still do a little bit of that, but we are largely helping people relocate to Albania.
When did you decide to leave the U.S.?
Correll: We had thought about this for a few years. We’d talked off and on, we wanted to look for something new. In late 2023, early 2024, we took a three-month scouting trip throughout Europe. We dove into YouTube and decided, these are potential countries we might find a home in. We went to Portugal, Malta, Italy, Spain, the U.K., and had a great time, but we didn’t really click with a specific city or anything.
“It solidified, at least for me, that we definitely wanted to leave the Midwest, but we didn’t have the right spot yet. So we went home. After being there a couple of months, I was actually at a cheesecake factory picking up a piece of cheesecake to take to a friend in the hospital. And there was a drive-by shooting during prom season. I got knocked over from the stampede of kids running away from the shooter outside. And I was just there, like, ‘What are we doing? It’s time for a change.’ And I think that really was a springboard for us to, like… Take action, list our house, and leave. And 60 days later, we were in Albania.
Did you have any reservations about leaving the U.S.?
Claiborne: No, not really. My family was very supportive. But we had a home in Kansas City which we had bought in 2019, and it was our first home. It was a historic stone cottage that during the COVID-19 pandemic, we really poured a lot of heart and soul into. I like to say it was like a child. And so, we had finally gotten it all finished and to be very, very nice and just exactly what we wanted. And that was the point in which we were selling.
“I think I was a little hesitant, like, man, we just spent all this time and effort and energy to make our house perfect. But I wasn’t going to let that hold us back. I think that was basically it, honestly, is the house. But I’m much happier here. I can’t imagine a better place to live, being able to wake up and look at the sea.”
Now you’ve set up a business to help other Americans move to Albania. When did you realize there was a market for this?
Claiborne: Our intention wasn’t to build a business to help Americans move abroad. We actually started a business to help people with dental tourism in Albania, and we still do that. Hence the name [of our website] Smile Abroad, it was going to be about dental tourism. But it really morphed into something more than that when we realized, especially through Facebook and Reddit, all the sheer number of people that were feeling similar to the way that we were feeling, especially as this year progressed and as the new administration came into power. That they really wanted to get out.
“And what makes Albania uniquely attractive, especially for Americans, is that they can get 12 months visa-free travel on arrival. So it’s a really, really easy destination to leave and then figure it out as you go, as opposed to someplace like a Portugal or Italy, where you have to do a lot of work in the States, a lot of coordination before you even land. For a lot people, this has been an urgent concern. And Sam has been taking five, 10 calls a day for months now from people that really need urgent assistance in getting out.
What have you gained from this move?
Correll: I can tell you what I’ve lost, and that’s about 70 pounds. Definitely peace of mind, happiness. Look, I was having a conversation the other day with an Albanian friend of mine trying to explain the concept of food deserts, which is something that we have a lot in America, where there’s no grocery store, no access to fresh food within walking or driving distance of a lot of homes. That’s just not a concept here in Albania. There’s fresh fruits, fresh veggies.
“I think we’ve also found a community of a lot of other nomads and expats and local friends. And also just, it’s been wonderful to disconnect from the noise and the chaos that’s going on in the United States. One of the things I like to tell people when they have a consultation call with us is after you get out, a lot of people do what I did, which is you kind of sleep, you kind hibernate for like a month. And then you come out of the fog and you’re free from the noise. You can hear fireworks in the distance without ducking thinking it’s gunshots. And you can kind of relax and enjoy life. And so that’s definitely been what I think I’ve gained from this.
Claiborne: The U.S. is just so work-oriented. You wake up before the sun rises, you get in your car, you commute to work, you work, and then you go home after the sun sets, and maybe you have a couple hours of television. And I think as I got more into the kind of rut and routine of a corporate career, I realized that’s not something that was going to make my soul feel happy for doing, you know, for another 30, 40 years.
“And while I definitely worry sometimes about taking a pay cut and striking it out on our own and doing our own thing, I have been much more satisfied with both the ability to help people really transform their lives by moving abroad and by the wonderful work-life balance that’s offered here in the Mediterranean. And also the lower cost of living here in Albania helps make up for some of that lost income.
Would you ever consider going back to the U.S.?
Claiborne: I’m never gonna say never, we have a long life ahead of us. And I love America. I think moving to Albania has actually made me more patriotic and more appreciative of America and what it stands for across the world. You know, hearing our language teacher talk about how during communism, it was the voice of American news, Radio Free Europe, that alerted them to the fall of Yugoslavia. It’s really opened my eyes to the good that America and Americans do and have done across the globe. That being said, in the near term, I don’t see returning. I think prices are too high. Of course, you know, never say never, but I’m very happy being in Albania now.
Correll: I very much agree with that. I’m not gonna write it off. Like, I very appreciate and love the country that I was born in, but it’s in a dark spot right now. And for my mental health, at least, it’s not a place that I want to be.
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