Packing your bags? The Americans who said they'd flee the country if Trump won

Californians are looking into the possibility of moving abroad after becoming increasingly 'fed up' with the divisiveness of politics in the US.

A recent report suggests those living in the Golden State in particular are considering a move overseas - or even across the border into Mexico .

Experts specializing in relocating expats overseas say they have seen a notable increase in the numbers of Americans exploring options leave the country with figures from 2024 far exceeding those of 2023.

Henley & Partners, a firm specializing in international residency and citizenship, said approximately 80 percent of its US clients cite political concerns as their main reason for looking to move elsewhere.

'They want an option to escape,' said Basil Mohr Elzeki to the LA Times . 'Now with the election, people have opinions on both ends, and they're worried.'

Elzeki, who heads the firm's North American operations noted how heightened tensions surrounding the current election cycle have been driving many to explore life beyond US borders.

Similarly, Jen Barnett, founder of Expatsi, an organization that assists Americans in moving overseas, noted how there had been a significant spike in website traffic ever since the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.

'Just that he could be nominated to me meant that something was irreparably broken, and it wasn't something we could get back,' she said to the Los Angeles Times, noting how her site had seen a 900 percent increase in traffic.

Barnett ultimately relocated to Merida, Mexico earlier this year, adding that the decision stemmed from concerns dating back to Trump's initial rise in 2016.

Mykel Dicus, a 54-year-old from Hayward, California, found Barnett's site and is now in the process of planning a move to Spain himself within the next few years.

'I feel safer there,' said Dicus who is a gay man. 'It's time to live free from American political anxiety.

'If a regime like MAGA can win this election, I'm very scared,' Dicus added. 'I just feel like it's time to enjoy a life that's free from any American worry.'

Perhaps surprisingly, the desire to leave the U.S. isn't limited to one side of the political spectrum.

Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels, a migration scholar at the University of Kent, said it appears both conservatives and liberals are contemplating emigrating.

'We interpreted saying, 'I'm going to leave' as being an expression of protest rather than of actual migration intention,' she said.

'Anecdotally, I've heard more and more folks talking not just about a Trump administration, but about the divisiveness in the country,' von Koppenfels said.

Such findings are echoed by Marco Permunian, founder of Italian Citizenship Assistance, who noted that there is an interest in moving overseas no matter which party holds power.

'We came to the conclusion there is a sense of fear in general, and that affects people from both sides of the political spectrum,' Permunian said to the Times.

Permunian noted how there was a generalized sense of unease that's driving people from both ends of the political spectrum to look for stability elsewhere.

It means that for some Americans, political polarization has made the prospect of living abroad more appealing than staying to weather the storm at home.