Last weekend Jesse Derr and his wife, Jess Yeastadt, made the five-hour drive from their home in Phoenix to the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego.

On the agenda for their weekend trip: learn how to move to Mexico.

Derr, 41, and Yeastadt, 45, were among the hundreds of Americans in San Diego last weekend who dream of starting a new life abroad.

A record number of Americans are leaving the U.S.: The country saw a net negative migration of between 10,000 and 295,000 people in 2025, according to research fromThe Brookings Institution. The widest estimated range was among people who left voluntarily, with Brookings estimating that between 210,000 to 405,000 people did so last year.

It's the first time in at least 50 years that more people moved out of the country than moved in. Restrictive immigration policies and deportation efforts play a role, according to Brookings. SomeU.S. citizensare emigrating for school, work, raising a family, retirement and everything in between.

Expatsi, a company that offersrelocation toursforAmericans, is becoming a sought-after resource for some.

The company, launched in 2022, held its second annual Move Abroad Con in San Diego on May 9 and 10. Some 600 Americans from around the country attended, double the number of people at the inaugural event held in May 2025, Expatsi co-founder Jen Barnett tells CNBC Make It.

A majority, 89%, said they want to leave the U.S. for political reasons, according to a sampling of 218 of the weekend's attendees, per Barnett. Others say they hope to move for adventure and growth (73%), as well as to save money (57%). Roughly two-thirds of respondents hope to move within two years, they have an average monthly budget of $3,856 to work with, and hopeful movers are split among 44% individuals, 39% couples and 17% families with kids.

Like many of his fellow conference attendees, Derr says political reasons are a major reason for his family's potential U.S. exit.

He points to recent policies affecting reproductive rights, like the Supreme Court's decision toremove the federal constitutional right to abortion, as well asits rulingsweakening the Voting Rights Act, which he considers signals that the country is "going backwards." Meanwhile, he says, Mexico's 2024 election of Claudia Sheinbaum, the country's first female president, and federally mandated gender equality laws align with the values he and Yeastadt are seeking.

Source: Drudge Report