"Almost no one relocates to feel relatively rich. (In fact, isn’t this essay the first time you’ve heard anyone point out that this is even an option?!)"
Nope, Americans move to places where their wealth makes them locally powerful all the time. Thailand. Costa Rica. Digital nomads. Sex tourism. Playing the token American for a local corporation. You're usually sharper than this, Dr. Caplan.
"Almost no one relocates to feel relatively rich. (In fact, isn’t this essay the first time you’ve heard anyone point out that this is even an option?!)"
Nope, Americans move to places where their wealth makes them locally powerful all the time. Thailand. Costa Rica. Digital nomads. Sex tourism. Playing the token American for a local corporation. You're usually sharper than this, Dr. Caplan.
People certainly do that, but it is an uncommon choice. The vast majority of Americans live in the nicest area they can afford.
Edited with some evidence for my claim: A quick search suggests the number of American expatriates is in the single digit millions (estimates I saw range from 5 to 9 million, but obviously not all of those have moved for cost of living reasons), whereas there are perhaps 300 million American citizens (some of its 333 million residents aren't citizens).
"Almost no one relocates to feel relatively rich. (In fact, isn’t this essay the first time you’ve heard anyone point out that this is even an option?!)"
Nope, Americans move to places where their wealth makes them locally powerful all the time. Thailand. Costa Rica. Digital nomads. Sex tourism. Playing the token American for a local corporation. You're usually sharper than this, Dr. Caplan.
People certainly do that, but it is an uncommon choice. The vast majority of Americans live in the nicest area they can afford.
Edited with some evidence for my claim: A quick search suggests the number of American expatriates is in the single digit millions (estimates I saw range from 5 to 9 million, but obviously not all of those have moved for cost of living reasons), whereas there are perhaps 300 million American citizens (some of its 333 million residents aren't citizens).