How TikTok is driving American expats to Southeast Asia

World How TikTok is driving American expats to Southeast Asia April 23, 20265:00 AM ET By  Windsor Johnston A view of My Khe beach in 2019 in Da Nang, Vietnam. Some Americans who moved to Vietnam or Thailand say they now have less stress and can afford more than they could in the U.S. Linh Pham/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Linh Pham/Getty Images Chad Dunn used to spend his days on the floor of a Hyundai plant in Savannah, Ga., watching the clock, feeling the pressure, and wondering how long he could keep going. "Life in America was pretty unfulfilling and pretty stressed out," he said. "Like most folks, just in a rat race." Now, he lives in Da Nang, a coastal city in Vietnam, and makes a living helping other Americans leave. "I can pick you up from the airport, set you up with a phone, a bank account, and get you settled in an apartment in under a week," he said. "It's becoming very popular." Sponsor Message Health Care The 4 kidnapped Americans are part of a large wave of U.S. medical tourism in Mexico Dunn runs a relocation business built around a simple idea: that the life he found in Vietnam is something others want too. Many of his clients first find him on TikTok, watching his videos about daily life abroad. And increasingly, they reach out asking how they can move to Vietnam, too. Chad Dunn lives in Da Nang, a coastal city in Vietnam, and makes a living helping other Americans leave. Chad Dunn hide caption toggle caption Chad Dunn Global expat surveys have ranked Vietnam and Thailand among the most attractive destinations for affordability and quality of life. Estimates from the Association of Americans Resident Overseas, based on United Nations data, show the number of Americans living in Southeast Asia has grown significantly over the past few decades, rising from about 32,000 in 1990 to nearly 88,000 in 2024. (That data does not include Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, so the true number of Americans in the region is likely far higher....