How boring is Delaware? See the rank for people in states most eager to move abroad

Since everyone has heard the phrase “Delaware is boring,” where do you think the state ranks nationwide for residents most eager to ditch it and move abroad?  

A new study conducted by luggage shipping experts MyBaggage.com revealed Delaware ranks eighth nationwide for residents who can’t wait to relocate from the United States.   

Delaware is the only state from the Mid-Atlantic region to rank in the top 10, while Wyoming ranked No. 1 for residents most interested in bailing to live out of the country.  

States with people most eager to move out of the USA 

1. Wyoming  
2. Vermont  
3. Alaska 
4. North Dakota 
5. Hawaii  
6. Montana  
7. Rhode Island  
8. Delaware 
9. Oregon 
10. Colorado  
11. New Hampshire  
12. Maine 
13. South Dakota  
14. Washington 
15. Nevada 
16. Utah 
17. Idaho 
18. Arizona 
19. Nebraska 
20. Florida 

What are the reasons to move out of America?

Paul Stewart, managing director of MyBaggage.com, shed light on the report’s findings and explained why some Americans would want to leave the country.   

“Americans leave the U.S. for a number of factors, including better job prospects, a lower cost of living, better quality of life, studying abroad, better healthcare, marriage and relationship, or just travel and adventure,” Stewart commented.   

Google tells us people want to ditch the USA

Research conducted in the study analyzed all 50 states (and two U.S. territories) based on the number of times per month that each state Googled a term related to moving abroad.  

The report said data included 285 keywords such as “best countries to move to,” “best European countries to live,” “minimum wage by country 2024,” “how to move to USA from UK,” “should I move to Australia,” and “legal requirements to move to Portugal.”   

The number of searches for each term was then added to give a total for each state. This was then compared to the population to calculate the number of searches per 100,000 people.  

Wyoming, which ranked No. 1, had an average of 115 searches per 100,000 residents and 672 per month.  

10 best countries to move to

In 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked the 85 best countries in the world, and America ranked fifth. The data was based on various metrics that included quality of life, cultural influence, and entrepreneurship.   

The USA ranked as the No. 5 country in the world. Below are the top 10 countries in the world.  

1. Switzerland  
2. Canada  
3. Sweden  
4. Australia  
5. United States  
6. Japan  
7. Germany  
8. New Zealand  
9. United Kingdom  
10. Netherlands   

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Delaware hopes to boost tourism

To make Delaware a more attractive state, legislation introduced House Bill 444 on June 6, with plans to designate “Orange Crush” as the state cocktail.

The primary sponsor for the bill is Rep. Peter Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach. 

While lobbying for a state cocktail might sound silly, it would allow the First State to claim another tourism item as it has done with scrapple.

Language in HB 444 states: “Orange Crush has been made famous and become synonymous with Dewey Beach, Delaware” and “The Starboard in Dewey Beach, Delaware perfected the Orange Crush and serves the most Orange Crush cocktails of any bar in Delaware every beach season.”   

If Delaware adopts Orange Crush as a new state symbol, will it push the Small Wonder out of the top 10 for people most keen to move abroad?

Answering yes to this question likely means you’ve had too many cocktails, and should strongly consider taking an Uber home.  

If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters.