Student loans can be an extremely difficult matter to deal with, especially if you were duped into taking out tens of thousands of dollars you really didn’t need and ended up with a job flipping burgers instead of that career position you were promised when you first enrolled.
So it is easy to see just how tempting it is to jump out of the country and start a new life abroad – especially so at a time when student loans, as we know it, have hit in excess of $1 trillion with $60 billion in default.
Not many people actually skip town to skip their loans. Only around 2% to 4% of those who are delinquent on their payments are out of the country. This is because you effectively give up your life as an American when you “leave the country” to escape your loans. The interest keeps accruing, and the paper trails you leave will tip off the lenders the moment you head home.
Heck, escaping abroad isn’t even a guarantee of freedom from debt. It would cost more to collect on that debt, yes, but it is *still* legally possible to pursue you no matter where you are.
But moving abroad does present some opportunities that no American should overlook.
True, you’ll probably earn a lot less than what you would earn if you stayed in the USA – but you’ll also spend significantly less as well.
Take for example Asia. Taxes in most Asian countries are single-digit while you’ll be paying taxes to only one government at a time. Food is extremely cheap and plentiful, with a veritable feast readily available for just under five dollars. Transportation is pretty cheap in highly urbanized areas, and you could even go without a car thanks to the efficiency and affordability of public transport.
The idea here is to save as much as you can while still living comfortably as you pay off your student loans. You’ll probably have to adjust to the local language, cultures and lifestyles, but the money you save will eventually add up and allow you to pay off your debt if you work at it hard and long enough.
