Making a statement

Leaving the UK before Brexit is something many are considering, in part as a way to maintain the sense of being European, and not just British. A native of England, Clare Fenwick always considered herself a citizen of Europe, so she left London last autumn as part of a wider plan to make sure she could continue to travel freely throughout the continent.

Now she’s working on a PhD at Leiden University in the Netherlands, studying migration in Europe.

“It’s not so much about living in a place with people who think like me, but in a country with people who are interested in the concept of solidarity,” Fenwick wrote in an email to BBC Capital. “If people are really unhappy with the political trajectory of their country then they should consider making a move abroad.”

Not just politics

It’s easy to think that the polarised political climates in so many countries across today’s world are the main cause for people choosing to cross borders indefinitely.

But this recent trend actually has as much or more to do with technology, says Joe Peppard, a professor at the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin. A decade ago, moving to a country that aligns more with your personal or political beliefs or lifestyle preferences typically meant finding an office job there first.