iwantout reddit

IWantOut is a subreddit that was created in 2009 and has since then gained over 1.2 million members. Hundreds of people who have expatriated, or are considering doing so, post content on its feed every day looking for advice, answers to their questions, to share their experiences, and to gather information from the many first-hand accounts of people who have already made the move abroad. The subreddit has proven to be useful to so many people from all over the world, so how great is it really? Let’s find out.

Easy to Use

To be honest, I’m in my early 30s and I’ve never really gotten a good grasp on Reddit but to be fair, I’ve never really bothered trying. In writing a review for the IWantOut subreddit, I’m also going to give you a quick idea of how easy it was to access and interact on it. First, know that you don’t need to be a member of Reddit to access the subreddit or to read all of the posts and comments that are there. It’s only if you want to create a post or leave a comment that you need to sign up, and though you can create an account on the site, you can also log in with an existing Apple ID or Google account.

If you have the link to a subreddit, you’re good to go if all you want to do is read what has already been posted. The layout is fairly easy to follow; each post is in a separate box listed one under the other, and if you click on it, a pop-up of sorts will appear and you’ll see all of the comments that have been left under that particular post. You can close that pop-up to go back to the main subreddit page and continue scrolling on to other posts. The posts themselves will first show ones that have been pinned to the top by moderators; you can sort everything else by what’s ‘hot’, what’s been voted to the top, and by what’s been newly posted.

All in all, I found it very easy to use and navigate through though the only negative I came across is that it took me a while to figure out how to search within the subreddit. So, you type in a location or what you’re looking for on the main search, and when the results come up, there will be an option to show results from the subreddit you were on.

Posting on IWantOut Subreddit

As I mentioned earlier, you will need to create an account/ log in if you can’t find a particular topic and want to create a post on the IWantOut subreddit. I’ve never created a post on any subreddit so in learning how to do so for this review, I want to share how easy it was to do. While on the subreddit page, there will be a ‘Create Post’ bar at the very top. When you click on it, it takes you to a page similar to those of other blog posts. You’re reminded of the rules on the right-hand side which include searching for duplicates (posts about the same topic) prior to posting and to behave as you would in real life (kindly).

You then easily type in the title of your post, making sure it sticks to the main topic so that other members know what it’s about. You can then type in the body which delves into more details; it also allows you to edit certain aspects such as making text bold, adding hyperlinks, or creating a table. You can then add tags to mark it as a spoiler or NSFW if applicable and then you’re ready to go – just click ‘Post’. It’s super easy and you’ll be notified of any replies automatically (unless you otherwise check not to be).

Variety of Information

What I like in particular about r/IWantOut is that it differs from the usual advice about traveling abroad, such as where to eat out or which attractions to go to, and instead focuses on the particulars of relocating to a new location for more than just a vacation. This means that you’ll find advice on what you would need for a fresh start there; you can get an idea of how much the cost of living would be in a particular place, what the job market is like, and there are even people who share details on how to get a visa into a particular country. There is a wide variety of information and they all focus on a long-term move rather than a short trip there.

Another awesome thing is that the subreddit is also not limited to any particular location; the 1.2 million members come from every corner of the earth and you’ll find that almost every country has come up, whether people are looking to go there or get out of there. For example, I found posts and advice on people who want to move out of Morocco and those who want to move to Morocco.

I’ve seen that the subreddit is used by people who want to expatriate to or from any and every continent and they vary in age, sex, career paths, and reasons for moving. That being said, the moderators encourage contributors to focus on advice for moving abroad rather than criticizing or talking about the adverse political situation, etc. in the country they are trying to leave.

And if your particular topic hasn’t been covered yet, you can create an account and post within minutes and I’m sure many of the million plus members will offer their helpful thoughts and advice.

Interesting Topics

While many of the posts are by people looking for advice to expatriate from one location to another, I also came across some really interesting posts on the IWantOut subreddit. You can read about what immigration officers can see when they scan your passport (turns out it includes any past interactions you may have had), how to find housing abroad, and even advice on what is acceptable attire when going on a consulate interview. There’s a great ongoing discussion for people who feel like their time to expatriate is running out and are looking for a bit of motivation. There’s even an entire thread dedicated to how a country handled the coronavirus pandemic affected whether people wanted to leave or move from there.

Really, there’s no limit to the topics that expatriates, or hopeful expatriates, can discuss on IWantOut. The only limitation I’ve noticed is that a lot of the posts and comments are text-based; in fact, the entire subreddit is very text heavy. Unlike other travel subreddits that are often filled with photographs, IWantOut has very few. This could be a bummer for someone who is visual like me, but it does mean that the entire subreddit is very much full of information.

IWantOut Rules

As with any subreddit, there are rules which the moderators enforce. The rules for this particular subreddit include staying on the topic of legal immigration and not requesting or giving advice on conducting illegal activities such as marrying a stranger to obtain a residence visa, etc. in a new country. The rules also state to be as detailed as possible on a post and to include country of origin and destination, education, qualifications, budget, age range – basically anything that can help others get an idea of what the poster is looking for and needs. There are also rules on observing the title format and no posting or spam or advertisements. Any posts that violate these rules will be removed and multiple violations may result in the Redditor being temporarily or permanently banned from the subreddit. I find that these rules give the subreddit much needed structure; with over a million members it could get easy for posts to get off topic and for internet trolls to take over and make a mess of things.

–

My overall opinion of the IWantOut subreddit is that it is extremely useful for people who are looking to expatriate from one place to another. It doesn’t matter whether it’s from one city to another in the same country or if you’re going from one corner of the world to the other. The information varies from the logical such as details on the visa process and breakdowns on what cost of living is like to more opinionated such as what to expect in terms of interacting with the locals or whether you’ll come across any barriers. As I’ve mentioned multiple times in this review, the website itself (and the app) have proven to be very easy to navigate and understand even for a newbie like myself. I didn’t come across any issues other than how to search within a subreddit, which wasn’t very obvious but, I learned, can be done easily. Share your IWantOut subreddit experience with us by voting thumbs up or down!

David Jones

I am a professional travel writer and travel enthusiast who traveled the world twice, so I am sharing my firsthand knowledge about everything related to travel and spending time abroad.