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Here's Where Brits Want to Move After Brexit, According to Google Searches

Following the UK's vote to leave the European Union, Britons frantically took to Google to figure out where to move.
Photo by Håkan Dahlström via Flickr

It's official: The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union. The debate over Brexit had become increasingly tense as the date for yesterday's vote drew near. Jo Cox, a Parliament member who supported remaining in the EU, was shot and stabbed to death on June 16 by an attacker who reportedly shouted, "Britain first" while killing her. In the immediate aftermath of the vote to leave, the value of the British pound plummeted to a 31-year low. And, as the results of the referendum became clear, people began panic-Googling in earnest.

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Read more: Brits Living in the EU React to Brexit

Among the most popular searches in the UK were "buy gold" and, somewhat disturbingly, "what is the EU?" There was also a surge of interest in "how to emigrate," with Britons showing an interest in moving to France, Gibraltar, Australia, and everyone's favorite eff-this-place destination, Canada.

A Sysomos word cloud showing the frequency of words matched with "moving" and "brexit" over the past two days offered some insight into a few other possible destinations, including your parents' garage, academia, and Vegas.

Other word associations that were telling included Trump (who is currently paying a visit to his Scottish golf course), catastrophe, and Khan, the latter referring to London Mayor Sadiq Khan. In comparison with other UK residents, Londoners were overwhelmingly in favor of remaining in the EU and have started a petition to have the city declared an independent state in order to do so.

Those who favored the Brexit did so primarily for reasons associated with economic and migration crises in other EU states and a perception that the EU had never developed strong enough political institutions to properly manage its many countries. Those who favored remaining argued that, in the short term, an exit would have a negative impact on Britain's economy and that, in the long term, it could undermine the legitimacy of the European Union as a whole in the face of oppositional leaders such as Vladimir Putin.

In the meantime, it's unlikely that Canada will find itself overwhelmed with Brits anytime soon: The vote to leave is unprecedented and could take years to finalize.