Desperate escape? Americans searching 'how to move to NZ' skyrockets during presidential debate

It appears Americans are desperate to leave the US in a bid to set up shop in New Zealand following the first presidential debate.

This afternoon Donald Trump and Joe Biden went head-to-head in a debate that has been described as "chaotic" and a "s**t show".

The 90-minute circus featured Trump continuously interrupting Biden, while the pair hurled insults each other's way which left viewers frustrated.

Just 20 minutes into the debate, Americans had enough with Google Trends showing a substantial rise in the search "how to move to New Zealand".

Google Trends searches are ranked between 0 and 100, with 0 meaning not enough data and 100 indicating peak popularity.

Less than an hour into the debate, the search "how to move to New Zealand" was sitting at 75 out of 100.

Photo / Google Trends

By the end of the debate, it had hit 100.

Other popular searches included "Can I move to New Zealand", "moving to New Zealand" and "move to New Zealand from US".

People from the state of Oregon, on the US' west coast, was where the most searches came from.

Oregon is a democratic state.

It's not the first time Americans have wanted to flock to New Zealand.

More than 250,000 Americans have investigated whether they qualify to move to New Zealand since the coronavirus pandemic took hold this year.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden went head-to-head. It's since prompted thousands of Americans to want to live in New Zealand. Photo / Getty

Americans visited the Immigration NZ website every 30 seconds, while tens of thousands considered the shift to NZ while it was Covid-free.

A Kiwi demographics expert said in July the spike in interest from United States citizens reflects a failure of the American political and public health system, and disillusionment with the leadership of United States President Donald Trump.

Massey University's Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley said the pattern was likely to accelerate as the situation deteriorated overseas.

"Middle class, professional America is saying, 'Well, where do we go for our own safety and the safety of our families?'"