In an interesting piece from Money Magazine, they profile two students who have left the country to avoid paying student loans. Here is one student's story:

"Carl (who doesn't want his last name used) stopped making his $450 monthly payments after his family incurred some unexpected medical expenses, and his $55,000 private loans went into default. That's when the phone calls from debt collectors started, and Carl decided not to come back. "It was made clear that if I ever came home, I'm screwed," says Carl."

He now lives abroad and has no plans to return anytime soon. If loan companies found out he was back in the states, he could be summoned to court, or worse. Our resident guru, Mark Kantrowitz, provides advice in the same column about avoiding exile:

"There's a mythology that private student loans can't be discharged. But sometimes they can and should," says Kantrowitz. To get your student loans discharged, you must file an undue hardship petition."

The approval of these petitions depend on a variety of factors. First, you must be able to pay off your loan and also take in enough income to have a decent standard of living. Next, your situation (i.e. not being able to pay) needs to last for a significant portion of the repaying period. Lastly, you must have taken good faith efforts to pay off your loans. After all these steps, you can get part or all of your loans forgiven. That said, however, only half of these petitions are usually approved.

Leaving the country is a tremendous risk for you and your family. Once you leave, you can't come back. Your problem will remain here as long as you do nothing about it. It's better to tackle your problems at home and bear the burden rather than ignoring the problem abroad. It's a choice those of us with high debt loads face. How's Paris for the rest of my life?