Why do people leave communist countries?

There are not a lot of communist countries left in the world, but there was a time when people used to try to flee from communist countries. In some cases they were getting away from abusive dictatorial governments, but more often they just wanted to go to a country where the economy was healthier and they could enjoy a higher standard of living. Communist countries have usually had severe economic problems, and that is the main reason why people eventually rejected communism in most of the formerly communist countries. China is a special case, and although the Chinese government claims to still be communist in nature, it has adopted a mixed economic system, with elements of both communism and capitalism.