Please go into lots of detail - some of us are taking notes!
Probably Finland, or another Nordic country. Idk, I just like the cold and the woods and figure those oughtta fit the bill
For anyone who’s thinking UK, I’d advise not - we’re about 4-5 years behind you in terms of imminent fascism and whilst there’s still technically a chance to avert it, its very unlikely - especially since Starmer is being even more awful than the Tories.
Just to add: The xenophobic riot last year…
Especially a bad idea if you are Muslim, Arab, or just look “Middle-Eastern”.
Or if you’re transgender (it’s called “TERF Island” for a reason)
Also, God, the weather
Korea is facing a huge population crisis in the not-so-distant future. They already have ties to the U.S., too.
Canadian here. I’ll welcome anyone who voted against Trump.
Those who voted for Trump or didn’t vote at all can die in a ditch.
I think I’d like to move to Canada. However, I have no money, and do not have a degree or anything like that. I think the plant I work at has operations in Canada, so there might be the possibility of transferring there. Even if the opportunity presented itself, I refuse to leave my son, so I am stuck here.
I moved US -> CA, so AMA
My experience so far: I instantly made a bunch of friends and the locals seem happy to have me here. Many are curious about the US, many also understand what’s going on. I don’t experience the same level of elitism I’m used to back in the states as an immigrant (even after 2+ decades). There is also SIGNIFICANTLY less catcalling, I somehow get way more compliments??? Oh and did you know ketchup was actually supposed to taste good? (Hint: it’s all the corn syrup)
Canada is a lovely country ❤️🇨🇦
(Oh, et maintenant, j’aime parler et apprendre le français)
Non-murican - strongly feel preference should be given to genuine refugees fleeing war, famine etc where they have absolutely no ability to influence their fate other than escape. The US is a failed democracy but the people there have barely begun to challenge their government compared to what we have seen elsewhere in the world. And there is still refuge available in blue states. US citizens need to stand up and fight and then if they fail and only then do they get to go in the queue with the genuine humanitarian refugees. I don’t like queue jumpers and sorry but you can’t compare impingement on your civil liberties to families in war torn parts of the world living in fear fear of having their limbs blown off every night.
Ofcourse business around the world would like to cherry pick talent for in demand jobs and prefers not to invest in developing local people when they can import experienced talent for less so people with in demand skills will get in that way, not as refugees.
So, it’s not just theoretical for me. I left the US earlier this year and moved to Iceland. Planning started almost a year before that. It is hard for Americans to move to a lot of European countries, and Iceland isn’t an exception.
I hired an immigration attorney in Iceland to help make sure I did everything correctly. That cost about $10k as a retainer. It was worth every penny. If you’re taking notes, that’s pretty much the only one you need. Every country has different rules and laws regarding Americans moving to their country. And just like in America, if you have an issue with the law, you need to hire an attorney. They will help you understand every relevant law that exists that applies to you that may very well not be available in English. Hire a local expert.
I’m not very young, so I paid to move my stuff here. I also paid to move my electric vehicle because gas costs the equivalent of about $10 per gallon, plus there are some serious CO2 taxes here. That cost about another $20k. About two thirds moving the stuff, and one third moving the car.
In retrospect, moving the stuff was a good idea. I have lots of things that are just incredibly hard to get here, or take forever to get if you want them. And I saved enough money to be worth it. If you look at something like a KitchenAid mixer, it costs the equivalent of $1k here. If I sold my old one for used price and bought a new one here, I’d lose most of a thousand bucks. So you only need to do that a few times to make moving your stuff worth it.
I also saved money on importing my car over just buying a new one, but it was such a fucking hassle that if I were to do it again, I’d have just bought one here. I didn’t save enough to make it worth it.
I’m not sure how useful my experience will be now. When I started talking to my immigration attorney, I explained that it seemed likely to me that after trump was reelected that Americans were going to panic and rush for the exits. I felt that it was likely that the countries would respond by doing exactly what America does: freak out about having too many immigrants and change the rules to make it harder to get in.
Based on a recent conversation with my attorney, it seems that I was right. The rules have changed enough that the path that we used for residency has now been more more seriously restricted. The attorney’s office was inundated with requests from Americans and they were working 12+ hour days for a few months just trying to respond to all the requests.
I know some folks have strong feelings that people should stay and fight. But I feel like we have fought the good fight for a long time. That went all the way from starting non-profits, to being involved locally, and all the way to running for public office. I’m not interested in identifying myself too much, but I will say that that the person we lost that election to was openly known to have been fired previously for having embezzled money, but voters didn’t care because they got to vote for team ® in our red state.
So from my perspective, there is a cancer that is eating America. I’ve tried hard to remove it. I’ve tried hard to treat it. Ultimately, it seems to have metastisized to the point that it is incurable. You can either keep up with the radiation and chemo and be miserable until you die, or you can stop treatment and do your best to enjoy the time that is left.
For me, moving to Iceland is my version of stopping treatment to enjoy what life I have left. And if you want to fight to the bitter end, or if you want to search for a better life in another country, I wish each and every one of you the very best on your journey.
I know some folks have strong feelings that people should stay and fight
As someone who thinks that. Sounds like you already fought your fight. And if you already tried it’s fair enough to move on.
I’m glad you had the means to make it out.
The vast majority of Americans, sadly, do not.
American here. Can confirm; do not have $30,000. I just managed to scrounge up $5500 for the minimum possible downpayment on a house in northern Maine; the bluest, closest to Canada place, where people like to mind their own business and not fuck with anyone else for no reason. The Canadian escape route is real, though.
I do hear good things about Portugal. I was thinking Spain, but they seem to be having their own issues right now. This timeline is definitely off the rails.
Canada if possible. My family only speaks English, but willing to “do the thing” to fit in even if that’s learning a new language.
I’d also be ok with UK, Australia, New Zealand.
last places would be Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, Japan. I know living in these places would be an extreme challenge for my family so that’s why they’re bottom of my list.
Probably Argentina. Maybe SE Asia. But honestly, where ever all my friends decided to move, since we’d prob drag each other to one place or another. Although most likely scenario there is that we’d become a travelling commune with no official country. If the US actually collapsed, I’d lose a ton of money and would need to find some kind of work, so I’d hit up my connections and probably get a remote software gig. Idk, I’ll figure it out when it happens.
I’d be in Aukland now if I hadn’t met my partner between deciding in 2021 and the election. She is a refugee and can’t leave or she’ll lose status. She is a political enemy of her government for advocating for democracy there. Did a phone interview and everything.
Maybe Scotland. If they could fully separate from the dead weight down south.
I’m Canadian. I don’t mind accepting American refugees as long as we also learn to accept refugees from other countries and value them all equally, but our current government isn’t doing that.
Saint Kitts and Nevis. Economy sucks, internet too, but you can’t beat the view.
I would go back to Japan if my partner could/would learn the language.
Dream country? Monaco, lol. But more realistically either Canada, Australia or New Zealand