I am currently living in Europe. Most of my family is in the US and I am worried for them as much as for the world. We are told we are at a point of no return in the climate crisis. I presume Trump, Musk and Kennedy feel that they will not suffer from the climate crisis because they have the means to shield themselves. This is probably t…
I am currently living in Europe. Most of my family is in the US and I am worried for them as much as for the world. We are told we are at a point of no return in the climate crisis. I presume Trump, Musk and Kennedy feel that they will not suffer from the climate crisis because they have the means to shield themselves. This is probably true. However, will e-cars remain popular with leadership that turns from green initiatives? It won't matter to Musk because Space-X is and will be the space exploration company of the US government.
Many of my friends are able to leave the US because they are from other countries, and affluent professionals. I have read that a lot of people are renewing passports and looking into going to Canada. At least there were apparently a lot of Google searches for living in Canada. Since Americans can vote from abroad some may be choosing to effect the next election in 2 years from afar.
A friend here in Germany who has a lot of family in the US, was telling me she heard an American woman interviewed who said she did not believe women can lead. I am glad I am not around any women like that. Kamala Harris is a hero to me. She took on running against a fascist which takes amazing strength. She has shown more than anything why the US does not have affirmative action if left to its own devices, and for every male that told me males are suffering, I would say, males are imposing a lot of suffering on women in their suffering.
I wonder what the fall of the Roman Empire looked like to the Romans. I know what the fall of Germany looked like. It looked like endless devastating war.
As respectfully as I am able, I wish to present the perspective of an American who lives in the US, who has been an environmental activist since the first Earth Day in 1970 and who is firmly planted - here.
Millions of us just worked our butts off to elect Democrats across the board. We wrote postcards, made phone calls, sent texts, worked at the polls, sent money and so much more. I have done this work to, first and foremost, protect democracy, this specific democracy, whose democratic principles have created one of the freest and most livable places in the world. Far from perfect but good for vast numbers. It is damn hard and emotionally draining work. And has been for all of the 54 years I’ve been at it.
I have lived in Ireland and still have relatives in Canada- my paternal grandparents were from New Brunswick. I could, in fact, leave and find temporary shelter in those two countries.
But democracy is not a spectator sport. If we are to preserve it, we must be active participants. And on-the-ground activism, the kind that Robert and many others advocate for, is the most effective way to make a difference.
I’m exhausted, grieving, and frightened about my future here, especially because if Trump shuts down SS and Medicare, I’m screwed as are many others I know in my age group. And you already know that the climate is THE issue - no one can escape the climate crisis. No one.
So please think about those of us who either can’t afford to leave or refuse to because abandoning democracy is unthinkable. You vote, you organized others to vote from abroad but you don’t necessarily understand how ravaged those of us who have fought this fight here feel right now.
I’m sticking around. And will be here for the next round of on the ground work. Fun? Hell no. But I’m not the spectator type. I prefer to work on the inside. Thank you for your efforts from afar.
OMG..you spoke my heart. Older, ravaged, exhausted from 24/7 work and apathetic and often arrogant “voters” and no where to go and deeply devoted to my home. I am also, body willing, determined to face it all to build community and see what OUR history will look like. Ya never know…!
I too have been a climate activist…started a nonprofit action program focused on climate issues in 2008….we need to keep on keeping on, working with our local governments. We are fortunate in our community to have forward progressive leaders. I also know that Republicans get older too and rely on SS and Medicare…let that sociopath and his sociopathic cronies try to take our hard earned benefits and put that money in their pockets…economically frightened people will turn on him on a dime, it is them that erroneously determined he would be better for them economically…they will see their errors when their pockets are empty, their daughter’s bleed out outside an ER, their grandchildren can’t compete in the international market because their education was substandard, or they and their families are deported for walking around brown and Latino …we may have a very hard tiring and chaotic next 2 years, but democrats MUST organize and strategically work locally, and finally rid ourselves of MAGA trolls, and eventually our sociopathic, narcissistic next leader. Sometimes it has to go to extremes to equalize. It’s a crying shame, but we must stay strong and remain courageous.
I appreciate your bringing up the elephant in the room: climate change. It is a terrifying concept that is being buried by all the dysfunction, wars, and tyrants taking up all the airspace, but it is so very important and each minute that our eye is not on that ball is one tick closer to midnight.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say, when the history books are written, they will be analyzing this election as leading to the Fall of the American Empire. It might be more catastrophic than that.
I personally agree, Linda, BUT don't forget that history is written by the winners. And Trump and MAGA will continue to try to rewrite history with their "Fake News" and "alternative facts".
Howard, after they alone, or with Putin, have destroyed the US Empire, they won't be winners. Perhaps Putin will. Or, will the US rise like Brazil and oust Trump or JD Vance once they come to their senses. Are there senses to come to? My mother, an immigrant from the country I am now mostly living in, has always said Americans are faddish. It seems that many did not learn in these past 4 years the difference between a government that works for the people and a government that works for the rich. I doubt they will recognize the difference when it happens, because the ability to connect the dots is lacking.
I particularly agree with your very well-turned phrase, "It seems that many did not learn in these past 4 years the difference between a government that works for the people and a government that works for the rich." But they will not recognize the difference because the MAGA Government will simply pin the blame on whatever goes wrong on the "other", whomever that might be.
We missed the psyops. All about marketing. The package is more important than the product. The girls' sports commercial sealed the deal. Trump didn't need a ground game. Women who play sports should be feminists.
I am not going to analyze all of that right now. It seems that I have a good understanding of who lives in the USA, and right now I would rather have the data on groups and how they voted in each place, and who did not, rather than look at who to blame.
It is a time to plan how you can take care of yourself. The most vulnerable are between a rock and a hard place now, perhaps naively believing that a bad life cannot get worse, or having tried to vote against Trump.
Apparently a lot of people are looking up how to move to Canada. I know that in 2016 a lot of people not only moved there, but also sent their children to University there, so that was looking at ways to help integrate their children into another country. A friend of mine is banking on the fact that her son-in-law is Canadian as a back up if it is needed.
Let us not underestimate the super wealthy and the money they spent on access in this election. We watched Elon Musk buying the election in Pennsylvania with nothing to stop him. These people are so narcissistic just like Trump that they don't care about the world they leave their children, grandchildren, so obviously they cannot see that their children and grandchildren will inherit a less safe, less sustainable world with what they plan to do to it.
I couldn’t agree more. Climate change will ultimately bring people together, as seen already in the western Carolinas. It is a powerful force that none of us are exempt from, no matter our standing in society. Mother Nature will hold us all accountable for not taking measures decades ago. How many times have I read we only have so much time left to make a difference and yet here we are decades later looking at massive wildfires, flooding and devastation from now category “6” hurricanes and killing heat. Wake up America!!
And, it will slowly but surely push the southern states to the midwest and inner states. Those are the people that deny climate change but will experience more and more radical weather struggles, and lack of insurance in case their life needs are destroyed. We see it already. It wiped out an entire city in N. Carolina.
I am pulling at least half a dozen ticks off my dog after each walk (3 x day) in a place where ticks never used to exist. One of the most important threats to our planet has continually been pushed aside and now, I fear, will go completely unaddressed.
I agree with that as I sit here a few miles from a devastating fire that's leveling communities here in Southern California. It never used to be like this.
Remember it is the states that don't rake their forests as the problem. Not climate change, and most of the forests are federal land so Trump had the opportunity to enact a raking program.
The fires I'm talking about are not forest fires. They involve the scrub that grows on the Southern California hills. There's nothing to rake. They burn because of drought and gale force winds that are much stronger than they used to be. There is no way to prevent them other than by getting more precipitation.
No surprise that Google searches for living in Canada went up. One of my first thoughts when the election results came in: Putin and Canadian real estate agents must be celebrating. The Irish Consul General at the time in San Francisco told me that coming to the office on the morning after the Brexit decision (which, remember, was Putin's dry run for interfering in the 2016 elections) his email inbox was flooded with requests of British citizens on how to get the Irish citizenship.
I can believe that many Americans are looking for places to move to right now, and Canada seems the easiest. In 2016 many Americans sent their children to university in Canada. I think they felt it would more easily integrate them into the Canadian system. That is what is hard. I read that it is easy to move there if you don't try to find work, so for retirement.
A friend of mine, who is Lithuanian-American and her husband wanted to consider moving to Lithuania, but they were afraid because Lithuania is so close to Russia and so small. This year their son went to University in Canada. I don't know if that was part of their planning. I assume they feel a bit of relief because he is there and not in the US.
Many of the Americans I know here in Germany are wishing to get German citizenship and were starting the process before now, or are now going to start it. I imagine that is true of those who are living in other countries too. I know a couple who moved to Portugal last fall. He is working for a company in Chicago. She is trying to start a consulting business, but just had a baby, so that is on hold. They got their permanent residency after around 3 or 4 months there.
I encouraged my daughter to apply to a canadian university but she wasn’t interested- even though a friend of hers and the friend’s older brother are at university in canada for this very reason. She is at NYU and I’m frightened for her.
She is willing to, but is insisting on doing her spring semester at NYU and then doing a year abroad, already applied for. For her safety, I want her to leave the US after this fall semester ends. Figure out the rest later. We are actually about to leave on a many years in the planning circumnavigation on our boat and she could join us initially.
The bigger question is, is anywhere going to be safe. I’ve watched the world dictators cozy up to each other this past year, meeting in each of their countries- to include trump in maralago and a right leader in germany. No where will be safe for long if the US goes in the expected direction. North Korea soldiers are lined up on the Ukrainian border.
I planned for many years to be able to go back and forth from Germany to the US. Now, I hardly want to go to the US. The EU feels safer right now. So, you might head there. Here is a list of places that are easy for Ex Pats to go to.
My 19-year old daughter is not worried like I am because I have protected her from understanding more fully what Trump has planned. So, she is living her regular life these past two days. She is sad about Harris' loss. She has learned to vote from abroad. She is in University in Germany and while a friend of hers is studying North American studies so they are all talking about it. My daughter is getting ready to go visit a friend in Vienna over the weekend, and is going to classes (where the US election is not being discussed) and going about her business trying to get her work done before leaving tomorrow morning. I am sure her friends in the US are more panicked.
A friend's daughter just moved to Portugal with her husband Fall of 2023. It took them about 3-4 months to get their permanent Resident status. He is working for a US company digitally. When we went to Portugal in the spring we saw a lot of people from US, England and other countries living there and working on laptops in the cafes.
I do not feel so unsafe in Germany but I am wary. It is different when you live here. Germany has 5 new states (former DDR) and 11 old states (former West Germany). The new states have 15% of the population. In recent German elections in 3 of the new states, the fascist party AfD came in first place with 33% in 2 of these new states, and in second place after the democratic Social Democrats. Still, 33 of less than 15% of the population does not a mandate make. That is even though Germans are dissatisfied with immigration and inflation in general. Although I would say Germans are used to being dissatisfied, it is part of the national character. In the meantime the constitutional court is deciding whether it is legal to have the party at all, because it is illegal to have a political party that is agains tenets of the constitution.
Thank you, Linda. I find your posts very informative and interesting. I lived in Germany for about 6 months in 1970. In Heidelberg. My brother was in the Army stationed in Mannheim. It was a really nice experience.
Hi Sherry, I took classes at the University in Mannheim a long time ago. I was living in Ludwigshafen at the time. A friend of my mom's son was stationed in Trier. I would visit him sometimes.
A former colleague of mine took a teaching job with the DOD and moved her whole family to Germany. Of course the military paid for their entire move. Part was flown and part was shipped and all was packed by the shipping company. She and her Canadian husband who works on tech from home, have 4 children who were all under 6 when they moved 2 falls ago. She moved to Germany because they realized that they could not afford college for their children in the US. She knew my daughter was going to Uni in Germany and that there is no tuition, just fees. My daughter's fee for this semester was 299€. It includes a huge discount on the Germany transportation pass, and discounts for a lot of things.
Where I am living there is no base. My husband grew up in a small Northern German city that had US, British, Dutch and German bases. When the Dutch and US left the area it really affected the economy of their city.
My reading of Canadian immigration rules was that it's very easy for Americans, including or especially those of us who have aged out of the workforce, to go there for up to six months per year. We're welcome to buy property, own a car, etc., but _not_ join the national health system for free, or vote in Canada. Those of us with very great amounts of money we're willing to invest in the country in specified ways will find more immigration doors open. Younger folks with sought-after technical or medical skills -- the list of such skills isn't all that long -- will find a facilitated pathway to long-term resident status or citizenship. People who may face imminent danger or harm, the "enemy within" recently mentioned by the orange criminal-elect, may be able to make a case for political asylum, but it won't necessarily be easy.
Moving to Canada permanently is not a slam dunk. Read the rules; they're easily found on line and are very clear.
Most Americans who go to retire to a country might have to pay for private insurance. This is one of the reasons that Americans Abroad have been fighting to get their insurance have medicare extended to other countries, who generally are cheaper than the US anyway, so the system would save money.
This is what I have read about where people might be able to go now.
My daughter's friend is going to university in the Czech Republic. She is going to a private Anglo-American one, so everything is taught in English. her friend is already fluent in Germany so I think she will pick up Czech.
We know that people coming with professions that are desired are welcome. Also, a lot of countries want you to be able to prove that you have at least 3000€ a month income. They don't necessarily want you to have a lot of money because they worry that it is drug money, but I guess it depends on what they feel you are bringing in as skills too. Doctors are going to be welcome most places.
Thanks for those pointers. I've looked in detail at the visa/immigration rules for Portugal and Spain. Both countries offer so-called retirement visas (called a D7 in Portugal and a Visa No Lucrativo in Spain); each country applies a means test (the money amounts differ a bit); the Visa Dorada is no longer available in either country, having generated a lot of unintended consequences and economic mayhem for local folks. Both countries require those on retirement visas to spend 180 (or maybe it's 181) days/year in country, the underlying point of that being to make visa holders eligible to be taxed.
The process is somewhat confusing and rather slow and cumbersome in both countries but is navigable, even without an agent (though perhaps with a double measure of additional patience and good humor). A reputable agent will of course cost a bit but will slice through much of the BS and make things happen as expeditiously as can be expected. Speaking the local language to some extent will help a lot.
The good news is that both countries are open to retirees who can support themselves, and private medical insurance doesn't appear to cost much more than what I'm spending now in the States. Folks with EU passports will find far fewer hoops to jump through; citizens from parts of the world other than the US and the EU may face different rules. It's somewhat complicated, so as always, read the book and do the homework before taking the exam. ;-)
Thanks for laying this out. I have friends who moved to Portugal in Fall of 2023. He has a job in Chicago in Tech, and they were able to get a permanent residencies in about 3-4 months. She is pregnant and told me they are in Portugals free health care system. Of course it is not free, one is paying taxes. Here is a discussion of some countries with Golden Visas.
Because I am a member of Democrats Abroad and live as an immigrant, and a citizen in Germany it is interesting. Most of my American friends here do not have dual citizenship. I have had it all my life. So, my German friends treat me is if I am a German with the German expectations, while my American friends treat me as an American. I have always lived with that limbo land of cultures. So has my daughter. She grew up having most of her friends be multicultural.
I really think that most people who are unhappy with the US should look into other countries and figure out where they might go. I know Ireland is supposed to be good for retirement and they speak English in addition to Gaelic. I say that people should be looking because it is sometimes easier to bear things when you have an out, and know what it will take.
Most of the Americans that I know in Germany are teaching in Universities and some in schools. Many came here for University or for someone they were dating. Some got married and some moved on but were already fully integrated here. If you move to Europe you can probably get some private pupils to teach English to, for some income.
Apparently some Taiwan is supposed to be a really happy place for US expats. Of course a lot are retirees.
I was in a party on Zoom on election night. It was regional so that was Europe Middle East and Asia. There were shifts of who were the cohosts, and India came on about 3 or 4 am in Europe. Before then the hosts were in Germany and then Italy. It was cool to talk to people who are living in many different countries. We planned for a long time. Since 2016. A lot of parents in the school where I taught were telling their children they would move to Canada if Trump won, and no one did. My daughter asked us if we would be moving to Germany and my husband, who is German, said not so fast. I said, we shall see in my head. The whole 4 years, all of my teaching colleagues were depressed and daily there would be discussions of what Trump had done or was doing, until Covid, and then people were in survival mode. I felt since I was teaching over Zoom I could go to Europe and no one would know. My husband said he was not getting on a plane. So, we weathered it.
There are a lot of publications for expats, and you can look into them. A lot of people have done this and are doing it and provide community for those who come. One should pick a place where you are going to be able to feel comfortable with the government that you can afford.
Agree completely, expatriating is a big and serious decision, and everyone's different and has to find his/her best fit, in several different senses (culture, language, local political climate, religion, geography, climate, and so on). I strongly recommend those considering relocating make at least one extended (multi-month) trip to the area under consideration, to get some of the local dirt under the fingernails, so to speak, before making huge commitments. And of course do lots of homework. I've accumulated dozens of bookmarks and sources; anyone else will quickly do so as well, just by doing some initial research and following up here and there as interests dictate. Pretty quickly it'll become a lot easier to separate helpful signal from run-of-the-mill sales/marketing noise and other BS.
Good point about digital nomad visas; I should've mentioned them above. Both Portugal and Spain are offering them; if I were eligible I'd be _very_ tempted . But I would urge those who want to go for them to be sensitive to the various effects they will have, to learn the local ways of life (including the language!) and to fit in respectfully with them, and _not_ just be rich American high-tech yuppies with lots of money to fling around, assuming life in Lisbon (or Madrid, or Prague, or wherever) is as it was back in Yourtown USA. When in Rome, do as the Romans, no?
I recommended Portugal to a friend of mine. She just got her US citizenship, but is from the Philippines. Her husband is Filipino-American. She has 2 sisters who are married to Swedes and she wanted to buy a house there but can't because she is not Swedish. So, I suggested that she buy a house in Portugal. One can buy a house for 350,00€ or 500,000 in Lisbon, and Porto and places like that, but in other areas, not so in demand it is less, and after 3 years if you can pass the citizenship, you can get a Portuguese passport. You have to live there at least 14 days a year. I suggested that while they are still working they buy a house in Portugal, airbnb it, and make sure to spend at least two weeks, and work on their Portuguese. In fact, I am sure they can find someone in Zoom who teaches people to help them pass the citizenship test. Then, it will be easier for them to buy a house in Sweden.
My daughter was in class in her exchange year in Vienna with a boy whose parents were from Taiwan. From what she told me they flipped properties in Portugal. So, this is part of what is making Expats unwelcome, but at the same time, they were able to live in Vienna, which is a really hard city to get permanent residency in.
I also recommend videos by expats, the pros and cons stuff is helpful. Albania is becoming in I am hearing here in Germany. A friend went on vacation there last spring. Had a great time. Not a lot of people speak English, but people need to learn to use translating software on their phones to get around while learning the language.
A friend and her husband moved to Canada 10 years ago because the husband was disgusted with American politics. It is not as easy as one would think. They had to have enough "points" as a couple to become landed immigrants, one of which was to pass a French language test, which she did. He became a citizen last year and swore alliance to King Charles.
What do you mean by landed immigrants? And was this their only option to go there? Another friend knows someone who easily moved to Canada. She has a PhD in Engineering. It all depends on what they think you have to offer. That is true of all of the countries that people are thinking of fleeing to. But still, if one has the spirit that your family had in coming to the US, you can do it.
In practice, the US no longer intentionally prioritizes various groups. Massive border crossings have rendered prioritization policies virtually irrelevant.
I'm a person who would love to emigrate but don't have the financial means to do so; that of course is the rule rather than the exception. I'm also 'stuck' for similar reasons in Texas where I've lived for many years but which is getting too hot for me to be able to handle, esp. w/my COPD; I literally can't breathe in it, so must spend almost 6 months at this point only able to be outdoors very early in the day for brief intervals. I envy you because Europe has already gone through similar crises more recently than the U.S. and some of them, Brexit for instance -- seem to have served as lessons learned re White authoritarian nationalism.
You guys, Putin is Trump's boss. The first thing he's going to do is take Ukraine. Then he's going to turn Netanyahu loose on Palestine. Then, NATO will fall. Do you think Putin is going to use his brand-new control over the American military to defend any free European country from...himself? Europe is not any safer than the US, under the Trump/Putin rulership.
Christina you might be right about NATO. We shall see. Right now in Europe it is much safer than the US because we just don't have the level of gun ownership or violence. In Germany they are talking about making some restrictions on knife ownership. I can tell you the crisis is from 2 attacks in the past year. Still, students in schools here are not doing knife attack drills, and parents are not telling their children how to act in case someone attacks them with a knife while they are walking to school. In fact, first graders going on their own is not uncommon. So, violence is much less, and most people are not so worried about it, as is common in the US.
Both leaders have been holding on to the level of war they are engaged in counting on Trump winning and backing each of them. So two separate leaders counting on support from the US under Trump. I would also say that they both did their parts to help Trump to victory.
The comment you refer to was a German quoting an American woman who said that she (the American) didn't believe a woman could lead a country. (Please read more carefully.)
Sadly, this is not uncommon, especially in certain geographical areas, but I have heard it said right here in Vermont, where our experienced well-respected woman legislator just lost to an uninformed male with little knowledge but a gift for stirring up people with grudges. He just moved here about a year ago, "returning to his roots". He was born in a different part of the state,to parents from elsewhere, and did not even go to school here before his parents moved out of state. He has no experience, and no clue about the issues or how Vermont government works. But he won.
Who in Germany said that? I certainly did not. In fact, it was a source of pride to my daughter when Obama was President and Merkel was Chancellor that one of her countries had a Black man leading and the other had a woman. In fact, an American/Swiss friend and I were discussing how backwards the US seems compared to countries that have already had, or currently have a woman leader.
Thank you for your words, Linda. Just wanted to mention a future Elon Musk role in our government. I feel that anyone who will profit off government contracts and profits will be the step into oligarchy. It happened under his first presidency when his daughter and SIL received a 2 billion dollar investment in their new company from Saudi Arabia. Now they have received hundreds of millions in profits from doing nothing with that business, and SA has expected nothing in return. I'm sure they will expect something from the Trump administration. I know that some of his wealthy supporters got lucrative contracts to build and run the border detention camps his last presidency when he enacted containment and separation of families. Another donor was appointed a lead position in the Veterans Affairs agency. Since the organization of Project 2025 I imagine oligarchy for his wealthy supporters and family will increase a thousandfold. Trump screams about "The Biden Crime family" while he and his family grift off his role as president. There has been zero evidence of any such events for the Bidens.
It's not about leaving the US. No, no, no. Maybe, Linda, that works for you but my family has been here for ten generations and have tried hard to build the country which is, at least until this week, mostly the envy of the world. Lets work on the problems, not duck them and vacate the field. Biden took on the Covid and the economy -- successfully -- but got in return a 25%+ increase in many prices, and the "economy" is usually #1. Yup, there is major racism, misogyny, white supremacy, hatred, anger (not new ideas). But I would add the "disrespect" by coast elites for fly-over country, well written by David Brooks in the -- yes -- NYT:
As I have said, each person has to figure out what their plan is.
I am guessing you are a White-male. I am neither. So, I have a different take on where I feel safe. One side of my family came over on slave ships, and what they did to build the US was not accorded to them in wealth. The other side of my family immigrated. So, I have always felt like a citizen of a world, and am not so into nationalism.
I do not want my daughter living with the amount of violence in the US. The inability of the US to get guns under control seemed pretty hopeless to me. Right now the US is #132 in the global peace scale. I am in a country which is at #20. It dropped down 5 spots this year, but the US dropped 1 as well, and 3 in the past 2 years to reach a much less safe level. See pages 8 and 9. https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf
Many people want their children in a safer country. I am sure you can understand that.
I am currently living in Europe. Most of my family is in the US and I am worried for them as much as for the world. We are told we are at a point of no return in the climate crisis. I presume Trump, Musk and Kennedy feel that they will not suffer from the climate crisis because they have the means to shield themselves. This is probably true. However, will e-cars remain popular with leadership that turns from green initiatives? It won't matter to Musk because Space-X is and will be the space exploration company of the US government.
Many of my friends are able to leave the US because they are from other countries, and affluent professionals. I have read that a lot of people are renewing passports and looking into going to Canada. At least there were apparently a lot of Google searches for living in Canada. Since Americans can vote from abroad some may be choosing to effect the next election in 2 years from afar.
A friend here in Germany who has a lot of family in the US, was telling me she heard an American woman interviewed who said she did not believe women can lead. I am glad I am not around any women like that. Kamala Harris is a hero to me. She took on running against a fascist which takes amazing strength. She has shown more than anything why the US does not have affirmative action if left to its own devices, and for every male that told me males are suffering, I would say, males are imposing a lot of suffering on women in their suffering.
I wonder what the fall of the Roman Empire looked like to the Romans. I know what the fall of Germany looked like. It looked like endless devastating war.
As respectfully as I am able, I wish to present the perspective of an American who lives in the US, who has been an environmental activist since the first Earth Day in 1970 and who is firmly planted - here.
Millions of us just worked our butts off to elect Democrats across the board. We wrote postcards, made phone calls, sent texts, worked at the polls, sent money and so much more. I have done this work to, first and foremost, protect democracy, this specific democracy, whose democratic principles have created one of the freest and most livable places in the world. Far from perfect but good for vast numbers. It is damn hard and emotionally draining work. And has been for all of the 54 years I’ve been at it.
I have lived in Ireland and still have relatives in Canada- my paternal grandparents were from New Brunswick. I could, in fact, leave and find temporary shelter in those two countries.
But democracy is not a spectator sport. If we are to preserve it, we must be active participants. And on-the-ground activism, the kind that Robert and many others advocate for, is the most effective way to make a difference.
I’m exhausted, grieving, and frightened about my future here, especially because if Trump shuts down SS and Medicare, I’m screwed as are many others I know in my age group. And you already know that the climate is THE issue - no one can escape the climate crisis. No one.
So please think about those of us who either can’t afford to leave or refuse to because abandoning democracy is unthinkable. You vote, you organized others to vote from abroad but you don’t necessarily understand how ravaged those of us who have fought this fight here feel right now.
I’m sticking around. And will be here for the next round of on the ground work. Fun? Hell no. But I’m not the spectator type. I prefer to work on the inside. Thank you for your efforts from afar.
OMG..you spoke my heart. Older, ravaged, exhausted from 24/7 work and apathetic and often arrogant “voters” and no where to go and deeply devoted to my home. I am also, body willing, determined to face it all to build community and see what OUR history will look like. Ya never know…!
Beautifully and pointedly written, Sheila B. I can feel your strength and determination even through my anger and hopelessness. Thank you so much.
Thank you SO SO much, Sheila, for all that you have done and no doubt currently do!
Beautiful words, Sheila!
I too have been a climate activist…started a nonprofit action program focused on climate issues in 2008….we need to keep on keeping on, working with our local governments. We are fortunate in our community to have forward progressive leaders. I also know that Republicans get older too and rely on SS and Medicare…let that sociopath and his sociopathic cronies try to take our hard earned benefits and put that money in their pockets…economically frightened people will turn on him on a dime, it is them that erroneously determined he would be better for them economically…they will see their errors when their pockets are empty, their daughter’s bleed out outside an ER, their grandchildren can’t compete in the international market because their education was substandard, or they and their families are deported for walking around brown and Latino …we may have a very hard tiring and chaotic next 2 years, but democrats MUST organize and strategically work locally, and finally rid ourselves of MAGA trolls, and eventually our sociopathic, narcissistic next leader. Sometimes it has to go to extremes to equalize. It’s a crying shame, but we must stay strong and remain courageous.
I appreciate your bringing up the elephant in the room: climate change. It is a terrifying concept that is being buried by all the dysfunction, wars, and tyrants taking up all the airspace, but it is so very important and each minute that our eye is not on that ball is one tick closer to midnight.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say, when the history books are written, they will be analyzing this election as leading to the Fall of the American Empire. It might be more catastrophic than that.
I personally agree, Linda, BUT don't forget that history is written by the winners. And Trump and MAGA will continue to try to rewrite history with their "Fake News" and "alternative facts".
Howard, after they alone, or with Putin, have destroyed the US Empire, they won't be winners. Perhaps Putin will. Or, will the US rise like Brazil and oust Trump or JD Vance once they come to their senses. Are there senses to come to? My mother, an immigrant from the country I am now mostly living in, has always said Americans are faddish. It seems that many did not learn in these past 4 years the difference between a government that works for the people and a government that works for the rich. I doubt they will recognize the difference when it happens, because the ability to connect the dots is lacking.
I particularly agree with your very well-turned phrase, "It seems that many did not learn in these past 4 years the difference between a government that works for the people and a government that works for the rich." But they will not recognize the difference because the MAGA Government will simply pin the blame on whatever goes wrong on the "other", whomever that might be.
We missed the psyops. All about marketing. The package is more important than the product. The girls' sports commercial sealed the deal. Trump didn't need a ground game. Women who play sports should be feminists.
I am not going to analyze all of that right now. It seems that I have a good understanding of who lives in the USA, and right now I would rather have the data on groups and how they voted in each place, and who did not, rather than look at who to blame.
It is a time to plan how you can take care of yourself. The most vulnerable are between a rock and a hard place now, perhaps naively believing that a bad life cannot get worse, or having tried to vote against Trump.
Apparently a lot of people are looking up how to move to Canada. I know that in 2016 a lot of people not only moved there, but also sent their children to University there, so that was looking at ways to help integrate their children into another country. A friend of mine is banking on the fact that her son-in-law is Canadian as a back up if it is needed.
Let us not underestimate the super wealthy and the money they spent on access in this election. We watched Elon Musk buying the election in Pennsylvania with nothing to stop him. These people are so narcissistic just like Trump that they don't care about the world they leave their children, grandchildren, so obviously they cannot see that their children and grandchildren will inherit a less safe, less sustainable world with what they plan to do to it.
Sad since Elon has 16 children...
Sad because so many people are like him.
Linda, yes! History will tell it like it is, a big fall. Many have already turned away and live in denial.
We shouldn't be an empire anyway.
Many would agree with that. Probably not the MAGAs though. One of the best Post Mortems of the election is by Noah Berlatsky in Public Notice. https://www.publicnotice.co/p/kamala-harris-anti-incumbent-backlash-2024
Thanks so much for this excellent link, Linda. Let's just hope we DO hve elections again in four years.
I couldn’t agree more. Climate change will ultimately bring people together, as seen already in the western Carolinas. It is a powerful force that none of us are exempt from, no matter our standing in society. Mother Nature will hold us all accountable for not taking measures decades ago. How many times have I read we only have so much time left to make a difference and yet here we are decades later looking at massive wildfires, flooding and devastation from now category “6” hurricanes and killing heat. Wake up America!!
And, it will slowly but surely push the southern states to the midwest and inner states. Those are the people that deny climate change but will experience more and more radical weather struggles, and lack of insurance in case their life needs are destroyed. We see it already. It wiped out an entire city in N. Carolina.
I am pulling at least half a dozen ticks off my dog after each walk (3 x day) in a place where ticks never used to exist. One of the most important threats to our planet has continually been pushed aside and now, I fear, will go completely unaddressed.
I agree with that as I sit here a few miles from a devastating fire that's leveling communities here in Southern California. It never used to be like this.
Remember it is the states that don't rake their forests as the problem. Not climate change, and most of the forests are federal land so Trump had the opportunity to enact a raking program.
The fires I'm talking about are not forest fires. They involve the scrub that grows on the Southern California hills. There's nothing to rake. They burn because of drought and gale force winds that are much stronger than they used to be. There is no way to prevent them other than by getting more precipitation.
No surprise that Google searches for living in Canada went up. One of my first thoughts when the election results came in: Putin and Canadian real estate agents must be celebrating. The Irish Consul General at the time in San Francisco told me that coming to the office on the morning after the Brexit decision (which, remember, was Putin's dry run for interfering in the 2016 elections) his email inbox was flooded with requests of British citizens on how to get the Irish citizenship.
I can believe that many Americans are looking for places to move to right now, and Canada seems the easiest. In 2016 many Americans sent their children to university in Canada. I think they felt it would more easily integrate them into the Canadian system. That is what is hard. I read that it is easy to move there if you don't try to find work, so for retirement.
A friend of mine, who is Lithuanian-American and her husband wanted to consider moving to Lithuania, but they were afraid because Lithuania is so close to Russia and so small. This year their son went to University in Canada. I don't know if that was part of their planning. I assume they feel a bit of relief because he is there and not in the US.
Many of the Americans I know here in Germany are wishing to get German citizenship and were starting the process before now, or are now going to start it. I imagine that is true of those who are living in other countries too. I know a couple who moved to Portugal last fall. He is working for a company in Chicago. She is trying to start a consulting business, but just had a baby, so that is on hold. They got their permanent residency after around 3 or 4 months there.
I encouraged my daughter to apply to a canadian university but she wasn’t interested- even though a friend of hers and the friend’s older brother are at university in canada for this very reason. She is at NYU and I’m frightened for her.
If she is frightened you can ask her to revisit this.
She is willing to, but is insisting on doing her spring semester at NYU and then doing a year abroad, already applied for. For her safety, I want her to leave the US after this fall semester ends. Figure out the rest later. We are actually about to leave on a many years in the planning circumnavigation on our boat and she could join us initially.
The bigger question is, is anywhere going to be safe. I’ve watched the world dictators cozy up to each other this past year, meeting in each of their countries- to include trump in maralago and a right leader in germany. No where will be safe for long if the US goes in the expected direction. North Korea soldiers are lined up on the Ukrainian border.
I planned for many years to be able to go back and forth from Germany to the US. Now, I hardly want to go to the US. The EU feels safer right now. So, you might head there. Here is a list of places that are easy for Ex Pats to go to.
https://fortune.com/2024/11/06/americans-move-abroad-2024-presidential-election/
My 19-year old daughter is not worried like I am because I have protected her from understanding more fully what Trump has planned. So, she is living her regular life these past two days. She is sad about Harris' loss. She has learned to vote from abroad. She is in University in Germany and while a friend of hers is studying North American studies so they are all talking about it. My daughter is getting ready to go visit a friend in Vienna over the weekend, and is going to classes (where the US election is not being discussed) and going about her business trying to get her work done before leaving tomorrow morning. I am sure her friends in the US are more panicked.
A friend's daughter just moved to Portugal with her husband Fall of 2023. It took them about 3-4 months to get their permanent Resident status. He is working for a US company digitally. When we went to Portugal in the spring we saw a lot of people from US, England and other countries living there and working on laptops in the cafes.
I do not feel so unsafe in Germany but I am wary. It is different when you live here. Germany has 5 new states (former DDR) and 11 old states (former West Germany). The new states have 15% of the population. In recent German elections in 3 of the new states, the fascist party AfD came in first place with 33% in 2 of these new states, and in second place after the democratic Social Democrats. Still, 33 of less than 15% of the population does not a mandate make. That is even though Germans are dissatisfied with immigration and inflation in general. Although I would say Germans are used to being dissatisfied, it is part of the national character. In the meantime the constitutional court is deciding whether it is legal to have the party at all, because it is illegal to have a political party that is agains tenets of the constitution.
Thank you, Linda. I find your posts very informative and interesting. I lived in Germany for about 6 months in 1970. In Heidelberg. My brother was in the Army stationed in Mannheim. It was a really nice experience.
Hi Sherry, I took classes at the University in Mannheim a long time ago. I was living in Ludwigshafen at the time. A friend of my mom's son was stationed in Trier. I would visit him sometimes.
A former colleague of mine took a teaching job with the DOD and moved her whole family to Germany. Of course the military paid for their entire move. Part was flown and part was shipped and all was packed by the shipping company. She and her Canadian husband who works on tech from home, have 4 children who were all under 6 when they moved 2 falls ago. She moved to Germany because they realized that they could not afford college for their children in the US. She knew my daughter was going to Uni in Germany and that there is no tuition, just fees. My daughter's fee for this semester was 299€. It includes a huge discount on the Germany transportation pass, and discounts for a lot of things.
Where I am living there is no base. My husband grew up in a small Northern German city that had US, British, Dutch and German bases. When the Dutch and US left the area it really affected the economy of their city.
My reading of Canadian immigration rules was that it's very easy for Americans, including or especially those of us who have aged out of the workforce, to go there for up to six months per year. We're welcome to buy property, own a car, etc., but _not_ join the national health system for free, or vote in Canada. Those of us with very great amounts of money we're willing to invest in the country in specified ways will find more immigration doors open. Younger folks with sought-after technical or medical skills -- the list of such skills isn't all that long -- will find a facilitated pathway to long-term resident status or citizenship. People who may face imminent danger or harm, the "enemy within" recently mentioned by the orange criminal-elect, may be able to make a case for political asylum, but it won't necessarily be easy.
Moving to Canada permanently is not a slam dunk. Read the rules; they're easily found on line and are very clear.
Most Americans who go to retire to a country might have to pay for private insurance. This is one of the reasons that Americans Abroad have been fighting to get their insurance have medicare extended to other countries, who generally are cheaper than the US anyway, so the system would save money.
This is what I have read about where people might be able to go now.
https://fortune.com/2024/11/06/americans-move-abroad-2024-presidential-election/
Also, in Euro News they are aware that Americans might want to leave. They recommend these countries.
https://www.euronews.com/travel/2024/11/06/want-to-move-abroad-these-are-the-cheapest-european-countries-for-expats-in-2023
My daughter's friend is going to university in the Czech Republic. She is going to a private Anglo-American one, so everything is taught in English. her friend is already fluent in Germany so I think she will pick up Czech.
We know that people coming with professions that are desired are welcome. Also, a lot of countries want you to be able to prove that you have at least 3000€ a month income. They don't necessarily want you to have a lot of money because they worry that it is drug money, but I guess it depends on what they feel you are bringing in as skills too. Doctors are going to be welcome most places.
Thanks for those pointers. I've looked in detail at the visa/immigration rules for Portugal and Spain. Both countries offer so-called retirement visas (called a D7 in Portugal and a Visa No Lucrativo in Spain); each country applies a means test (the money amounts differ a bit); the Visa Dorada is no longer available in either country, having generated a lot of unintended consequences and economic mayhem for local folks. Both countries require those on retirement visas to spend 180 (or maybe it's 181) days/year in country, the underlying point of that being to make visa holders eligible to be taxed.
The process is somewhat confusing and rather slow and cumbersome in both countries but is navigable, even without an agent (though perhaps with a double measure of additional patience and good humor). A reputable agent will of course cost a bit but will slice through much of the BS and make things happen as expeditiously as can be expected. Speaking the local language to some extent will help a lot.
The good news is that both countries are open to retirees who can support themselves, and private medical insurance doesn't appear to cost much more than what I'm spending now in the States. Folks with EU passports will find far fewer hoops to jump through; citizens from parts of the world other than the US and the EU may face different rules. It's somewhat complicated, so as always, read the book and do the homework before taking the exam. ;-)
Thanks for laying this out. I have friends who moved to Portugal in Fall of 2023. He has a job in Chicago in Tech, and they were able to get a permanent residencies in about 3-4 months. She is pregnant and told me they are in Portugals free health care system. Of course it is not free, one is paying taxes. Here is a discussion of some countries with Golden Visas.
https://www.euronews.com/travel/2024/11/07/what-is-a-golden-visa-and-why-are-some-countries-giving-them-up-for-good
Because I am a member of Democrats Abroad and live as an immigrant, and a citizen in Germany it is interesting. Most of my American friends here do not have dual citizenship. I have had it all my life. So, my German friends treat me is if I am a German with the German expectations, while my American friends treat me as an American. I have always lived with that limbo land of cultures. So has my daughter. She grew up having most of her friends be multicultural.
I really think that most people who are unhappy with the US should look into other countries and figure out where they might go. I know Ireland is supposed to be good for retirement and they speak English in addition to Gaelic. I say that people should be looking because it is sometimes easier to bear things when you have an out, and know what it will take.
Most of the Americans that I know in Germany are teaching in Universities and some in schools. Many came here for University or for someone they were dating. Some got married and some moved on but were already fully integrated here. If you move to Europe you can probably get some private pupils to teach English to, for some income.
Apparently some Taiwan is supposed to be a really happy place for US expats. Of course a lot are retirees.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2024/07/08/expats-rank-the-best-places-to-live-in-the-world/
I was in a party on Zoom on election night. It was regional so that was Europe Middle East and Asia. There were shifts of who were the cohosts, and India came on about 3 or 4 am in Europe. Before then the hosts were in Germany and then Italy. It was cool to talk to people who are living in many different countries. We planned for a long time. Since 2016. A lot of parents in the school where I taught were telling their children they would move to Canada if Trump won, and no one did. My daughter asked us if we would be moving to Germany and my husband, who is German, said not so fast. I said, we shall see in my head. The whole 4 years, all of my teaching colleagues were depressed and daily there would be discussions of what Trump had done or was doing, until Covid, and then people were in survival mode. I felt since I was teaching over Zoom I could go to Europe and no one would know. My husband said he was not getting on a plane. So, we weathered it.
There are a lot of publications for expats, and you can look into them. A lot of people have done this and are doing it and provide community for those who come. One should pick a place where you are going to be able to feel comfortable with the government that you can afford.
Agree completely, expatriating is a big and serious decision, and everyone's different and has to find his/her best fit, in several different senses (culture, language, local political climate, religion, geography, climate, and so on). I strongly recommend those considering relocating make at least one extended (multi-month) trip to the area under consideration, to get some of the local dirt under the fingernails, so to speak, before making huge commitments. And of course do lots of homework. I've accumulated dozens of bookmarks and sources; anyone else will quickly do so as well, just by doing some initial research and following up here and there as interests dictate. Pretty quickly it'll become a lot easier to separate helpful signal from run-of-the-mill sales/marketing noise and other BS.
Good point about digital nomad visas; I should've mentioned them above. Both Portugal and Spain are offering them; if I were eligible I'd be _very_ tempted . But I would urge those who want to go for them to be sensitive to the various effects they will have, to learn the local ways of life (including the language!) and to fit in respectfully with them, and _not_ just be rich American high-tech yuppies with lots of money to fling around, assuming life in Lisbon (or Madrid, or Prague, or wherever) is as it was back in Yourtown USA. When in Rome, do as the Romans, no?
I recommended Portugal to a friend of mine. She just got her US citizenship, but is from the Philippines. Her husband is Filipino-American. She has 2 sisters who are married to Swedes and she wanted to buy a house there but can't because she is not Swedish. So, I suggested that she buy a house in Portugal. One can buy a house for 350,00€ or 500,000 in Lisbon, and Porto and places like that, but in other areas, not so in demand it is less, and after 3 years if you can pass the citizenship, you can get a Portuguese passport. You have to live there at least 14 days a year. I suggested that while they are still working they buy a house in Portugal, airbnb it, and make sure to spend at least two weeks, and work on their Portuguese. In fact, I am sure they can find someone in Zoom who teaches people to help them pass the citizenship test. Then, it will be easier for them to buy a house in Sweden.
My daughter was in class in her exchange year in Vienna with a boy whose parents were from Taiwan. From what she told me they flipped properties in Portugal. So, this is part of what is making Expats unwelcome, but at the same time, they were able to live in Vienna, which is a really hard city to get permanent residency in.
I also recommend videos by expats, the pros and cons stuff is helpful. Albania is becoming in I am hearing here in Germany. A friend went on vacation there last spring. Had a great time. Not a lot of people speak English, but people need to learn to use translating software on their phones to get around while learning the language.
A friend and her husband moved to Canada 10 years ago because the husband was disgusted with American politics. It is not as easy as one would think. They had to have enough "points" as a couple to become landed immigrants, one of which was to pass a French language test, which she did. He became a citizen last year and swore alliance to King Charles.
What do you mean by landed immigrants? And was this their only option to go there? Another friend knows someone who easily moved to Canada. She has a PhD in Engineering. It all depends on what they think you have to offer. That is true of all of the countries that people are thinking of fleeing to. But still, if one has the spirit that your family had in coming to the US, you can do it.
https://fortune.com/2024/11/06/americans-move-abroad-2024-presidential-election/
Canada prioritizes certain groups of immigrants, just like the US does. Not everyone is welcome.
In practice, the US no longer intentionally prioritizes various groups. Massive border crossings have rendered prioritization policies virtually irrelevant.
I'm a person who would love to emigrate but don't have the financial means to do so; that of course is the rule rather than the exception. I'm also 'stuck' for similar reasons in Texas where I've lived for many years but which is getting too hot for me to be able to handle, esp. w/my COPD; I literally can't breathe in it, so must spend almost 6 months at this point only able to be outdoors very early in the day for brief intervals. I envy you because Europe has already gone through similar crises more recently than the U.S. and some of them, Brexit for instance -- seem to have served as lessons learned re White authoritarian nationalism.
You guys, Putin is Trump's boss. The first thing he's going to do is take Ukraine. Then he's going to turn Netanyahu loose on Palestine. Then, NATO will fall. Do you think Putin is going to use his brand-new control over the American military to defend any free European country from...himself? Europe is not any safer than the US, under the Trump/Putin rulership.
Christina you might be right about NATO. We shall see. Right now in Europe it is much safer than the US because we just don't have the level of gun ownership or violence. In Germany they are talking about making some restrictions on knife ownership. I can tell you the crisis is from 2 attacks in the past year. Still, students in schools here are not doing knife attack drills, and parents are not telling their children how to act in case someone attacks them with a knife while they are walking to school. In fact, first graders going on their own is not uncommon. So, violence is much less, and most people are not so worried about it, as is common in the US.
In fact, the USA ranks #132 on the Global Peace Ranking. European countries rank higher. In fact there are at least 20 countries in Africa considered safer. See pages 8 and 9. https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf
There is no causal connection between Putin’s actions against Ukraine (or elsewhere) and Israel’s actions vis-à-vis Palestine.
Both leaders have been holding on to the level of war they are engaged in counting on Trump winning and backing each of them. So two separate leaders counting on support from the US under Trump. I would also say that they both did their parts to help Trump to victory.
Funny that someone in Germany would say women can’t lead…pretty short memory, what about Angela Merkel?
The comment you refer to was a German quoting an American woman who said that she (the American) didn't believe a woman could lead a country. (Please read more carefully.)
Sadly, this is not uncommon, especially in certain geographical areas, but I have heard it said right here in Vermont, where our experienced well-respected woman legislator just lost to an uninformed male with little knowledge but a gift for stirring up people with grudges. He just moved here about a year ago, "returning to his roots". He was born in a different part of the state,to parents from elsewhere, and did not even go to school here before his parents moved out of state. He has no experience, and no clue about the issues or how Vermont government works. But he won.
Who in Germany said that? I certainly did not. In fact, it was a source of pride to my daughter when Obama was President and Merkel was Chancellor that one of her countries had a Black man leading and the other had a woman. In fact, an American/Swiss friend and I were discussing how backwards the US seems compared to countries that have already had, or currently have a woman leader.
Thank you for your words, Linda. Just wanted to mention a future Elon Musk role in our government. I feel that anyone who will profit off government contracts and profits will be the step into oligarchy. It happened under his first presidency when his daughter and SIL received a 2 billion dollar investment in their new company from Saudi Arabia. Now they have received hundreds of millions in profits from doing nothing with that business, and SA has expected nothing in return. I'm sure they will expect something from the Trump administration. I know that some of his wealthy supporters got lucrative contracts to build and run the border detention camps his last presidency when he enacted containment and separation of families. Another donor was appointed a lead position in the Veterans Affairs agency. Since the organization of Project 2025 I imagine oligarchy for his wealthy supporters and family will increase a thousandfold. Trump screams about "The Biden Crime family" while he and his family grift off his role as president. There has been zero evidence of any such events for the Bidens.
It's not about leaving the US. No, no, no. Maybe, Linda, that works for you but my family has been here for ten generations and have tried hard to build the country which is, at least until this week, mostly the envy of the world. Lets work on the problems, not duck them and vacate the field. Biden took on the Covid and the economy -- successfully -- but got in return a 25%+ increase in many prices, and the "economy" is usually #1. Yup, there is major racism, misogyny, white supremacy, hatred, anger (not new ideas). But I would add the "disrespect" by coast elites for fly-over country, well written by David Brooks in the -- yes -- NYT:
//www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/opinion/trump-elites-working-class.html .
Lots of things to work on.
As I have said, each person has to figure out what their plan is.
I am guessing you are a White-male. I am neither. So, I have a different take on where I feel safe. One side of my family came over on slave ships, and what they did to build the US was not accorded to them in wealth. The other side of my family immigrated. So, I have always felt like a citizen of a world, and am not so into nationalism.
I do not want my daughter living with the amount of violence in the US. The inability of the US to get guns under control seemed pretty hopeless to me. Right now the US is #132 in the global peace scale. I am in a country which is at #20. It dropped down 5 spots this year, but the US dropped 1 as well, and 3 in the past 2 years to reach a much less safe level. See pages 8 and 9. https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf
Many people want their children in a safer country. I am sure you can understand that.