Are you planning on leaving the US within the next 5 years?

[Nothing Loud]

So given today's news, Obergefell, Lawrence, and others are probably crumbling as we speak. The SCOTUS made it clear it has the courage to undo precedent and be a partisan tool. We saw the signs 6 years ago and here it is happening. Nothing stops this train.

I'm not about to live in a country that is willing to dissolve my marriage or punish me for sodomy, and we're on our way to that. Exit plans need to be made ahead of time so it's now time to start planning our exit.

Are you planning on leaving? If so, where and how?

Here are the countries I'm considering.

Canada (we qualify for Express Entry visa so not that hard)
Spain (I qualify for citizenship in just 2 years of residency, and we have a lifelong dream of living in Barcelona)
Israel (now that my husband is Jewish, I qualify for Israeli passport and citizenship within just 3 months)
Colombia (already a citizen, just elected first left-wing president)
Argentina (I qualify for citizenship within just 2 years of residency as well)

Just need to graduate with my PhD, earn some money for a year or two, and then bags can be packed.

Quick reminder: before you hop in here and lecture oppressed minorities on how they need to "stay and fight", realize how absurd you would have sounded saying the same thing to Jews in Europe in 1940.

 

[Hogendaz85]

I wish we could leave but I don't think I'd ever be able to afford it.

 

[Distantmantra]

Straight white dad with a daughter who lives in Seattle. I'll stay and fight. I'm also Native American, I'm not giving these fuckers any more of this country than they've already taken. Everyone is allowed do what they want, but also remember that being able to move to another country is a definite privilege.

I've been to Israel multiple times, I have very close family friends who live there. You couldn't pay me enough to ever move there.

 

[Speedstersonic]

I wish my husband and I could afford to do this. I am back in fear now about being queer :(

 

[Osu 16 Bit]

No. I am trans, but the reality is I live in Chicago and am fortunate to make a good living with a job I love working with people I care about and want to spend my time with.

I also think for my situation living in blue state America is still one of the best, safest options in the world.

 

[Thordinson]

I wish but I don't have the skills or other things necessary. I will move to a better state though. The best I can do anytime soon.

 

[Juraash]

As a Jew, I could go to Israel, and I can safely say you couldn't pay me enough to do so.

As for the general question, I almost certainly won't leave in the next 5 years, realistically I probably never will. Being from California helps, but leaving everyone behind us just too much. At one point I lived a mere hour from most of my family and friends and we saw each other so infrequently and it really broke my spirits while I was living out there. The idea of moving to entirely different country is almost beyond comprehension.

 

[RedMercury]

No, it is super hard to move to another country for one and for two that would just leave less people voting and protesting against this shit.

 

[Pocky4Th3Win]

I could move to Argentina and get a job at IBM thanks to my Uncle but I couldn't leave the states.

 

[Violence Jack]

It's rather difficult to just up and move to a different country isn't it? I envy my best friend and his wife who travel around the world as ESOL teachers. I've always thought about New Zealand, Denmark, or Japan as options, but my black ass has to be careful plus I have a child I have to consider as well.

 

[GK86]

My wife and I are working hard to make sure we can move out within the next four years. We already have some options in place. Fuck this shit hole of a country.

 

[Drachen]

If it ever seems viable then absolutely.

 

[Dyle]

You cannot plan to do this if you don't have a family connection to another country.

 

[LCGeek]

Maybe, only reason I stay is to help some relatives stay alive after they gone being blunt honest am looking at parts of canada I'm semi familiar with.

Not staying in a shit show I called out the end to in HS and also at the other site but was told tut tut cause it would never happen, it happen much quicker than expected tbh. I do feel sorry for those without the means.

 

[mangopositive]

I'm going to stay and fight. I'm increasingly convinced this will require actual physical violence before it's over.

 

[Advance.Wars.Sgt.]

Nope, stuck on this continent just like so many others unfortunately. If I had it my way though I'd leave Earth entirely.

 

[THEVOID]

Probably be easier to move to a blue state, and if you are in a blue state, stay, so we can keep it that way.

 

[Cow Mengde]

If you can tell me how I'd be out of here ASAP.

No, it is super hard to move to another country for one and for two that would just leave less people voting and protesting against this shit.

Click to shrink...

What makes you think you'll be able to vote, or that your vote will matter in the future? America isn't a democracy. It's a demockracy.

 

[Lobster Roll]

I will be doing everything in my power to do so.

 

[Surakian]

It is not easy to leave. Also it doesn't feel like there are many places to flee to with how fascism seems to be super popular right now in the world.

 

[Hound]

I don't think I have the family connections in other countries and I've not had any progress with dating non Americans, and I specialized in law. So I'm pretty sure I'm fucked. And I really don't want to live in this awful county as it falls.

 

[Joco]

I really want to. This is just one of the first dominoes of many that will fall.

My wife doesn't seem to want to leave her family however, so it seems unlikely at the moment.

What I do see more likely is moving to a different state. Where I live, Wisconsin, is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country and living under Republican rule here seems like an inevitability.

 

[Genesius]

I wish we could. We've talked about New Zealand, but like… my wife's a teacher. I make less than 40K a year. We don't have any actual options.

 

[Lord Fanny]

You cannot plan to do this if you don't have a family connection to another country.

Click to shrink...

That's untrue. If you have an in-demand skill or a lot of money, it's very doable depending on where you are looking. That's still leaving a pretty small pool of people, but no, you don't have to have a family connection to move to another country. You can also be an exphat in lots of places and stay basically indefinitely via work visas (at least as long laws don't change to make that impossible later). I knew a lot of ESL teachers in Asia who did, and still do, that.

 

[Astro Cat]

I would like nothing more then to leave this shithole country but there's 0 chance I will ever be able to afford to do so.

 

[Viale]

It's really tempting. Torn between hoping for it to get better and the fact that I'm kind of tied down here, especially with work/house, etc, but I also just want to leave and have all the stories about US being stupid feel distant and unrelated to me.


How easy is it to move to Canada anyhow?

 

[acheron_xl]

Nobody would take me. I'm stuck in here.

 

[Joe]

No.

Gonna try and help my state turn back to fully Blue. Gonna keep voting and donating and organizing and doing what I can. I'd love to see other countries, but I do like living here, for the most part. Things will have to get a lot worse before I leave it behind. But I recognize the privilege I have there, and can't begrudge anyone who wants to find a place they'd feel safer.

 

[entremet]

This is incredibly hard to do. Most middle class and below cannot do this. If you have a family, good luck as well.

 

[Saganator]

Canada is kind of my only option but I can't even visit Canada without jumping through hoops because stupid shit I did almost 20 years ago, let alone immigrate there. It would be cool if Scottland let people in if they can prove Scottish ancestry

 

[Dyle]

That's untrue. If you have an in-demand skill or a lot of money, it's very doable depending on where you are looking. That's still leaving a pretty small pool of people, but no, you don't have to have a family connection to move to another country. You can also be an exphat in lots of places and stay basically indefinitely via work visas (at least as long laws don't change to make that impossible later). I knew a lot of ESL teachers in Asia who did, and still do, that.

Click to shrink...

Less than 1% of people could ever fit into that category though. The potential slots for foreign immigration are so limited that for all intents and purposes they do not exist.

 

[Lord Fanny]

I wish we could. We've talked about New Zealand, but like… my wife's a teacher. I make less than 40K a year. We don't have any actual options.

Click to shrink...

What's your thoughts on Asia? There is always openings for ESL teachers throughout the region (South Korea, Japan, etc.) that your wife can seek out. I'm not sure about yourself, but maybe something to look into and work from there to see if it's feasible

 

[Auros01]

I can't right now as my current job forbids me from working overseas (despite being a hybrid/remote worker). I could see us picking up and leaving later in life but probably not for at least 10 years.

 

[Xyer]

How. Lol.

 

[entremet]

Less than 1% of people could ever fit into that category though. The potential slots for foreign immigration are so limited that for all intents and purposes they do not exist.

Click to shrink...

Exactly.

 

[Jedi2016]

Sure. Right after I win the lottery and buy my own island.

 

[PanSexual_Peacock]

I'm fortunate enough to live in NYC so I have no incentive to leave in the foreseeable future. I'm also black, so I can't just up and leave to go anywhere I want where I'll feel comfortable and safe.

 

[TaySan]

I wish I could, but I don't have the means at the moment. Israel is my only option, but after what's going on there lately i don't think that country would be much better than here. I'm hoping i can move out of Arizona to North Carolina

 

[Cort]

I'd like to go back to school without being completely overburdened with also having a full time job to get access to medical. I'd rather not pay $600 for medical, be part time, and go to school so I think the better choice would be to uproot myself.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

If you're privileged enough to have the means to relocate to another country, it's likely your day-to-day won't be affected here in the future. More so when we could really use that vote to fight back. This is a moment that demonstrates how much each vote counts.

 

[coldzone24]

Already did and I'm not coming back.

 

[Transistor]

While I'm sure there are many people who want to leave the United States, this thread is, frankly, an insult to those who are unable to. Let's not celebrate abandoning those people and instead find ways to show support for them. This thread is locked to further discussion.