As a European who (somewhat foolishly) lives in the US, I completely understand your motivation. The caveat to all this is of course, that in speaking with friends back in Europe, I've noticed that the trend of US-type neoliberalism and all the societal ills that come with it is also gaining strong momentum in Europe.
As Sarah Kendzior and others have noted, what's happening in the US is orchestrated by a transnational network of (usually very affluent) people. At the core is a form of rapacious, mafia-style capitalism driven by the need for status and (absolute) control. It may not be so obvious now, but Europe is also at a very perilous inflection point. The ideology of endless growth and prosperity that many on both sides of the Atlantic have heedlessly bought into in the past 50+ years is rapidly running out of road (and lashing out with more and more bizarre ideas of what might come "next," as if the present moment doesn't count).
May the road rise with you (and everyone else who's facing planned or unplanned journeys or simply life's travails and vicissitudes wherever they might be).
LGBTQ solidarity. I respect your decision as nonbinary to flee the country. It is a legitimate choice. I am queer and a hawk and I will stay and fight the fascists. I will not abandon my nation to fascism. My grandfather did not fight the fascists in WW2 so I could flee them here. I have felt the trauma of police violence before and am ready to take it again should it be unleashed on me again. Let the state thugs come for me.
The owls are not what they seem. Take in some David Lynch into your philosophy as you continue your excellent scholarship and investigations into the resurrection of neo-Eugenics. I really appreciate your work. 🦉🦉🦉🦉
I have family in California. I have visited the US 60+ times since 1981, including half a year of high school, totalling over four years cumulatively.
There is a lot of beauty in America, and many good people. Overall verdict? Shithole. Europeans are snooty alright, but when they scoff at the US, as they’ve always done, I’m afraid it’s entirely justified. See this for a comparison of Scandinavia and the US https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSgDcPvCpJV/?igsh=YTl3YWJlbHV6cjFz
The US’ culture is SICK, and Trump is just a symptom of it.
My two American brothers fled Trump 1.0 and are never going back.
The fascism experts are right. It’s do or die time. You either resist and revolt now, or jump ship. I cannot stress enough how serious it is. And we all saw it coming.
Personally, I'm glad you're safe. I think I would do the same if I were in your position. However, as a European living in a country targeted by the current US president, I believe everyone in America is somewhat responsible for this nightmare, and fixing things should be their top priority. You elected this man as your president, so you are to blame. It seems that most Americans are OK with this nonsense, and there aren't any major forces at work trying to fix things. If Macron, as President of France, were to become similarly senile and commit these kinds of horrible acts, there would be an ongoing general strike and Paris would be burning. But in America, you just march on a Sunday and then carry on with your normal lives. So, when I read stories about Americans fleeing to safer countries, I actually feel a little angry and frustrated.
Just a little note about "free" education, healthcare etc. in European countires (I also live in one). Yes, you do not have to pay for it directly/immediately and if you do have to pay for some services, the amounts are reasonable. But of course it is not free. It is paid for by everyone: if you are employed, some amounts are deducted from your salary, part is for social security and part for health insurance, part is for other purposes. The exact numbers differ country to country (you can google it if you are interested). Where I live, the total cost for the employer is cca 130 % of the salary, the net income is cca 60 % of the salary, the rest goes to the state that redistributes it.
“But there are some ways to get out: for example, you can stay in Thailand for up to 60 days and Myanmar for up to 28 days as an American citizen. My understanding is that if you leave one of these countries for even a single night, the clock resets, meaning that you could bounce between them indefinitely.”
…yeahhhh, as someone who lives in that region (I'm Malaysian), that's not _great_ for us.
We know enough passport bros like that and… uh… how do we say this nicely… as a class you guys are a pain in the ass. Some of you are lovely! It's just… you know. Ehhhhhh.
Ohhh, thanks for this. It's embarrassing that I didn't think of how this strategy might hurt locals. Really sorry for that! Thanks for the message (and my apologies for taking so long to reply!).
Good luck, Emile, and best wishes on your journey. Don't blame you a bit for leaving. If I were single without kids and grandkids I would do the same. This country and half the population is unrecognizable as the place I was born and have lived in for almost 7 decades. But alas, I will remain here and fight the fascists.
Best of wishes to you & we'll look forward to hearing your updates & how life feels "on the other side" as it were. I'm sure it's a huge relief to be out given the daily & ever-escalating craziness here. If I didn't have responsibilities here in the US I'd consider leaving too.
You encapsulated the reality of fleeing as a minority, to a safer place. I’m doing the same in 2 months and really hoping I will be able to make it out. I’m nonbinary and as you said, live in fear right now. It’s very hard to just do daily tasks. I appreciate this post on so many levels. Thank you.
Keep me posted on your plans. I will be back in Switzerland the second part of May, and then later in the year. I read your substack through https://readwise.io/, so I generally don’t see responses to my comments. It will be safest to ping me via email (mailto:czbinden@gmail.com) if you want to let me know that you’re headed to Switzerland.
I don't blame you. Sounds like a good life and I would do the same if it was easier to move a family and jump through all the hoops. Best of luck to you.
Thanks for writing this. I’m sorry you had to go through that fear. I can viscerally relate, although mine tends to come and go, maybe because being a parent forces me to cope with the more immediate details of life—although that also makes it harder since I worry constantly about the U.S. conditions they are inheriting. I’ve felt, for over a decade now, a decreasing sense of enthusiasm for American cities — and I’ve lived in some of the best and most interesting in both east and west coasts. Your charts and stats here really illuminate why that is. I think your move sounds rational and I think about doing the same although the logistics feel daunting. I’d love it if you could keep writing about your experiences in Europe and the different places you end up in. I feel relief just reading this. Keep us all posted!
Brilliant article Émile, in so many ways. Selfishly speaking, I'm very happy that you have created something that will help me out a whole bunch: a widely researched article, written to your usual high standards, that I can share confidently with folks who ask me about moving to the UK. And there are more and more of these each year. In 2019, my wife and I moved from San Diego, California, a city we loved, to Coventry, England, the city of my birth. There were multiple factors involved and Trump 1.0 was only one of them. But to say we are very happy we made the move would be a vast understatement.
The UK is no paradise, but Coventry has a rich history as a welcoming and caring city with a tradition of valuing cultural diversity that goes back centuries. This is not just my take, these values were celebrated in the citizenship ceremony that Chey went through last year.
If your travels bring you to Valencia, Spain, please feel free to reach out. I figured out that I had a chance to retire early and have been here since 2022. I would like to meet you in person.
Glad to know you are in my home country of Portugal! Welcome welcome! I myself am planning to move back in 2027 from the UK. If you want to get to know the Roman town of Evora in May, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, I will be around for a few weeks in my family farm.
If you ever find yourself in the South West of France (Bordeaux area) come and say hi. As an Irish person (and therefore EU citizen) who's been living here for twenty years, but who's also lived in the US in multiple places and has many friends there desperate to get out for similar reasons to you, I have a lot of thoughts about this article, and I'm sure we'd have much to talk about!
As a European who (somewhat foolishly) lives in the US, I completely understand your motivation. The caveat to all this is of course, that in speaking with friends back in Europe, I've noticed that the trend of US-type neoliberalism and all the societal ills that come with it is also gaining strong momentum in Europe.
As Sarah Kendzior and others have noted, what's happening in the US is orchestrated by a transnational network of (usually very affluent) people. At the core is a form of rapacious, mafia-style capitalism driven by the need for status and (absolute) control. It may not be so obvious now, but Europe is also at a very perilous inflection point. The ideology of endless growth and prosperity that many on both sides of the Atlantic have heedlessly bought into in the past 50+ years is rapidly running out of road (and lashing out with more and more bizarre ideas of what might come "next," as if the present moment doesn't count).
May the road rise with you (and everyone else who's facing planned or unplanned journeys or simply life's travails and vicissitudes wherever they might be).
LGBTQ solidarity. I respect your decision as nonbinary to flee the country. It is a legitimate choice. I am queer and a hawk and I will stay and fight the fascists. I will not abandon my nation to fascism. My grandfather did not fight the fascists in WW2 so I could flee them here. I have felt the trauma of police violence before and am ready to take it again should it be unleashed on me again. Let the state thugs come for me.
The owls are not what they seem. Take in some David Lynch into your philosophy as you continue your excellent scholarship and investigations into the resurrection of neo-Eugenics. I really appreciate your work. 🦉🦉🦉🦉
Peace from the Mojave. 🌞🏜️🌵
GOOD FOR YOU!! WISE MOVE!!!
I live in Copenhagen, DK, and can confirm.
I have family in California. I have visited the US 60+ times since 1981, including half a year of high school, totalling over four years cumulatively.
There is a lot of beauty in America, and many good people. Overall verdict? Shithole. Europeans are snooty alright, but when they scoff at the US, as they’ve always done, I’m afraid it’s entirely justified. See this for a comparison of Scandinavia and the US https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSgDcPvCpJV/?igsh=YTl3YWJlbHV6cjFz
The US’ culture is SICK, and Trump is just a symptom of it.
My two American brothers fled Trump 1.0 and are never going back.
The fascism experts are right. It’s do or die time. You either resist and revolt now, or jump ship. I cannot stress enough how serious it is. And we all saw it coming.
Resist and revolt now! Or there’ll eventually b no place to escape the techno fascists committing omnicide
Personally, I'm glad you're safe. I think I would do the same if I were in your position. However, as a European living in a country targeted by the current US president, I believe everyone in America is somewhat responsible for this nightmare, and fixing things should be their top priority. You elected this man as your president, so you are to blame. It seems that most Americans are OK with this nonsense, and there aren't any major forces at work trying to fix things. If Macron, as President of France, were to become similarly senile and commit these kinds of horrible acts, there would be an ongoing general strike and Paris would be burning. But in America, you just march on a Sunday and then carry on with your normal lives. So, when I read stories about Americans fleeing to safer countries, I actually feel a little angry and frustrated.
Just a little note about "free" education, healthcare etc. in European countires (I also live in one). Yes, you do not have to pay for it directly/immediately and if you do have to pay for some services, the amounts are reasonable. But of course it is not free. It is paid for by everyone: if you are employed, some amounts are deducted from your salary, part is for social security and part for health insurance, part is for other purposes. The exact numbers differ country to country (you can google it if you are interested). Where I live, the total cost for the employer is cca 130 % of the salary, the net income is cca 60 % of the salary, the rest goes to the state that redistributes it.
“But there are some ways to get out: for example, you can stay in Thailand for up to 60 days and Myanmar for up to 28 days as an American citizen. My understanding is that if you leave one of these countries for even a single night, the clock resets, meaning that you could bounce between them indefinitely.”
…yeahhhh, as someone who lives in that region (I'm Malaysian), that's not _great_ for us.
We know enough passport bros like that and… uh… how do we say this nicely… as a class you guys are a pain in the ass. Some of you are lovely! It's just… you know. Ehhhhhh.
Ohhh, thanks for this. It's embarrassing that I didn't think of how this strategy might hurt locals. Really sorry for that! Thanks for the message (and my apologies for taking so long to reply!).
Good luck, Emile, and best wishes on your journey. Don't blame you a bit for leaving. If I were single without kids and grandkids I would do the same. This country and half the population is unrecognizable as the place I was born and have lived in for almost 7 decades. But alas, I will remain here and fight the fascists.
Best of wishes to you & we'll look forward to hearing your updates & how life feels "on the other side" as it were. I'm sure it's a huge relief to be out given the daily & ever-escalating craziness here. If I didn't have responsibilities here in the US I'd consider leaving too.
You encapsulated the reality of fleeing as a minority, to a safer place. I’m doing the same in 2 months and really hoping I will be able to make it out. I’m nonbinary and as you said, live in fear right now. It’s very hard to just do daily tasks. I appreciate this post on so many levels. Thank you.
>> If you find yourselves overseas, please let me know — I’d be happy to meet up at some point. :-)
I am in Switzerland (Interlaken area), returning to the US on March 5th. If you're in the area I'll buy you a coffee. :)
I'll be in Switzerland this summer, for sure!!
Keep me posted on your plans. I will be back in Switzerland the second part of May, and then later in the year. I read your substack through https://readwise.io/, so I generally don’t see responses to my comments. It will be safest to ping me via email (mailto:czbinden@gmail.com) if you want to let me know that you’re headed to Switzerland.
I don't blame you. Sounds like a good life and I would do the same if it was easier to move a family and jump through all the hoops. Best of luck to you.
Thanks for writing this. I’m sorry you had to go through that fear. I can viscerally relate, although mine tends to come and go, maybe because being a parent forces me to cope with the more immediate details of life—although that also makes it harder since I worry constantly about the U.S. conditions they are inheriting. I’ve felt, for over a decade now, a decreasing sense of enthusiasm for American cities — and I’ve lived in some of the best and most interesting in both east and west coasts. Your charts and stats here really illuminate why that is. I think your move sounds rational and I think about doing the same although the logistics feel daunting. I’d love it if you could keep writing about your experiences in Europe and the different places you end up in. I feel relief just reading this. Keep us all posted!
Brilliant article Émile, in so many ways. Selfishly speaking, I'm very happy that you have created something that will help me out a whole bunch: a widely researched article, written to your usual high standards, that I can share confidently with folks who ask me about moving to the UK. And there are more and more of these each year. In 2019, my wife and I moved from San Diego, California, a city we loved, to Coventry, England, the city of my birth. There were multiple factors involved and Trump 1.0 was only one of them. But to say we are very happy we made the move would be a vast understatement.
The UK is no paradise, but Coventry has a rich history as a welcoming and caring city with a tradition of valuing cultural diversity that goes back centuries. This is not just my take, these values were celebrated in the citizenship ceremony that Chey went through last year.
Émile,
If your travels bring you to Valencia, Spain, please feel free to reach out. I figured out that I had a chance to retire early and have been here since 2022. I would like to meet you in person.
Glad to know you are in my home country of Portugal! Welcome welcome! I myself am planning to move back in 2027 from the UK. If you want to get to know the Roman town of Evora in May, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, I will be around for a few weeks in my family farm.
If you ever find yourself in the South West of France (Bordeaux area) come and say hi. As an Irish person (and therefore EU citizen) who's been living here for twenty years, but who's also lived in the US in multiple places and has many friends there desperate to get out for similar reasons to you, I have a lot of thoughts about this article, and I'm sure we'd have much to talk about!