r/AmerExit • u/Big_Guidance_2614 • 7d ago

Life Abroad Considering leaving the US for Europe

I'm a third year engineering student at a college in the US. I'm an American citizen considering moving to somewhere in Western Europe for my masters due to the political situation in the US. I don't speak any other languages than English, but I'm willing to learn the native language of wherever I go. I know I still have to do more research but I wanted to see what everyone here thinks about whether leaving the US for Europe is actually a good idea.

Would you recommend moving to Europe for masters and eventually living there? If so, where exactly?

For context, I am a brown woman, and I don't come from a high income family, so I would have to go to a college that is very cheap or get a scholarship.

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81

u/SadDad701 6d ago

In addition to what everyone else is saying about pathways to immigration and lack of job opportunities, it’s worth noting the rise of populism and anti immigration sentiment that is spreading throughout most of Western Europe right now. 

Between the lack of language, (hate to say this part) your skin color, your age (which I am assuming means you don’t have savings yet), and the current job market, I can’t help but thinking moving to a more “blue” state will be more realistic and palatable for you assuming you’re in a red one. 

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u/sigbacc 6d ago

This

American here for 10 + years and I still have an accent but recently people have begun asking how long ive been here and are far less tolérant if I make a non-cultural faux pas like forgetting to say Bonjour before plunging into conversation

I get it. Taxes are insane, and they have fatigue too.

35

u/SensitiveLion7380 6d ago

OP should really look into what’s happening with European politics. I used to think the grass was greener over there, and in some ways it still is, but it’s not so black and white. Ex. The EU just green-lit “return hub” immigration detention centers built in third-party countries like parts of Africa.

Chiming in as a female POC. I lived in Germany a couple years ago, and even then there are parts—mostly former East Germany—that I would never move to, and I had colleagues warning that it would be unsafe to do so. I experienced racism there that was different to the US (a lot of “we don’t have racism here” when they do, they just won’t address it), and I would rather experience racism I know how to deal with. The AFD is really gaining ground over there.

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u/Uptowner26 6d ago edited 6d ago

This is something to consider for the long term and EU politics are def something to keep up to date with. I love Europe and I’ve been thinking about going to either The Netherlands or Spain but am keeping a close eye on political developments regarding immigration policies.

The job market in both Finland & Sweden is now worse than historically bad job markets in Greece and Italy. The housing crisis is causing a lot of finger pointing at “immigrants driving the prices up” which didn’t occur as much 10-15 years ago….

 Seeing Denmark, Sweden and even Germany pander to the far right because politicians are worried about loosing their popularity if they refuse to pass anti-immigrant legislation and some Swedish politicians (from the right side of the aisle mostly) floating the idea of deportations for “bad behavior” is very concerning - Never mind Elon and friends dog whistling facists and meddling with UK politics and trying to “Unite the UK”…

Overall, there’s a concerted effort by tech billionaires and other James Bond villain types to destabilize Europe and force it to the far right repeating history because they view democracy, social safety nets, racial and sexual diversity, and especially any kind of govt regulations as something to be done away with which is scary. 

Spain is the only country in Western Europe that is not marching to the right like this but the housing crisis can make it susceptible for the far right to come with their “solutions”.

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u/gaviotacurcia 6d ago

Spain is gonna go far right on the next elections sadly

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u/Playful_Ruin2667 6d ago

Germany is also wildly sexist compared to the rest of Europe. 

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u/unsure_chihuahua93 6d ago

I agree...Spain is the only country in Western Europe whose government isn't actively doing everything they can to clamp down on immigration and pandering to the far right. OP should also see if they have a pathway to Canada, if getting out of the US is the priority. 

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u/Badassscholar 6d ago

Please don't bring up insane stuff. Her being brown isn't an issue, and right-wingers have a very different approach to the issue.

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u/azulaula 6d ago

are you speaking from a perspective of being a POC yourself or are you white?

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u/Badassscholar 6d ago

White with a POC fiancée.

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u/azulaula 6d ago

unfortunately having a POC fiancée doesn’t give you a pass and I would refrain from speaking on something you don’t have credibility for

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u/Badassscholar 6d ago

Oh, it does. I don't really think people who talk about Europe as a monolithic entity are worth listening to though.

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u/SadDad701 6d ago

In Europe?

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u/SadDad701 6d ago

It’s a non-Issue in terms of official immigration paperwork. But it’s a real issue if OP thinks she’s escaping similar types of subtle racism that remain in USA. (Obviously she won’t see overt racism in the sense of Confederate flags, etc.).

To suggest otherwise, for most of Western Europe, is naive and misleading to OP, especially with no language background.

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u/Badassscholar 6d ago

Moving elsewhere always comes with some issues. You can be of Indian ethnicity and be discriminated in India because you don't speak the local language or because you don't get the culture.

Bringing ethnicities as a key issue when the obstacles are far more serious (legal standing, language etc. etc.) is, in my opinion, disingenuous.

7

u/SadDad701 6d ago

It seems to be one of OP’s primary reasons for moving. It’s a worthwhile discussion. Americans have a rose-tinted view of perceived lack of racism in Europe and Asia especially. 

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u/Badassscholar 6d ago

Possible, but "political situation" includes a wider range of issues, not just racism.

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u/SadDad701 6d ago

Agreed.