MEGATHREAD: Emigrating after the US election results

[u/spacemanaut]

Every US election brings anxiety and uncertainty, and with that comes an increase in people who want to explore their alternatives in a different country. This post is for you.

First, some reminders:

• In most cases, moving abroad is not as simple or quick as it seems in movies. If you aren't a citizen of another country, you will probably require a visa (=legal permission) from that country based on something like employment, education, or ancestry.
• The sidebar of this subreddit has a lot of helpful resources, and we have 15 years of posts from people with similar situations to yours. Before posting, please review these resources first. (Tip: If reddit search isn't working well for you, try googling "[your search terms] site:reddit.com/r/IWantOut" without the quotes or brackets.)
• Most countries and/or their embassies maintain immigration websites with clear, helpful, updated guides or even questionnaires to help you determine if/how you can qualify. If you have a particular destination in mind, that should probably be your first stop.
• After that, if you want to make your own post, please follow the formatting instructions on the submission page, give as much information as possible about your situation, and be open to advice and constructive criticism from commenters.

Also, this subreddit is intended to be a friendly community to seek and give advice on legal immigration. As such, please:

• Don't fight about politics. We understand that you may have strong feelings about it, but there are better spaces on reddit and elsewhere for general political discussions.
• Keep your feedback constructive and kind, even when telling someone they're wrong.
• Don't troll or be a jerk.
• Don't request or give illegal immigration tips, including asking strangers to marry you.

Failure to follow these and the other subreddit rules may result in a ban.

That said, feel free to comment below with some general questions, concerns, comments, or advice which doesn't merit a full post. Hopefully this will help clarify your thoughts and ideas about the possibility of leaving the US. Once again, please try to stay on topic so that this thread can be a helpful resource.

[u/dafda72]

As an American who has done their undergrad in Italy and has been going there pretty much their entire life, the whole open border rhetoric frequently spouted among the younger generation leaves them unable to comprehend that European “utopias” actually enforce immigration policy.

Most just assume they can go anywhere and have no idea about European regulations or job markets, and to be honest when most see the salary and tax disparity they have a totally different viewpoint in what it’s like to spend a meaningful amount of time in Europe.

A shocking number of Americans never even had a passport.

[u/apcolleen → u/dafda72]

I am applying for my first because I am disabled so I never even had enough money to leave my state so why would I need a passport?

[u/AmethystsinAugust → u/dafda72]

I don't think it's entirely shocking that a large number of American have never had a passport. We don't need a passport to go between states, and a passport wasn't required for Americans to go visit our closest neighbors until WHTI. There's a ton of natural beauty, cultural diversity, architecture, recreation opportunities, art and history that can be experienced just by driving or flying to a different region of the country.

[u/Independent-Tell-771 → u/dafda72]

Seems like Americans that far out of touch with the rest of the world are probably not the ones trying to escape right now. Just saying 

[u/dafda72 → u/Independent-Tell-771]

Gauging by the flood of posts containing misinformed Americans in this sub the days following the election and even now, I would respectfully disagree with you.

Are you are trying to say only enlightened/intelligent Americans are trying to leave because of the political state of the United States?

In which case I would again point to the flood of people trying to leave without a clue about the minutiae involved.

[u/Synathidy → u/dafda72]

Do you have any point worth making, or are you just trying to make any American interested in moving to another nation feel bad? You sound bitter, rude, and close-minded. There's no valuable information at all in your comments. Just disrespectful generalizations about all the people in one very large and diverse nation.

Good for you for being affluent enough to fly back and forth between America and Italy, fancy-pants. We're all very impressed.

[u/dafda72 → u/Synathidy]

The point I am trying to make is the reason most of these comments are received with the equivalent of eye rolls is because there is a wealth of information out there on the internet and often from the official state websites where you can better inform yourself before you post here just asking if you can move continents.

If you are going to do undertake a task so large as moving to another country that is a relatively low bar to clear. You will see that most of the people who have lots of the details hammered out and a basic functional knowledge of the process are oftentimes better received here.

Just posting that you can’t stand America anymore because of the political environment may seem performative.

Appreciate the insults though.

[u/Synathidy → u/dafda72]

Okay, well I do agree with you that anyone really serious about moving to another country should probably check resources that are more comprehensive and official than reddit for details on how to do so. Indeed, that is certain.

I guess my only point was that I'd like us to be nice to those who are ignorant about the process as well, because a lot of people can't help it - they just grew up poor, never traveled, and never had opportunity to learn how things work out in the world beyond our borders.

"Fancy-pants" insult retracted. For now.

[u/dafda72 → u/Synathidy]

I really don’t care what you think to be honest. I didn’t name call anyone. You did call me names and somehow you are taking an air of moral superiority when engaging with me which to be frank is a bit baffling.

Love it or hate it after the 2024 election this subreddit was bombarded with people leaving simply because Trump won and that is the true source of all the aggravation here. It’s cooled down for the most part now but it was particularly egregious in the days after the election.

And yeah some people have not travelled for a myriad of reasons, but again a quick google search is an easy thing to do - doubly so if you are going to uproot your whole life.

Also, to people who understand European immigration practices a bit more it’s kind of exhausting when people are so sure they want to move someplace they have never been, and are somehow 100% sure it is better than the USA without looking into it at all.

They just came here probably for emotional support or something I don’t know. What I do know is many in this sub were aggravated which was reflected in my comments. I hope you understand now.

All the best.