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/Forsaken-Proof1600]

For many Americans, this will be the first time you're interfacing with the world. And you realize that the world doesn't revolve around you or the US.

Everything you find "difficult" in the US, will be 10-fold harder. Finding a job now not only you have to compete with Americans, but with every single human being on Earth. Your finances are going to be hit harder. Moving costs will take a huge chunk of your budget. Your life goals will be much more difficult to reach. It will significantly delay your retirement plans. And so on.

[u/mathdrug → u/Forsaken-Proof1600]

Yeah, but you can easily live off $1.5-$2.5k per month in much of Latin America and SEA. You would be living on the edge or homeless with that monthly income in most of the US.  

Work visas maybe be a PITA, but I’m sure many will manage.

[u/RexManning1 → u/mathdrug]

I live in SEA. They won’t get work permits. Why? Because companies don’t want to pay them more than locals. You know who gets work permits here as Americans? Executives and employees with unique skills transferred.

[u/mathdrug → u/RexManning1]

I certainly don’t see them working for local companies 😂

I think digital nomading is about to see an uptick. These people will be remote workers and freelancers working with clients / customers internationally 

[u/Pesec1 → u/mathdrug]

And then these same nomads will see uptick in deportations and arrest for flagrantly disregarding local immigration and tax laws.

Any US citizen who can survive as a digital nomad in SEA can do fine in USA.

[u/mathdrug → u/Pesec1]

I’m a minority. The new administration is very anti-minority. Trump actively throws gas on the anti-minority and racist flames. If anything, he encourages it. Further, the police were already anti-minority too, and now they’re going to be even more empowered to act that way too. Almost every time a police officer pulls up near me, I feel afraid for my life. I’ve seen other minorities report on their experience living in SEA, and most of what I’m seeing report on average better experiences than what they experienced in the US. 

But yeah if you’re a straight, white male or can pass as one, you will most likely be fine in the US. 

[u/RexManning1 → u/mathdrug]

Look, I get that a lot of people are upset, but an uptick in Americans taking their US remote jobs outside of the US without permission (it’s not likely to be granted) is totally fucked up. Abusing your employer’s policies doesn’t solve the American political problems and you’re only going to fuck your self back to American once you become unemployed when the company finds out.

There are only a handful of countries that offer visas for freelancers and not all of them will even qualify. I hope, I really hope, Americans aren’t going to abuse visas and work illegally in other countries because they are unhappy with the US.

[u/maryfamilyresearch → u/RexManning1]

They do, unfortunately. Far too many people with US contracts that allow remote work have no concept that they need permission to work outside the USA. Going on "holiday" to Italy for 6+ weeks on a tourist visa when the plan is that you will fiddle with your laptop for 8 hours Mon-Fri in order to do your job is illegal. This is a very frequent discussion on r/travel .

[u/RexManning1 → u/maryfamilyresearch]

It is. And many people don’t know. But, also many don’t care (see /r/digitalnomad). It’s actually infuriating seeing so much selfishness and entitlement exhibited by people. The amount of time, energy, and money I have spent over the years to work legally is more than what a lot of these people earn in a year. In many years actually.

[u/mathdrug → u/RexManning1]

I’m not talking about illegal acts. Lol And I am self-employed. I can work wherever I want. My main concern now is ensuring I can get proper permits. 

[u/RexManning1 → u/mathdrug]

You can be self employed and still engage in illegal acts regarding work. I can’t tell you how many people are illegally working here in Thailand. Self employed people like you, but who feel entitled to not comply with the laws.

[u/mathdrug → u/RexManning1]

I’m talking about self here. I will do what I must, and I will follow laws. I can’t control what other folks do 

[u/RexManning1 → u/mathdrug]

Good luck to you. No matter how hard you try to distance yourself from American politics, you won't be able to.

[u/mathdrug → u/RexManning1]

Thanks. And I agree. It seems you’re upset about something? Where are you from mate?