Americ-exit? U.S.-xodus? Escape Hatch?
Whatever you call it, Americans are talking about leaving.
Since last week’s ascension of the criminal in chief, there have been daily articles about how to move abroad. Google reported on Friday that there had been a 3000% increase in the search “How to move to Canada.”
I also saw this article from Forbes. Want To Leave The U.S.? Countries Welcoming Americans With Open Arms
The Atlantic Americans Who Want Out
From CNBC: Americans are flocking to expat websites after the election: ‘They want out, fast’
And this ad popped up on my Instagram feed:
Roberto and I are in a unique position because although we own a place in France (where we are now), we still spend half the year in Austin. I can’t speak for Roberto (even though I do that exact thing on this blog all the time), but this week I have felt really good about still having our place in the States.
That probably sounds counterintuitive. Since Tuesday I’ve had numerous texts from friends saying, “Aren’t you so happy you started the process to move years ago?” and “You guys were so smart.” I have also had friends reach out to say that that they have decided to move abroad and want to consult us.
But here’s the thing: no matter where we live, we will always be Americans. We will always care about our friends, family, neighbors, and as flawed as she is, our country.
A Substack called An American Who Fled Paris by Alexandra Marshall summed it up well on Saturday:
I have lived in France since 2006, and I am as connected to America now as when I took my first steps in my family’s apartment in upper Manhattan. Maybe even more so. I am American in my bones. I am American in my ancestry. I am American in where I put my attention. I am American in my culture and my cooking. Deeply. I follow American politics like a hypervigilant hawk. I can’t quit this bitch.
She talks about having lived in NYC when 9/11 occurred and that the trauma seemed almost worse for her American friend who was living in Paris at the time. The friend felt helpless and miserable so far away.
I know exactly how her friend felt. I lived in NYC when 9/11 happened, but that month I happened to be in Canada for a show. I wasn’t just helpless due to downed phone signals; I was helpless to help. And worse, when I walked around Vancouver only hours after the towers had fallen, people were walking around smiling like everything was normal. Life moved blithely forward in Canada.
And this week, life is moving blithely forward in France. The French people who have spoken to me about the election (before and after) simply state Trump est fou (Trump is crazy.) I nod in agreement and that is kind of that.
What if you had called or texted everyone you knew on Wednesday and they had simply replied “Yeah, that sucks . . . but whacha gonna do. Want to see a movie?”
Many of the French in our small (ish) city dream of going to America, Trump or no Trump. They have fantastic visions of New York, LA, and Miami. It doesn’t occur to them that MAGA winning will affect those cities and what they consider “the American Dream.” America is America is America.
Many of the on-the-ground effects of Trump and MAGA don’t reach France. When I try to explain what has happened in Texas—the ban on abortion, the crisis at the border, the anti-trans laws, the banning of books—they look at me like I am the one being crazy.
They are not cold or uncaring. They are simply uninformed, just as the implications of a Marine Le Pen conservative government don’t reach most of us in America.(And for those of you considering a move to Europe, you should do your homework about the chances of France and Germany, the most powerful members of the EU, also electing far right nativists.)
This week it feels like our French friends can sympathize but they can’t empathize, and isn’t empathy what we want in times of crisis?
This issue is not exclusive to France. Wherever you move outside of the US is going to be very different from home. You can bask in no-one talking about politics and Trump and MAGA, but when you need to talk about them, guess what? There is still no one talking about them.
Don’t get me wrong. I have said a few times since Wednesday perhaps the bright side will be that more of our friends will move to France! I would love that, of course, but I felt it was important to say that being abroad does not stop the pain and frustration of what is happening at home.
Jusqu’à la prochaine fois,
Carolyn & Roberto
Hi Carolyn-Thanks for your writing…as always, we very much enjoy reading. Along the lines of « other things anecdotal » I will say that I’ve had two (French) friends from Nîmes text to express deep condolences and - to a person - the couple dozen (French) participants in my English language conversation group here in the Loire express…alarm, incredulity, sympathy. Our experience is not that the French care little, but that they recognize the weight the US carries at home and abroad. Just another reason, really, that a move does not the problem remove.
Well said, as usual. I love the paragraph that you posted from Alexandra, especially, "I can't quit this bitch." I too, will always be American to my absolute core. An American living in France. No more, no less. And, I continue to do the work and everything within my powers to be the very best version of just that.