this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2026
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For my youth, I always thought the tide would break and things would get better in the U.S., I am now 32 and the re-election of Donald Trump has caused me to completely give up on The United States politically. The U.S. seems hell bent on hanging on to global hegemony even at the cost of collapse rather than bring it down for a soft landing. I believe fascism is here, and it's only going to get worse as material conditions deteriorate and elites divert the rage of the masses against scapegoats such as immigrants and trans people.

Nursing is an in demand job on just about any government's web site. After the re-election of Donald Trump I enrolled in college in order to get a degree in nursing and leave this hell hole permanently. I am half way towards getting my associates degree.

I don't want my tax dollars to continue to be used for genocide, imperialism, mass surveillance, police brutality and corporate subsidies.

Part of me feels like I should stay and resist but I don't think I can stop the rising tide. I've watched friends and family become monsters despite my best efforts.

I do not feel safe in The United States and I believe that I need to leave as soon as possible for my family's as well as my own material well being.

As a compromise to my husband and mother I have chosen Canada, which I'm not happy about. But me and my husband have agreed that it is not forever, we chose Canada because of their ease of immigration and quick recognition of U.S. credentials, as well as there being no language barrier. From there we will search for our forever home. Right now escape and survival are our main concerns.

In my heart I would love to move to China, or Vietnam, but with the information I have it seems basically impossible as a U.S. citizen to do so.

I'm curious what your guy's thoughts are?

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[–] big_spoon@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 11 hours ago

i mean, that's a pretty personal decision, some people want to fight the power in subtle ways, some people want to go full luigi or paper mario, some people use their knowledge to teach people more enthusiastic or with more connections to get things done

you could stay in your country, because that's the place you know the most, and you kinda know the laws and the kind of people you can identify as fascist

leaving the country is another option, but you'll need to learn another language, probably getting more info about local politics, culture, and starting from scratch

anyways, it all depends of what's more convenient, how risky is staying vs leaving and how different would be the culture of your potential new home and the possibility of that place falling in fascist hands

First thing to check is the visa requirements of any country under consideration. Some countries are welcoming of emigres, some are not. Many have financial requirements and thresholds for a visa or residence permits that may be beyond your means. If you plan to work, then further investigation will be required on any restriction that might prevent you from doing so in your chosen destination. Many countries are welcoming of retirees, but not working age people. Establish "can I" move there, before investigating "do I want to" move there.

[–] SexMachineStalin@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I'm already making preparations to leave the eu-cool since I am actually being persecuted for political views, with a possible prison sentence or R100,000 ZAR "fine" on the horizon. Going to another EU country isn't an option due to language barrier, cost of living and the EU-Feds are all collaborators. Even in Barcelona or Dublin, there would be a citation in the mail (probably also signed with "Slava Ukraini") demanding to pay up. This of course depends on the verdict on the 3rd of July.

[–] calidris@hexbear.net 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Everyone is entitled to their own choice. I'm going to stay in the US and continue to try and make it better. This is my home. I'm willing to fight for a brighter future, however grim the situation gets.

[–] ArcticFoxSmiles@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 day ago

Preach. I am standing my ground as well. Although I have the utmost respect for those who wish to leave.

[–] yogthos@lemmygrad.ml 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think there's a strong argument to be made about moving to an existing socialist state and using your skills to help advance it instead of using them to make a living under capitalism that's rapidly devolving into fascism. The reality is that it's highly unlikely that there will be any sort of a socialist revolution in the US, or that things will get better in the near term. A Soviet style collapse and descent into open fascism seems like the most likely scenario. This is not something that any single individual can affect. The class consciousness and organization for any sort of a serious labour movement simply aren't present in the US. A labour movement will form in response to the change in material conditions eventually, but my expectation is that things are going to get a lot worse before that happens.

[–] Orcinus@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Well shit. Someone told me "revolution is like the rapture, it will never come" in an attempt to get me to vote for Kamala. I still wouldn't have done it, but I wonder if they're right. We haven't had a socialist revolution in the world in a long time, I know that's because the US does everything possible to prevent them but I also wonder if the world has just changed. Maybe people nowadays really would rather amuse and distract themselves to death than risk their life on a future they'll never see for future generations that may not even happen. Or if drone warfare will become the overwhelming norm considering how things are going for Iran.

[–] yogthos@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 2 hours ago

People tend to have a hard time imagining things outside their own lived experience. It's not so much that a revolution will never come, but rather that they haven't seen one in their life time. The living memory for people in the west is that nothing much changes. You have crises and economic meltdowns, but the system manages to right itself in the end and keep going.

But what people miss is that things never quite get back to the same level they were at before each crisis. The mechanics of the system ensure that more and more wealth is funnelled away from the working majority to the oligarchs at the top. And that means that people are less and less able to absorb each successive crisis. So, eventually you do hit an inflection point where the whole system starts coming apart.

As Lenin put it, every society is three hot meals away from chaos. People will distract themselves and ignore problems as long as they can find ways to meet their basic needs. Once there's a critical mass of people that are no longer able to, then all bets are off.

[–] WaterBowlSlime@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is more of a reason to leave tbh, but in case you didn't know, you're obligated to pay income taxes to the US even when you're not living there. Probably nothing's gonna happen unless you're making big bucks, but yeah, all US citizens are supposed to pay the feds taxes regardless of where in the world they live.

[–] ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

That only begins at 140,000 dollars or more of income. Plus, if you pay taxes overseas you credit the amount on your us taxes. I highly doubt OP is making more than 140,000 dollars while paying taxes abroad.

The IRS essentially doesn’t charge you unless you’re extraordinarily wealthy by working class standards.

So you don’t pay taxes to the US if living abroad, but you need to file them anyway because tax records are used for social security, verifying a person is alive, and where the person resides.

[–] WaterBowlSlime@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 22 hours ago

Yup and to add onto this, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion only applies to "earned income" which is wages, salaries, tips, and other payments you get from working. The exclusion doesn't cover "unearned income" which you'll still have to pay taxes on even if you've been unemployed all year. So interest, capital gains, scholarships, alimony, pensions, etc. are still taxed normally. OP probably doesn't have any of those right now but a lifetime is a long time and unless they revoke their citizenship, this tax burden will follow them to the grave.

Also they might owe state taxes too because sometimes just having a valid driver's license or being registered to vote is enough to count as having ties to a state.

I'm not their advisor, but if I were, I'd recommend tax evasion.

[–] whiskers165@hexbear.net 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

They're going to have to come and lock me up or kill me or something because I won't be scared out of my home, I won't be demoralized into giving up on my home. My hope will never die.

America has been fascist for more or less it's entire history, crimes worse than the Nazis all throughout. This isn't some new development, it's an unmasking, an unraveling of everything they hide behind. Rather than backing off now is the time to ramp up the pressure.

Sometimes in order to win a fight you have to put yourself in a position where you get rocked in the face really hard. I'm not scared to get hit because I see more to gain than there is to lose.

My confidence will never waver; I'm not going to roll over and give them my country just because they've barred their teeth at me.

[–] Maeve@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 1 day ago

With respect, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks, in-laws included. What matters is what you and your spouse think, and can agree what you will and won't sacrifice to achieve agreed upon objectives.

[–] LeninsLinen@lemmygrad.ml 18 points 1 day ago

In the past, I commented that organising in the USA is hopeless and that the best thing to do for those who live there would be to move to the global south to counteract the brain drain. On the other hand, I don't really know. I'm not from the west, and people in my own country are now violently xenophobic and our own movements have had challenges of their own in terms of building class conciousness and dual structures.

Personally, I think AES are the only places that won't be falling into catastrophe.

[–] FishLake@lemmygrad.ml 22 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I don’t blame you. I think the goal of moving to a country as far outside the US’s sphere of imperialism is the best decision you can make. I have two very lib friends who are moving to Denmark next year from the US “for a while” and are convinced they’ll be escaping “Trumpism”. They espouse other such fantasies often.

For me, I’m stuck here in the US. Well, stuck is probably the wrong word. Too harsh, too much negative connotation. We are tied to this place. My family could move elsewhere. It would not be easy, economically or otherwise. The total cost of moving would be too great. My partner and I would be spiritually less. Our children will have lost home. We love this place, the natural beauty of the Midwest, hills and creeks and flowers that are familiar and precious. From the tempestuous weather to the smallest flickering lightning bug. Not to mention the deep bonds we have with friends and loved ones. How could I bear to not be here witnessing this part of the world with my family? This may all seem idealistic and privileged. It is. I am fortunate and naive enough to be hopeful for the future. However, I work everyday to cultivate resilience for my family and community to prepare for when the worst comes.

[–] Alaskaball@hexbear.net 17 points 2 days ago

I understand and agree with your sentiments. After traveling the world over and seeing the best and worst of humanity throughout, I find myself more further rooted to my home. I know push comes to shove I could flee from here, knowing it's easier to live another day and return in the morrow than to die today and never see a red sunrise, but it'd still kill me inside quite a bit.

[–] marxismtomorrow@lemmy.today 12 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Hi, certified US born chinese mixed working to get their chinese citizenship here. Unless you marry into China and get permanent spousal residency, or you have close family members and can claim heritage properly, or you do something so amazing for the people of China specifically that you essentially earn your place amongst the Maos and Xis of the world, you probably aren't getting a Chinese citizenship. And it can be a real hassle getting any kind of residency beyond a couple-year at a time work visa.

That being said get some years of nursing under your belt, get your four-year nursing degree/license, and there's a decent chance you can get to Vietnam if not China at least for a long while. You won't have a forever home in China unless, again, you impress the CPC so much they just give you one, but it's a pretty good life for foreigners on work visas while you're here. You pretty much save 80-90% of all income (seriously, most companies you work for pay for a fully furnished apartment for you [because it's also really difficult to find landlords to rent to foreigners, china isn't as bad as Japan but there's still racists]) you make, and they pay pretty close (within 30%) of what you'd make in the US for the same role. So you can save up quite a bit of money before moving back.

I'm currently in the Choctaw nation after a stint in China since I need to exit and renter for my next visa, and I just live off the savings of what I made over there.

To answer your direct question though... Yes, escape the imperial core if you have any possible ability to do so. If you can even just get to the outer edges of the imperial core you're going to be much better off than staying within a dying empire that has spent the last hundred years destroying not only its foundational classes but the ability for said classes to ever organize sans empire.

[–] panopticon@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

or you have close family members

Like how close, in your observations?

[–] marxismtomorrow@lemmy.today 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I can tell you from personal experience 4 generations is too far out without a pretty lengthy legal fight, hence why I'm not in China right now. From the groups I'm in, generally speaking, within 3 generations of direct family lineage is fine, especially if they were high up enough in society to have documentation. If they're that far out without documentation (statistically were poor rural that fled at some point) then you'll be in the same legal fight and have to hope someone in your extended family A) Stayed, B) still has your direct family members land and C) can legally testify your family members were Chinese citizens... and at that point it's still a court decision that can be denied.

Edit: Your mileage will also vary greatly if your ancestors were enemies of the People's Republic at any point, you'll have so much harder of a time in general but especially trying to claim citizenship

[–] yogthos@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 day ago

Although it's worth noting that getting PR in Hong Kong is a lot easier.

[–] bluestem@lemmygrad.ml 14 points 2 days ago

I've been back and forth on this for some time. My partner and I have discussed leaving, but we both seem to always waffle on it because we don't want to leave our family and friends.

[–] doomsdayrs@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 day ago

Hell Yeah! Leave! I am going to go to China when I save up enough.

[–] TheoryofChange@hexbear.net 15 points 2 days ago

I have grappled with similar thoughts before, and I still do in some ways. Shit is extremely bad here, and it can feel extremely demoralizing and hopeless. That being said, I have made the decision to stay, at least for now, to fight for the bioregion I view as my home. Che Guevara apparently said "I envy you north Americans, you have the privilege to fight in the belly of the beast." Which I respect as a sentiment. I don't judge you for choosing to leave though. Pure stubbornness only hoes so far and at a certain point you have to prioritize your mental and physical well-being

[–] Lussy@hexbear.net 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Wish I could move out of this shithole. Unfortunately I’m not white

[–] opiumfree@lemmygrad.ml 12 points 1 day ago

its not impossible to move to china or vietnam but it would take effort and sacrifice

[–] Assian_Candor@hexbear.net 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I'm leaving this dump too for exactly the same reasons. The trajectory here is profoundly and intractably negative and its only a matter of time before it breaks completely. A lot of people are gonna die.

I'm just glad I'm not going to be here for the fucking 4th I want to puke just thinking about it

[–] TinoRangatiratanga@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah I mean I'm personally of the same opinion as you. The amount of indoctrination Americans face it's more likely than not it will turn to outright fascism before anything else happens really.

My thoughts are move to a country that is reasonable for you to move to, and if your goal it to make it to China or Vietnam, work on it as an eventual goal.

For me my absolutely last-ditch "shit hits the fan" goal is Chengdu, China.

I personally think the coming conflict with China is inevitable and can't be stopped, and the best place for you to be might not be in your country. Kim Il Sung went where he was needed most and that turned out to be Manchuria.

[–] cayde6ml@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 2 days ago

I feel the same way about Chengdu. Maybe we can link up.