Every presidential election people threaten to, "move to Canada" if the candidate they don't like wins. This time, I think it might be more than a threat for a lot of people.
So, it's time we have an open conversation about it.
What exactly do you plan to do when you wake up on November 9th with a killer hangover because you drowned your sorrows the night before with a bottle of tequila (or whatever your alcohol of choice is) over the fact that some businessman with really orange skin and fabulous hair is now the president? I know, I know, maybe he won't win. I really hope he doesn't, but there is a possibility he will.
My suggestion is to make your threat of moving abroad a reality. I'm all about the phrase "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." In this particular situation, I wouldn't be sitting around waiting to see what will happen. I would be going straight onto the next one-way flight out of the US.
It's sad really that it could come to this, but I think for a lot of people it will.
I've lived out of the US for over four years now and have always been proud of where I come from. The US may not always have the best reputation abroad, but there are a lot of things I'm really proud of my home country for. Just last year I cried because I was so proud of the legalization of gay marriage. Now I get asked by people I hardly know how we could possibly have a candidate like Donald Trump and how he has gotten so far in the election. I have to just shrug my shoulders, hang my head, and tell them,"I don't know," because I really don't. Frankly, it's embarrassing. I don't know if people in the US realize just how much the rest of the world is shaking their heads at us right now.
I moved to Costa Rica four months ago and have experienced this weird phenomenon where people from the US that are living down here typically don't explicitly say where they are from. It's strange, but on more than one occasion I have said, "Where are you from?" and the response has been, "I've been down here for five years."
I asked a friend about it and she told me that people don't want to advertise that they are from the US. People just don't think highly of Americans. At first, I was a bit baffled by this. I think your home country is part of you, at least it is for me, and you should own that. Recently though my tune has changed a bit. If Trump becomes president I honestly don't know if I will continue to happily tell people where I'm from, and for me that is depressing.
So what are we going to do about it? Well, I really hate the thought of giving up on my country, but there are plenty of beautiful places abroad you could move to for the next four years. It's your choice if you want to say you're from the US or not. Europe is a great, open-minded place. Central America is warm year round. You really just have to find what place suits you best and GO!
If you don't do it because of Trump, do it because it's a great experience that will open your eyes to things you've never even realized before. It will be difficult, beautiful, refreshing, and amazing.
Time to book that one-way flight!
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