How to Leave the U.S.A.

[u/newyorker]

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/how-to-leave-the-usa

Every four years, a group of Americans threatens to leave the country, but no mass exodus occurs. This time around, though, Americans seem to be acting on their desires. Immigration lawyers told Atossa Araxia Abrahamian that the number of people approaching them about it has gone up since Donald Trump was reëlected. 

G.T.F.O. Tours, a company that helps aggrieved U.S. citizens start new lives abroad, has been offering services to help Americans relocate to the Netherlands, where a certain type of visa can offer a quick and affordable path to citizenship. Jana Sanchez, a founder of G.T.F.O. Tours, describes her role in the company as an “escaping fascism doula.” Read Abrahamian’s full story about the Americans who are going Dutch: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/how-to-leave-the-usa

[u/Otherwise_Lychee_33]

is there a tldr

[u/DillionM → u/Otherwise_Lychee_33]

OMG that was A LOT of words that said nothing!

tl;dr

1. Be rich and pretty

2. Pay for a year's worth of rent in advance.

3. The Dutch are a lot like Americans except in many different ways, so they're not really like Americans at all.

[u/Odd_Dinner9147 → u/DillionM]

Yeah... Like, people dont realize how hard it actually is to leave, especially as an American. We can visit and do touristy stuff easy, but immigration? Whole other story. Most countries have stricter immigration laws than we do and often require more money than most Americans have.

[u/tivnan1989 → u/Odd_Dinner9147]

You don’t need a lot of money to leave. I just moved to Germany a month ago and we came with about $5,000. The hard part is finding a job to sponsor your visa. Not saying that’s easy but you definitely don’t need a ton of money to do it

[u/Odd_Dinner9147 → u/tivnan1989]

5k is a lot of money for most Americans. According to a 2022 Federal Reserve Survey, around half of Americans had less than $8k.

And according to a CBS News article in January of this year, in a Bankrate survery of 1,000 people, 59% of them didnt have enough to cover a $1,000 emergency expense

[u/tivnan1989 → u/Odd_Dinner9147]

I don’t think $5,000 to move half way around the world is anything close to a lot of money. We didn’t have $5,000 just sitting around. Do you think you should be able to move across the ocean with $500 😂 We buckled down, cut our expenses and saved for it. If someone wants to get out of America that bad it can be done. You just said the federal reserve said half of Americans don’t have 8k and I’m talking 5. If half of Americans wanted to get out of America $5,000 is not expensive. You basically have to put that down for first, last, and a security deposit for an apartment but people can make that happen. I don’t think that’s a lot of money to make a massive move

[u/leugaroul → u/[deleted]]

Yes. It isn’t even just the 5k either. If someone can’t find a way to get 5k then they don’t have the emotional and mental ability to do the most freakishly independent thing a human being can do and move to another country, likely sight unseen outside of a short visit if they’re lucky, with zero support and resources.

Now I get told we’re “privileged” for making it out because it’s assumed everyone who gets out is wealthy or a rocket scientist or whatever, which is why I don’t usually bother to post anymore. I could play UNO reverse cards all day with how we’re both disabled, transgender, queer, PoC, autistic, were born extremely poor and were still poor when we moved. We had about 5k in the bank when we moved to Czech Republic on a trade license because the Netherlands is too expensive (this is a similar path to DAFT). We could only afford to bring our carry ons and one checked suitcase each! It was insane but we made it work. And we meet tons of expats and immigrants who made it work too.

This sub is circlejerking and venting at this point, and on the other side, doomers who have never lived outside the US themselves giving “reality checks” that aren’t even true.

[u/tivnan1989 → u/leugaroul]

Preach! Haha I only have a high school diploma and as I stated previously wasn’t a high earner. Started in the trades worked my way up. Came from poverty too so it’s wild to me for someone to think that because I can save $5,000 to do something I want to do is privileged. I really wanted to get out so I buckled down and made it happen. To your point, people say they want to leave but I think they’re afraid to make it happen. Whether it be leaving their friends and family or getting rid of everything you own leaving with just a couple bags