Screenshot via CNN
Wired magazine has a helpful follow-up on what was a political trope. It was one of those rote responses heard during the 2024 election cycle: “If Donald Trump wins, we are moving to Europe!” It was a tired refrain, but one the press always loved to cover, be it a celebrity delivering the impotent threat, or commoners making the pledge.
These are the people who thought their elevated mindset needed to take root elsewhere, in lands where cultured appreciation and cerebral heft were valued, and the open-minded beatific mentality would be craved and welcomed.
For left-leaning Americans concerned about Trump’s reelection, relocation to Europe was presented as a lifeboat: Some claim you can live gentler, freer, and, most of all, morally lighter.
Wired magazine reporter Sarah Manavis checked in on several expats peppered across Europe to find out how these political gypsies are faring in their new lands. It turns out that all of the promised Utopian benefits were not as good as billed; the urbane and friendly Europeans aren’t, the “free” healthcare isn’t, the booming economies lag, and the basic amenities are sub-basic.
One woman who researched Europe online had “sunnier” expectations than the reality she encounters just outside of London. (I may be blithe in suggesting that basing life decisions on what you see on TikTok and Reddit was a miscue.)
She details that healthcare not only costs her, but the quality is poor. I mean, at that price – not shocking. Also, work is tough to find, and the salaries are lower, with a higher cost of living. Well, yes, when you flee to a tax-obsessed region, your take-home is lower. Then factor in the excessive regulations, and prices only balloon from there.
Transportation is also a challenge in a continent that hates cars. While yes, we here are dealing with spiked gas prices today, in Europe those levels were the baseline well before any current market forces. Even the vaunted train travel there is costly, and hardly the scenic majesty portrayed in commercials and film.
People are interviewed by Wired magazine living in Germany, Spain, and Scotland (but curiously no one from Paris), and many of those are either arranging or at least contemplating a return to the racist and oppressive U.S., the land of washing machines and untaxed televisions. Seriously – Germany imposes a fee on each television in your home.
And these are folks who left with the belief that President Donald Trump was going to install an unlivable culture here. One German transplant sounds like he landed on the location that has the very oppressive, racist, untenable society he thought he was fleeing.
“I miss the friendlier people, freedom of speech, and ease of daily life” in the US. He adds, “If you aren’t born and raised there, and don’t look German, you’ll never be fully accepted.”
How about that. Trump was said to behave in an unacceptable, xenophobic fashion, and you now are in a country where the residents and government actually behave that way. You now reside on a continent where free expression is regarded as an inconvenience.
Spain is also said to be a challenge, something seen this summer when it was hit by a massive migrant influx. In July, tens of thousands flooded into the region of Ceuta, in a targeted mass migration attempt from Morocco. The government was ill-prepared to deal with it in any capacity, and soon the crisis peaked.
There was no means for officials to deal with the surge, and the new arrivals quickly learned that not only was the red carpet not being rolled out for them, but basic needs also were not available. They soon realized they were not able to get things like food and water, and most of them fled back home.
Spain was essentially spared due to its own incompetence.
And other European nations are not exactly tossing the doors open to just anyone, at least not from the Middle East. In Ireland, we see that those who came over as part of this Mar-A-Lago flotilla are only able to do so if they have a direct Irish connection via their immediate family. But the U.S. is oppressive for daring to flip the deadbolt at our border and requiring applications to come in.
What is amusing is how almost all of these examples were from people who needed to shield their identity. Some were for professional reasons, but most cited receiving a backlash when they declared a desire to return home. Daring to admit that things are actually pretty good here in the States leads to harsh condemnation from others.
The article was even willing to note a steep contradiction in these rebukes found in the message boards.
Commenters are quick to imply that the poster must be right-wing and privileged, in for a nasty shock if they did return home. Ironically, many times, they parrot the right-wing notion that they probably aren’t trying hard enough to assimilate into their new country.
The underlying reality not admitted to by Wired magazine, but present in the subtext, is how stunted these impetuous moves had been. You made a severe life decision based on one man in the White House whose direct influence on your life is minimal, at best. And now a dawning has arrived.
Sure, there may be some things felt directly, but taking an honest assessment of how impacted you really are would deliver results not in tune with the overall malaise claimed. Then going off to lands where the problems are accentuated is simply a paradox.
The “I’m outta here if he wins” crowd was signaling their disapproval, but never detailed the suffering incurred. Not liking the guy and finding his views unacceptable is a given, but to pull up stakes in outrage to send a message was done while ignoring the reality they were moving into.
Complaining about Trump’s economy and setting up shop in a place more economically harsh is baffling. Stating his “racist” policies were unacceptable leads to moving to a place where you are looked at with disdain as a foreigner. Claiming Trump would make living unsustainable, then going where air conditioning was deemed a criminal appliance and deaths by heat stroke were made acceptable, is what we are dealing with here.
Look, credit to those who were not just posturing after election day but actually followed through with their pledge to bolt the country. They did not give lip service. But credit also to Wired Magazine for this update. Sure, they had noble intentions, but they lacked a comprehensive look into what they were heading towards.
Telling us Trump is unacceptable is one thing, but then embarking on a path to regions where the authorities and the gentry are actually worse undercuts your messaging. They let one man affect their sensibility in an emotional reaction, when logic was the needed tool.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!
Comments
↓ Scroll down for comments ↓