I dont have any familial ties of immigration. I dont know foreign languages to be competent.
I look at Europe as a whole also facing extremist conservative and fascist-adjacent rhetoric. I dont see those countries much better off. I know little of South America. I know Africa has a lot of inroads with China with Belt and Road.
Simply put: I'm trapped in the USA. My friends are trapped in the USA. My indirect family is either trapped in the USA, or they're pro-maga and approve this hellscape the country is being into.
Ive looked at making a commune with like-minded folks and becoming self sufficient, and walking away from this society. Cause there's not many choices, and fewer every day.
I likely won't know the language. I can't legally work. I'm now an "illegal alien", and people everywhere hate them (USA isn't special in that hate).
I could try English speaking countries? Canada is not encouraging, given the 51st state threats. England, again, not at all welcoming. Iceland is suffering badly with a whole bunch of things.
I dont know about Australia or New Zealand.
The USA is also very big. Lot of places to hide.
I’ve in Europe for 7 years now, not to escape any particular political ideology back home but suffice it to say that I was motivated. If you’re motivated and willing to endure some discomfort there are multiple options for European immigration available to you.
Making any statement about “Europe” is painting with a broad brush, that said I am not particularly bullish on Europe now, for various reasons. But I can’t think of any European country that has the same problems as the US; they all have their own problems, as well as just different ways of doing things.
I’ve never lived in an agrarian commune but I can say with certainty that it would be my absolute last choice.
I find this kind of opinion hard to understand. The difference is incredibly high contrast to me.
The UK is comparable. In that its largely been white anted by Brexit. But you still would have quite a job introducing poms to daily gun violence statistics.
Are there any other modern western nations where you get locked up for sharing memes about the government at a border crossing?
UK again I guess, did destroy its trade relationships with the whole planet and sent itself back to the blitz without a german bomber in sight.
But most of the rest of the world seem stable in comparison.
It is clear that something is going on and it isn’t just an American thing. I can’t really tell you what that is though.
But sure, Germany is exactly the same as the US.
https://www.aspi.org.au/report/aspis-two-decade-critical-tec...
> The US led in 60 of 64 technologies in the five years from 2003 to 2007, but in the most recent five years (2019–2023) is leading in seven. China led in just three of 64 technologies in 2003–2007 but is now the lead country in 57 of 64 technologies in 2019–2023, increasing its lead from our rankings last year (2018–2022), where it was leading in 52 technologies.
The flip already was happening before Trump. He absolutely accelerated anti-immigrant, anti-work visa, and other variety of other-hate. But we were losing significant ground in technology to China before this.
Basically, if you want to go into a variety of fields, you learn in China, and you work in China.
Put simply, they are making factories for quantum chip production. And Photonic chips. https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/06/13/china-ramps-up-phot...
We're basically playing with mud and sand and used to be good at metal casting. Not even good at that any more. I'm embarrassed to be an American.
Apart from the US becoming Russia 2, that seems set at this point.
The salary gap that matters is the gap between academic and industry salaries. That gap is wider in the US, especially for juniors. Because the academia is a better option relative to the alternatives in Europe than in the US, Europeans are more likely to choose it. That leads to more competition for jobs and grants. Many then find it easier to get a job in the US.
As a European mid-career academic in California, the value of money is just different here. Everyday living is very expensive, while extras such as international travel and fancy tech gadgets are cheap. Many academics find themselves in the weird financial spot, where they can easily afford the cost of living and possibly even early retirement, while having no hope of home ownership on a single academic salary. (Meanwhile, in my home country, even grad students often buy homes.)
gamma42•4mo ago