I was born and mostly raised in the US. That being said, I now live in Europe, I proposed to a French woman in Portugal and married her in Tower Bridge in London, our daughter was recently born in Amsterdam, my father lives in Germany, my mother and one sister in the US, a sister and two brothers in the UK, one of my best friends is a Nigerian living in Sweden and my immediate work colleagues are British, Dutch and Icelandic. If I thus seem to value humanity in general rather than the US in particular, I can only hope you'll understand that my viewpoint is a touch atypical.
I've lived most of my life in the US and could never understand people who say "America, love it or leave it". It is, clearly, one of the most unamerican things you can say since what they're really saying is "you may not disagree; you must love America the same way I do". Of course, most people who would say such a thing would struggle to grasp the irony.
Now when I lived in the US, I was very politically active. I helped build the Portland Memorial Peace Park, I legally officiated at 17 gay weddings in Portland, Oregon (back when it was briefly allowed in 20004), I vote (still), I have marched, attended meetings, and frankly, got burned out (I don't list those activities to brag, but to forestall the constant "you were too lazy to try and change things" accusations that I get). Aside from a political awakening in the 60s, Americans just don't seem inclined to fix things. So I left. You can, too.
There's nothing wrong with deciding to up and go. Whether it's because you're tired of the idiocy of US politics and yearn for a new type of idiocy (which I guarantee you can get in big bucketsful over here), or just because you want have a grand adventure (ditto), there's a huge world out there and it's waiting for you. In fact, it's not just you. Back in 2007, Barron's had an article by Bob Adams where he hired Zogby International to survey American's attitudes towards relocating overseas. The results shocked me:
- 1.6 million U.S. households have already made the decision to relocate. That figure has remained stable over the year and a half during which seven surveys were conducted.
- Another 1.8 million households are seriously considering relocation and are likely to do it.
- 7.7 million households are "somewhat seriously" considering relocation and "may" do it.
- Nearly 3 million households are seriously considering the purchase of a vacation home or other property outside the U.S., and another 10 million are "somewhat" seriously considering it.
In short, upwards of 20% of US households (not individuals) are considering full-time or part-time living in another country. While I found this number high, I also know that while we don't have a clear census, estimates of expatriate Americans range between 2 to 6 million, or around 1 to 2% of the population. Thus, maybe 20% isn't entirely out of the ballpark. I know many more would love to leave, so I decided to help.
Assuming you want to live and work in another country, you quickly find that your options are very limited. Your maternal grandmother's British, so you've heard you can move to the UK, but it turns out that the ancestral visa only applies to Commonwealth citizens. You might marry your way across, but you quickly find that your potential partners want to move to the US rather than take you home to their country. And you may be the best pizza delivery guy in New York, but it turns out that this skill isn't on the Australian shortage occupation list. In short, it seems there's no way out.
Fortunately, that's not true. I've lived in four countries and have many friends and acquaintances who've done similar things, so I decided to tell people how they can do it too. Are you a skilled worker? I explain how to get a work permit. Are you an unskilled worker? Maybe you can teach English in a foreign country. Do you work remotely and have a regular income not dependent on your location? Uruguay only requires $700 a month income to get a residence permit.
There are, in short, many, many ways of moving abroad on either a permanent or temporary basis. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor or whether or not you have a college degree. These things alter your opportunities; they don't eliminate them. In fact, it's been my experience that the biggest obstacle to you moving abroad is you. Many people who say they want to live in another country will say "no" if they're given the chance. Once you understand why and can overcome that, you can get on your way of living where you will.
Note that while my blog has ads, it's not really commercial (at the current revenue stream I can retire in a few thousand years). I do this as a labor of love because I've come to believe that the best way to help people is to open the world's borders. Do I think it will work? Not really. However, my political participation in the US is now heavily curtailed by the fact that I no longer live there. It won't be any better than my almost useless efforts in the US (having the weddings I officiated struck down in the courts by bigots really hurt), but at least I can help individual people realize their dreams.
If you have any questions you'd like to ask about this, fire away either here or on the blog. Also, if you have any particular areas you would like me to research and write about, let me know (caveat: my two-month old daughter and my wife have a prior claim on my time, so I'm sometimes slow to respond).