Trump Won. That Doesn’t Mean You Should Move to Europe

Leaving friends and family is not #resistance

I knew this was coming. When Donald Trump was announced the winner of the last presidential election, Substack was swarmed with posts like “I’m moving to Europe!” from people enraged by the outcome.

Since then, many have rage-written articles or vented on social media about fleeing America as “refugees,” or, as one viral woman put it, seeking “political asylum.” I know people who arrived in their home country as refugees. It is a painful, difficult experience.

I respect someone’s decision to move. It is a big one, but cosplaying “refugee” or “asylum seeker” from the US is ridiculous. Period. Full stop.

This post is not about Donald Trump. And for the record, if you are really mad about the election results, I respect that perspective. If you’ve read even a little of this Substack, you’ll know I’m a moderate who supports in free markets, religious liberty, individual rights, and I support policies that help all Americans achieve the American dream.

With that out of the way… this is about threatening to, or moving out of America because of the Bad Orange Man.

I read one woman’s post, a couples therapist, no less, who openly said she’s leaving her child and a relationship with a good man to escape Trump. A couples’ therapist. She later said her immigration attorney advised her to claim “political asylum.” From where is she fleeing? Brookline, Massachusetts? Park Slope, Brooklyn?

For context: in my French civics class, there was one political refugee, a journalist from Southeast Asia. Thank heavens this man made it to France where I hope he has rebuilt his life.

Another woman said she moved and misses her family dearly but just couldn’t handle Trump anymore. So… you hate Trump more than you love your family? There has never been an elected official, let alone a reality TV star, that I’ve hated more than I love my family.

The Local reported on a cadre of retirees who made their way to France. The reason? “Trump, guns, expense, crowded, morale in the U.S., ready to retire” Debra Wahl told The Local in the article, 'Trump was final straw': Why Americans are moving to France.

I get it. People in the U.S. are angry. Half the country thinks the other half is fascist. Look the other way, and the other half thinks their opponents are groomers. According to a Penn State study, “Only one in four Republican voters felt that most or almost all Democratic voters sincerely believed they were voting in the best interests of the country.” And “The 429 Democratic voters in our sample returned the favor and raised many of the same themes. Democrats inferred that Republicans must be “VERY ill-informed,”… Or that Republicans are “uneducated and misguided people guided by what the media is feeding them.”

Housing prices are through the roof , partially due to low supply (thanks, NIMBYs and burdensome regulation!), Social Security is anything but secure, and every single day, cable news and social media feed us rage bait to convince us the sky is falling.

But moving to Europe is not your solution.

First and foremost: European wages are much lower than American ones—about half, on average. And most countries here have steep progressive tax codes. My home, France, has one of the highest. That’s how we fund our “free” healthcare, “free” retirement, “free” universities, and “free” public transport. Like all free things, someone is paying for it. It’s science. It’s math. That’s how it works.

Europe, like the U.S., faces its own immigration challenges. And before you shout “racist” (if you’re still reading), individual immigrants are not the problem. But the fact is, when a country brings in a large number of low-wage earners or those unaccustomed to Western values, there will be issues.

Examples:

• In France, 2017 study showed that 31% of immigrant households use France’s public housing compared to 13% of native-born French.

• According to a 2019 study, 40% of men ages 18-30 who are in France illegally use taxpayer-funded health insurance specifically for illegal immigrants.

• 24.5% of France’s prison population is comprised of foreigners

Read this again: these individuals are not bad because of their skin color or ethnic origin. There are serious policy issues with which France, and all of Europe, must contend. As HollyMathNerd wisely put it, “You don’t fix a broken system by pretending it isn’t broken.”

As for healthcare: the “cheap” system Americans love bragging about is cheap because the French government puts price caps on many medical and dental procedures. And doctors’ salaries are significantly lower than in the U.S with French GP’s making roughly 98,000 Euro per year. So yes, it’s affordable (which is genuinely great), but there’s a cost, and the French pay it.

Europe is not a perfect playground without costs. Pretending that moving here is a noble act of “resistance” is both dishonest and disrespectful to the Europeans out here bustin’ their butts to make life work.

Now, some of you will argue that these new arrivals boost the economy by paying for goods and services, especially with the 20% VAT. But this is pennies on the euro compared to what locals pay in income taxes and social charges. And many “digital nomads” aren't contributing to the pension or healthcare systems in a meaningful way.

And last, but certainly not least, moving is not resistance. Imagine if the French Resistance during WWII said, “We’re moving to Cuba. It’s cheap! Party time!”

Real resistance isn’t running away because the Orange Man Tweeted. Resistance is building community, strengthening friendships, and making a positive difference right where you are.

Organize a used book sale. Volunteer to teach ESL. Help register voters. Donate to your local humane society. I don’t know. Do something.

And no, your life is not in danger. I’ve seen a lot of Americans, many with graduate or professional degrees, insist they’re in “imminent danger” in the U.S. If that’s truly the case, please log off Substack and contact law enforcement.

And this is really the crux of it: the people trying to claim asylum in… Paris or Rome? One commenter said it best, “You know what I think is really going on? They’re leveraging their economic advantage as Americans while trying to make themselves out to be noble and righteous for doing it.”

So no, moving to Europe is not #resistance. It’s the ultimate establishment move: exploiting the economic and cultural advantages of being American, then calling it noble.

Title: Olive Trees Artist: Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)

Title: Olive Trees

Artist: Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)

Date: 1889

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 28 5/8 x 36 1/4 in. (72.7 x 92.1 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Gift of Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, 1998, Bequest of Walter H. Annenberg, 2002

Object Number: 1998.325.1

Courtesy of Met Open Access

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