These American Voters Are Leaving the Country Because of U.S. Politics

Amid an election cycle fueled by existential rhetoric, some Americans are thinking about walking away.

Not from politics. From the entire country.

This summer, nearly 2,000 readers responded to a New York Times survey asking if they would leave the United States should their favored candidate lose the presidential election in November. Another 3,000 people responded to similar questions asked over social media. Some respondents had already moved. Others were taking the steps — looking for jobs overseas, or seeking ways to qualify for residency.

Their reasons were varied, though the candidates at the top of the ballot figured prominently. Many said they feared the country might spiral into authoritarianism should Donald Trump win a second term. Others were deeply concerned about how a Kamala Harris administration would handle the war in Gaza and the economy. There was more general angst — about gun violence, political vitriol, abortion restrictions, rising antisemitism, racism and L.G.B.T.Q. discrimination.

Overwhelmingly, respondents were in their prime working years — not students, retirees or wealthy travelers — and straddled the political spectrum. While “I’m moving to Canada!” is often a liberal refrain, such declarations have also spread among conservative voters.

“There is a general sense that the U.S. is in decline and it doesn’t matter who wins this next election,” said Megan A. Carney, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona.

Here is a snapshot of the Americans who already packed their bags (or are prepared to do so).

Several readers expressed grave concerns about the future of American democracy and the threat of civil unrest in the aftermath of the election. One couple said they’ve packed a “go bag” in the event that violence erupts. In responses to The Times’s callout, the word “authoritarian” was used 49 times; “dictator” 42 times; “fascist” or “Fascism” 101 times.

Virginia Beach, Va. Paris

• How they're doing it Robert Horton, 79, qualified for a long-stay visa in France.
• Moving December 2024
• Voter affiliation Republican

Robert Horton, a real estate developer, began visiting Paris a decade ago and soon met Americans who’d left the country because of politics. “They’re just sad for the condition our country is in, where it’s gone,” he said. “And a lot of them don’t have hope that it can ever come back.” By the end of this year, Mr. Horton will join them for good, trading his Virginia Beach rental for one in central Paris, a city he fell in love with for its laid back way of life, “even though it’s a socialist country.”

The United States has “gone so far liberal that we’ve lost respect for our country, for our people, for ourselves, our standards,” Mr. Horton said.

“It’s a terrible country now, compared to what it used to be.”

A Trump supporter, he expects Ms. Harris to win in November, an outcome that he finds frightening, as he worries that she would poorly handle the economy, the U.S. border and foreign policy. “This country will become more woke, more radical, extreme radical left,” he said. “We will have totally lost all our decency if she gets in.”

Seattle London

• How they're doing it Rebecca Houghton, 48, has dual citizenship in Britain.
• Moving February 2025
• Voter affiliation unaffiliated

In the weeks after the 2020 election, Rebecca Houghton had a worrying conversation with a Croatian friend who had been a war refugee in the 1990s and was concerned about the potential rise of authoritarianism in the United States. “She said, ‘I’ve seen this before: People tell you everything is going to be fine, and in America it won’t happen,’” but it can, recalled Ms. Houghton, who works in tech.

So Ms. Houghton, a naturalized U.S. citizen, devised an escape hatch back to her native England, which she left two decades ago. In 2022, she and her husband took out a mortgage on their Seattle condo and bought an apartment in East London. She also opened a foreign bank account to keep cash overseas. “We have to have a plan B,” she said.

San Francisco Bay Area Oulu, Finland

• How they did it Rosanna Guadagno, 53, received a specialist visa for highly skilled workers.
• Moved August 2022
• Voter affiliation Democrat

Rosanna Guadagno, an associate professor of persuasive information systems at the University of Oulu, studies how social media influences the way we think. As she watched disinformation flood the internet in the run-up to the 2016 election, she grew increasingly alarmed, especially when a close relative began sending her articles promoting online conspiracy theories. “It became clear to me that we were on a very bad track,” she said. In 2021, she started applying for jobs in Europe, eventually landing one in Oulu, Finland, where she moved with her family.

“Politics has polarized people — ‘you’re either with us or you’re against us,’” Dr. Guadagno said of the U.S. It’s “a mentality that doesn’t exist, at least not in Finland.”

Sonoma, Calif. Panama or Europe

• How they're doing it Greg Jenkins, 61, is applying for Irish citizenship through descent.
• Moving 2025
• Voter affiliation unaffiliated, previously Republican

Greg Jenkins has long supported Republican ideals, first as a volunteer on George H.W. Bush’s 1992 presidential campaign and later as a deputy assistant in the George W. Bush White House. During Mr. Trump’s first term, Mr. Jenkins was hopeful that the president would surround himself “with people that did know what they were doing and would at least restrain his worst impulses.”

“I’m even more afraid for the country this time around,” he said.

He is now is applying for Irish citizenship by tracing his roots back to his grandmother. Mr. Trump “could absolutely, easily undermine the entire notion of the country,” he said. “Most people don’t seem to grasp just how fragile democracy is, and it won’t take much to topple it.”

Some respondents to the callout were fed up with leadership that feels out of touch with their needs, and were tired of the vitriol that has pervaded U.S. elections. Israel or the war in Gaza were mentioned 43 times. The word “divided” was used 32 times, “exhausted” 11 times, “toxic” 43 times, and “stressed” 27 times.

Mesa, Ariz. Lisbon, Portugal

• How they did it Daniel Carrieres, 38, qualified for temporary residency after arriving on a passive income visa.
• Moved July 2023
• Voter affiliation Democrat, previously Republican and Independent

Daniel Carrieres, who previously worked in finance, spent most of the 2020 election season upset, anxious and burned out. So this time around, he decided to leave before the season got underway: He and his wife rented out their four-bedroom house in Mesa, Ariz., and arrived in Lisbon in July 2023, renting an apartment half the size.

The distance “has helped immensely so far this election cycle — I was definitely not in a great place at this point of the 2020,” he said. In Portugal, where he and his wife intend to stay indefinitely, “you’re not bombarded with it as much.”

Seattle Schaffhausen, Switzerland

• How they did it Ali Atri, 35, qualified for a spousal residency permit.
• Moved August 2024
• Voter affiliation unaffiliated, identifies as a Democrat

Ali Atri, who is Muslim and of Libyan descent, resents that his tax dollars are funding Israel’s war in Gaza, which he sees as a genocide against Palestinians. “The U.S. is complicit,” said Mr. Atri, who previously owned a Seattle spa. So when his wife’s employer offered her a position in Switzerland, the couple jumped at the opportunity, listing their three-bedroom house in Seattle for rent. They left in August.

“A lot of the move has to do with just my mental health,” Mr. Atri said. “The stress of living somewhere that supports the kind of military campaign being waged in Gaza is exhausting.”

Safety was front of mind for many respondents, particularly from gun violence — the word “gun” was mentioned in 137 responses. But readers also worried that the tenor of public discourse could escalate, using the word “terrified,” “scared,” “frightened” or “frightening” in 119 responses.

Southeastern Wisconsin Quintana Roo, Mexico

• How they did it Sarah Malone, 44, received a temporary resident visa that can eventually be converted to a permanent one.
• Moved July 2024
• Voter affiliation Independent

In the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Sarah Malone, who is Jewish, was horrified by what she saw as rising antisemitism in the United States, online and at demonstrations. She told her eldest daughter, a high school senior at the time, to stop wearing her Star of David necklace. By spring, her daughter no longer wanted to go to college in the United States, given the scale of campus protests. “The Democrats are the reason why my child cannot go to school,” she said.

In April, the family bought a condo in Mexico and by summer, Ms. Malone had moved there with her three daughters, finding a large community of Jewish immigrants. The family’s Wisconsin home will be listed for sale soon, and Ms. Malone’s husband will work remotely from Mexico. “I’m just trying to put America behind me,” she said. “It just breaks my heart, this whole thing.”

Ms. Malone, a Bernie Sanders supporter who said she voted for Jill Stein in 2016 and Jo Jorgensen in 2020, is undecided for this election. She sees Mr. Trump as a threat to women, and Democrats as a threat to Jews, saying, “If the Democrats win, I’m definitely never coming back.”

Boston Berlin or Paris

• How they're doing it Steven Seltzer, 73, qualified for citizenship by descent in Germany.
• Moving 2025
• Voter affiliation Independent

Over the past decade, Steven Seltzer has grown increasingly concerned about a rise in antisemitism in the United States, particularly from the far right. “My family and I said, ‘We’re going to be election activists, and what the heck are we going to do if things go badly?’” he said, referring to a Trump victory. “You don’t have a lot of time once things start to go south.” He recently obtained German citizenship for himself and his two grown sons because his mother, who was Jewish, fled Nazi Germany at 13, and the country now offers citizenship to descendants of those who were denied theirs during the Holocaust.

“The irony is unbelievable,” he said. “How could the son of a Holocaust survivor believe that Germany was a safer place to be Jewish than the U.S.? It’s history turned on its head.”

San Francisco Bay Area Toronto

• How they did it Paul Choi, 45, qualified for a work permit for entrepreneurs, and eventually permanent residency.
• Moved July 2021
• Voter affiliation Democrat

In 2015, Mr. Choi, who is of Korean descent and works in health care technology, set off on a motorcycle ride through Canada and noticed that people seemed happier than in the United States. “Why? Why are they happier?” he asked. Then, the pandemic hit and Mr. Choi found himself in “hostile, aggressive situations where me as an Asian person wearing a mask” felt threatening, he said.

“The hostility was very palpable and a little scary.”

In 2021, he moved to Toronto, becoming a permanent resident earlier this year. But he misses California. “In a lot of ways, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he said.

In 125 responses, readers mentioned concerns for themselves or a family member in the L.G.B.T.Q. community. Among them, 20 people who were transgender or had transgender family members expressed fears about safety. One was a 46-year-old father of a 9-year-old transgender son in St. Paul, Minn., who has made arrangements with his employer to be transferred abroad should Mr. Trump prevail. “I’d like to stay here and fight for what our values are and the values of the country,” said Michael, who asked to use only his first name to protect his son’s privacy. “But I have to put the health of my son first.”

Provo, Utah Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

• How they did it Freya Wilson, 25, received a two-year work visa through her Vietnamese employer.
• Moved January 2024
• Voter affiliation Democrat

About a year ago, Freya Wilson, a transgender woman, learned about Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a second Trump presidency, which calls for restricting medical coverage for gender affirming care, and rescinding regulations that prohibit job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. (Mr. Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025 in recent weeks). Rather than wait for the outcome of the election, Ms. Wilson and her partner, Ellecyn Brimley, decided to move to Vietnam and teach English for at least two years.

“If we feel like we’re going to need to leave America. We don’t ever want to feel like it’s too late,” she said.

“I love America, I love road trips, I love barbecue. But it feels like there are parts of America that don’t want me.”

Miami Paris

• How they did it Beco Lichtman, 50, qualified for a long-stay visa for consultants and self-employed workers.
• Moved October 2015
• Voter affiliation Democrat

Beco Lichtman, a corporate travel consultant, was distressed by how his neighbors, acquaintances and colleagues responded to Mr. Trump’s first candidacy for president in 2015. “As a person who is Black, gay and Jewish, I found it frightening,” he said. “These are not people who would necessarily stand up for people who look like me or worship like me. I remember feeling scared.”

By October 2015, he and his husband had moved to Paris after working with a lawyer in France to help them qualify for a visa. The couple briefly considered returning to the United States after the 2020 election. But now, with Mr. Trump still in the arena, “I think we’re done.”

Access to health care was mentioned in 93 responses. “Abortion” or “Roe v. Wade” was mentioned by 49 responders. Some obstetricians worried they wouldn’t be able to practice medicine should a national abortion ban go into effect. And people with chronic illnesses said they want to live in a country with a stable health care system.

Olympia, Wash. British Columbia, Canada

• How they did it Sara Dawn O’Dell, 42, was granted a work visa as a physician, with a path to permanent residency.
• Moved October 2023
• Voter affiliation unaffiliated

The end of Roe v. Wade jeopardized Sara Dawn O’Dell’s career in obstetrics, even in Washington, where abortion is legal. She believes that a national abortion ban “seems likely” in a Trump presidency, regardless of his inconsistent statements on the subject.

“I don’t want to go to jail or be fined for doing my job,” she said.

So she found a job as a doctor in Canada, and she and her wife, Kathryn O’Dell, sold their four-bedroom house in Olympia. In October 2023, the family moved to Langley, B.C., a city about 10 minutes north of the U.S. border. Now permanent residents, they bought a five-bedroom house in August.

Immigrating to a new country “has been a lot easier than we thought it would be,” she said. “I love my job. I’m happier professionally than I have been in a very long time.”