Steven Chung (Tax Attorney, Los Angeles), You May Be Upset With The Election Result, But Leaving The Country Is A Complicated Process That Might Not Be Worth It:

Now that Donald Trump has been elected for his second and final term as president, some people are thinking about leaving the country during his imperial reign. Most people who are simply unhappy with the election results will probably change their minds after a day or two. …

While many people are upset with the election results and want to leave the country out of frustration or fear, it is only feasible for a small number to do so. 

Neil Buchanan (Visiting Professor, Toronto), The Daunting Realities of Trying to Leave the Country:

After Tuesday’s election results, many stunned Americans started to talk about leaving the United States, hoping to find a new home that is not on the fast track toward becoming a one-party dictatorship. Some people have asked me about this possibility, because I did that very thing more than a year ago. I am certainly glad that I did, and I understand perhaps better than anyone the feelings that many people are having right now. The realities of expatriating, however, are not what people might hope.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, especially given how terrible the news has already been this week, but the fact is that “bugging out” is a realistic option only for a tiny number of people (if that). For those who can do so, the process is complicated and expensive (and time consuming), and the more obvious potential destinations are frankly not as “safe” as we tend to think they are. There is, in short, no quick and easy way out.

Yes, people move to new countries every day and have done so for centuries. The reality, however, is that moving more than very, very small numbers of people across national borders has always been nearly impossible, and it has only become more challenging in recent years. Understanding why requires some familiarity with the personal and political aspects of leaving one’s country. …

In the hours since Trump’s win was announced, commentators in the U.S. have talked about “resisting,” and for good reason. Some people would never consider leaving, because they will not give up on their country. Even among the others who have lost hope, however, only a tiny few will be able to navigate a move abroad, so there truly is no alternative to staying and trying to minimize the damage, hoping and working toward a better day.

Neil Buchanan (Visiting Professor, Toronto), More Realism About Leaving the United States (or Any Country): Part Two in a Series:

As Americans continue mentally and emotionally processing what it will mean for Donald Trump to return to the Oval Office, there is an understandably large number of people who are wondering whether this is finally the time to grab their “go bags” and make a run for the border.

Last week, I published “The Daunting Realities of Trying to Leave the Country” here on Verdict, explaining some of the most formidable barriers facing those who would like to become expatriates. I also noted some ominous political trends in other countries that might make those possible destinations no better places to live than the United States.

There is clearly more to be said about these issues, so today’s column will pick up where I left off last week, expanding on some of my points there and explaining several additional important systemic and situation-specific reasons why very, very few people will ultimately be able to bug out.

Of course, even though last week’s election results were shocking, many of the people currently talking about exiting the country will end up taking a deep breath and abandoning the idea of leaving. The question is whether large numbers of those who nonetheless would like to depart will be able to successfully emigrate. That issue can best be understood by considering more generally why large-scale movements of people across borders are necessarily so very rare.

As I noted in last week’s column, I am in a unique position to write about these issues, because I did in fact leave the U.S. more than a year ago on what could very well be a permanent basis. I have engaged in quite a bit of research on my own, and I have also hired immigration lawyers in the U.S. and three other countries as I have considered my own future path.

I have shared some of what I have done and learned in that process, and I will reveal more tidbits as appropriate to tell the story that I want to tell in this and future columns. Even so, I am not an immigration lawyer. In my writing on Verdict and elsewhere, it is not typically necessary to include the “This is not legal advice” disclaimer, but I hereby emphatically offer it here: This is not legal advice. Although my bottom line is that expatriation will not be a realistic option for any but a very small number of people, some amount of cross-border migration does happen all the time and might be both possible and wise for some worried Americans. Nothing I write here is meant to dissuade anyone from exploring available options for themselves.

Because most of the readers of this column will not end up leaving their countries, this column provides an analysis of migration from a policy and logistical/legal perspective. It turns out that the realities of migration will inevitably keep most people in their current locations, which means that almost everyone who is horrified by the U.S. election results will be dealing with the new reality without having left the country.

How should people think about what that reality might become? More importantly, what are the possibilities for a better future, sooner or later, and how might people take action now to bend the arc of history back in a more hopeful direction? Later this week, I will publish a third entry in this series, offering a few preliminary thoughts along those lines. Although my “brand” as a commentator is decidedly pessimistic—based, I insist, not on a negative worldview but on clear-eyed realism—even I can see how things might get back on track at some point.

For now, however, I will return to the reasons why the very, very large majority of human beings will not be able to leave their countries, even if they want to do so. …

In Part Three of this series, I will offer some thoughts that I hope might be helpful to those who do end up staying, even though there is no sugarcoating the current situation. Many countries have gone through truly bleak periods, and the U.S. is now set to join that tragic list. But it will be useful to think about how the tide might turn. More to come.

Washington Post, Dreaming of a Move Abroad? What It Takes to Immigrate to 5 Countries.:

If you’re serious about leaving the United States, you had better do your homework.

Shortly after Donald Trump’s election, searches for “move abroad” began surging in the United States. While many Americans looked for information about how to move to Canada, others also searched further afield, Googling destinations including the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.

Jen Barnett, who runs Expatsi, a company that helps Americans seeking to move abroad, said her site saw a month’s worth of traffic in just a few hours after the presidential race was called and made within days what would ordinarily be “a couple months’ worth of sales.” …

Going full expat can be complicated and expensive, and many countries face their own challenges when it comes to politics, the economy — or even the weather. (This is one reason many Americans opt for an easier, lower-risk option: seeking digital nomad visas offered by dozens of countries to live in a foreign country temporarily while working remotely.)

Here are some things to consider if you’re thinking about moving to some popularly searched-for destinations.

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• In Which I Become Florida Man, Emeritus! (Aug. 2, 2023)
• Fighting the Good Fight versus Knowing When to Move On (Part One of a Series) (Aug. 17, 2023)
• Why Stay to Fight a Losing Battle? (Part Two of a Series) (Aug. 31, 2023)
• New York Times, Why Tax Prof Neil Buchanan And Other Liberal Tenured Professors Are Leaving Florida's Public Universities (Dec. 4, 2023)

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