Don’t let Others Decide Whether You’re Leaving the US For the “Right Reason”
What matters more is what you do when you get there
Elizabeth Silleck La Rue
2/13/20261 min read
I’m rebooting this article and removing the paywall, because I’m seeing way too much judgment cast toward people fleeing the US by those who claim to have done it already, but somehow think they are entitled to gatekeep the world and diminish — even ridicule — those who don’t feel safe in the US because of the regime. Shocker: the people ridiculing and diminishing are white men. They always call themselves “expats.” And they tend to be Europhiles.
I say: nah, bro (with the hard “o”). You don’t know anything about being anyone other than you. Stick to what you know.
I don’t like busy cities much anymore.
They’re too much for my senses. Too loud. Too crowded. Too many smells. Too much motion.
They make me feel both claustrophobic and unmoored. Trapped, but without a floor under my feet. Disconcerted.
Glimpses of excitement and intrigue make certain visits worth it, but I am left either wired or drained. Not even-keeled, which is how I prefer to feel now.
This wasn’t always the case — in my 20s and early 30s I could not get enough of NYC. A short ride by train or car put me in any of the boroughs that I wanted to be in (sorry-not-sorry, Staten Island). Southern Westchester County had its own allure, too — Yonkers, New Rochelle, and White Plains had their own little “scenes” and downtown areas to frequent. I lived for the stimulation, the interaction. Extroversion came naturally and I sought out as many opportunities to practice it as possible.
It’s just not my jam anymore. People evolve.
