Antonio Zavarse talks luck He’s leaving his home in Shreveport, Louisiana, packing his bags before the 20-hour drive to Toronto, Canada, for his husband’s medical appointment.
The real estate investor and his partner, Taylor Stevens, are heading north for a simple knee injection. After a car accident, U.S. doctors suggested the 35-year-old Stevens either have a total joint replacement or take ongoing anti-inflammatory medication. To get the more tolerable shot, the couple must cross the border once a year.
They hope to take more drastic action soon.
They are tired of America and want a new life 5,500 miles away in Italy.
This couple are just two of many individuals luck Those we spoke to cited polarized American politics as a major factor in their decision to leave the country.
The U.S. State Department luck There are no figures given on how many Americans have emigrated to other countries.
But with the presidential election approaching, the number of families looking to relocate is likely to increase, migration experts said. luck Their phones haven’t stopped ringing since the Trump-Biden debate.
Their destinations vary, but their feelings are often the same: American politics are toxic. There’s been an assassination attempt on a former president. Rioters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of an election. For Americans, these are happening in unstable developing countries far from North America.
America has begun to feel foreign to them, so they are looking for a home elsewhere.
“When you drive an EV, people try to run you off the road.”
Real estate entrepreneurs Stevens and Zavalus know where they’ll move, but aren’t sure when.
They are considering settling in Vicenza, a city in northern Italy about an hour’s drive from Verona. Stevens has lived in the area for more than a decade, and Zavalche is of Italian descent, so the move would reunite them with “lifelong” friends.
“I felt like I was at home,” Zavarse recalls of her first visit to Italy. “Everyone looked like me, had a name like me, spoke like me, dressed like me. I was never told I was ‘other’, and here I am always the ‘other’ person.”
Both Zabarse and Stevens said they don’t feel safe in Louisiana because there has always been an undercurrent of hatred toward people who may be liberal.
He said several drivers had tried to pull their car, a Rivian R1S, off the road because it was an electric vehicle.
In the most recent incident, a truck came up a quarter mile ahead of Zavalse, moved into the inside lane and began swerving toward the Rivian in an attempt to send him into a road barrier. Zavalse was driving on a bridge over a lake at the time.
The truck then approached Zavalse and slammed on the brakes, forcing the distraught EV driver to do the same.
Zavarse believes driving an EV is increasingly being seen as a political statement, given the Biden administration’s push for renewable energy. In contrast, Donald Trump has slammed the sector, Electric cars are “madness.”
“All of this has led to people viewing EV drivers with the utmost anger,” Zabarse said.
They were also tired of living in fear of homophobic harassment, so they bought vacant land on either side of their house and created a safety zone around it.
“In Italian society, you can behave and do whatever you want, but you have to do it yourself and not impose it on others. If I say, ‘This is my husband,’ they react immediately,” Zavarse said.
Financial security is another factor.
The pair, who run real estate company Hello House, have already sold four US properties to begin investing in their Italian portfolio.
Their plan is to build a real estate inventory designed to attract families visiting the military base at nearby Caserma Ederle – clients looking for homely comforts – and English-speaking real estate agents.
He has already submitted a business plan to set up the company to the Italian Chamber of Commerce ahead of the move.
The move will likely occur between 2026 and 2027.
Safety concerns during election period
In the wake of the assassination attempt and the riots at the White House, UC Berkeley student Benjamin Fields booked a flight to Cameroon six weeks before the election.
Fields plans to stay in the African country for a total of three months during the election period due to concerns about his safety due to political unrest.
He is 26 years old. luck He added that he “never really believed” he would be in danger in the US, but “the assassination attempt… shows how divided things have become. I thought, ‘What danger would I be in if I was in the US at that time?'”
“I have a hunch that people will become violent because many feel this is a permanent turning point for the United States.”
The Oklahoma-born, New York University undergraduate student describes himself as politically “neutral” and believes living standards would be worse under either party.
So Fields, who is two years away from completing his doctorate, plans to remain in the United States to save up cash, but also plans to buy land and build a house during a trip to Cameroon in November.
“Some people will say it’s the administration, but if you look at the share of wealth held by the top 1 percent or 10 percent over time, it shows the same trend regardless of administration,” Fields said. “House prices are volatile, but they’re still rising. It’s like two heads of the same snake.”[the parties] There may be social conflict, but in the end it all comes down to money.”
The data backs up Fields’ sentiments to some extent: The share of total U.S. net worth held by the top 99th and 100th percentiles rose from 23% in 1989 to 30.4% in 2024. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank.
Field plans to work in the US for about 10 years, after which he will split his time between Cameroon, the US and Europe, where his girlfriend lives.
While being away from the US may bring nostalgia, he doesn’t see the country becoming less divided: “The way I see it right now, it’s going to take some kind of black swan event in the near future, or decades into the future, for things to change.”
“People are looking for candidates who are the right fit for them.”
Rachel Gallagher, who grew up near Seattle but has lived in the Spanish city of Seville for the past seven years, watched the news from her hometown in disbelief.
The 27-year-old, who works for Ukrainian software developer AimProSoft, plans to stay in Europe for at least another few years until she receives Spanish residency. Apart from family and friends, she has no incentive to return home.
“If one day we suddenly had a stable political system that reflected my values and women’s access to basic human rights was no longer a topic of debate every four years, that would also be a great motivator,” she said. luck.
In addition to a better social life, Gallagher added that she also has better job prospects in Spain. “I don’t think I would have had this career opportunity in the U.S.,” said Gallagher, who previously worked as a teacher. “The tech industry is so saturated right now, it’s very hard to break into. So if I hadn’t moved overseas and found Aimprosoft, it would have taken me years to break into the tech world. So it seems like Spain isn’t the best place for career opportunities.” [U.S.] That’s probably not the place to go either.”
But as an established expat, Gallagher advised Americans considering moving abroad to respect the economy of the country they’re moving to: “Think about local prices, local housing, and how that will impact you. [you’ll] What we gain by bringing in the American budget.
“People planning to move abroad should check housing prices before moving and should not pay high rents just because they can afford it. [in order] This is to avoid high prices for local residents.”
