Liberal Americans who fled to Europe after President Donald Trump‘s re-election shared how the grass is not always greener on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Wired Magazine released an article Thursday headlined “They Fled Trump’s America. Now They Regret It,” speaking directly to those who sought “political refuge in the wake of Trump’s second term,” but have since voiced frustration with Europe’s lower quality of life, the rise of right-wing politics in those countries, and a newfound appreciation for the cultural norms and niceties of American life.
One account, from a woman nicknamed “Annie,” said she was sold the idea of an idyllic U.K. life on social media, “But the reality of life in the U.K. was dramatically different to what she’d imagined.”
“There are huge misconceptions about access to quality healthcare, standard of living… the quality of life is significantly lower than in the U.S.,” she told the magazine, citing challenges ranging from their healthcare system to a significantly lower disposable income. “Things in the U.K. that are considered luxury items are very common” in America, like a dishwasher and dryer, she told Wired.
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Annie told the outlet that despite believing she’d have free healthcare under the NHS, she now pays “huge amounts of taxes and an immigration surcharge” to access the national healthcare services.
“So no, the health care is not free here,” she said.
Annie was also surprised by the amount of anti-American hostility she experienced and cultural differences in the workplace.
“I found it particularly surprising how people feel so comfortable mocking my accent and culture, even in a workplace environment,” she said. “The U.K. is very much a place of ‘it is what it is,’ but as Americans we are taught to always improve and strive for better things.”
“I thought that ‘British politeness’ existed as it does in movies,” Annie added, “but unfortunately, the reality is that present-day British culture is very individualistic, as well as without the sense of charity and helpfulness that many parts of American culture value.”
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Sarah Wood González, a journalist and consultant, made similar comments about learning to appreciate the American mindset and work culture once she was in a different environment.
“Something I had taken for granted is the American outgoingness and default to action, where the question is ‘how can we collaborate?’” she said. “Generally speaking, I also found that the American work style, for better or for worse, moves much faster and can get to a yes or no in less time.”
“Finding work was so hard, and the endless bureaucracy had grown worse since I’d left,” Josh, who moved to Germany, told Wired. “I missed the friendlier people, freedom of speech, and ease of daily life” in the United States, he said. He added of German daily life, “If you aren’t born and raised there, and don’t look German, you’ll never be fully accepted.”
Josh told the magazine he moved back to the U.S. recently and is much happier. He admitted he may have “overreacted” by fleeing to Europe.
Many Americans who shared their regrets on social media were berated by fellow liberals for wanting to move back to “evil” America, the article also said.
“These posts are usually met with a huge amount of backlash. Commenters are quick to imply that the poster must be right-wing and privileged, in for a nasty shock if they did return home,” Wired Magazine summarized. “Ironically, many times, they parrot the right-wing notion that they probably aren’t trying hard enough to assimilate into their new country. When one person recently said they badly missed their community of friends in a ‘blue city in a blue state’ and were considering moving back, the majority of top comments agreed the user was ‘insane.'”
Daniel Di Martino, a Manhattan Institute fellow and economist who was born in Venezuela, spoke to Fox News Digital about how some misguided Americans tend to have unrealistic notions about European life.
“Things aren’t always great in Europe, but Europe is not one thing. Living in Greece, making the average salary of a Greek person, would be considered near poverty level in America. Living in Denmark, like an average Dane, is definitely fine, but they still earn much less than the average American,” he said. “Some aspects of quality of life in European countries are definitely better: Lower crime, better food. But on the basic reality of how much someone earns, Americans would be worse off moving to Europe.”
He concluded, “The reason for this is simple: It is very hard to fire workers, so getting a job in the first place is difficult. And in most European countries other than Switzerland and the Baltics, taxes are very high for low and middle-income workers to pay for so-called universal healthcare and pensions for a larger elderly population.”
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Theo Wold, a former White House deputy assistant for domestic policy in Trump’s first term, also spoke about how American liberals fail to understand that the very European socialism they romanticize would undo the qualities that make America great.
“American liberals want to import European socialist ideas and wave after wave of third world immigrants into the U.S., but it turns out that in real life, socialism and mass immigration produce countries that are poorer, less productive, and less enjoyable to call home,” he said. “American liberals who moved to Europe are experiencing that firsthand. Every American voter who thinks they want single-payer healthcare should have to spend a few months on an NHS waitlist or look for housing in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin: the European malaise is a real wake-up call.”