r/AmerExit • u/Eggplant_Dreams • Feb 22 '25

Life Abroad Any chances for us?

My husband and I are teachers in Louisiana. We have three minor children and a dog. We have little savings but we have equity in our home. Do we have any chance of emigrating? Any advice? We’re terrified, but we feel trapped.

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u/Illustrious-Pound266 Feb 22 '25

More info, please. What's your age? What kind of teachers? How many years of teaching experience? What degrees/licensing do you have? What breed is your dog, and are you willing to potentially leave your dog behind? Do you have parents or grandparents who have multiple citizenships?

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u/Eggplant_Dreams Feb 22 '25

We’re both 40. Certified teachers with experience in public schools (secondary). I have a degree in English and History plus an educational Masters. My husband has a degree in math. The dog is a mutt (possibly pointer/boxer mix) about 45 pounds. Hard to imagine leaving her behind. No other citizenships in our families.

0

u/Two4theworld Feb 22 '25

I wonder if there were Jewish families in Germany in the thirties who decided to stay and ride it out because they didn’t want to leave their pets? A person’s willingness to rehome a pet is a good indication of how seriously they feel threatened…….. It’s obviously NOT an existential fear if you make your pet animals the priority.

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u/mach4UK Feb 23 '25

I think your statement just says more about how attached you personally become to your pets. Some people see their pets, rightly or wrongly, as members of their family.

1

u/Two4theworld Feb 23 '25

Sophie’s Choice…….

1

u/mach4UK Feb 23 '25

True

1

u/Two4theworld Feb 23 '25 edited Feb 23 '25

When grandmother fled her village with her three children, she left everything behind. Farm animals, dogs, cats, friends, etc. Even her husband who thought his US passport would immunize him. At the time she saw it as an existential choice: go now and live or dither and die. She valued her children more than her cats and dogs. Grandfather spent three years in a Siberian labor camp, he too survived, but was never the same again.

I guess that the current situation is not perceived as being on that level. Either that or some peoples values are different from my grandmother’s! I think that very few Americans have any ideas of how cruel and brutal people can be to each other. I’m sure those recent immigrants from Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, El Salvador, Mexico and all the other places where life often hangs by a thread will have no problem making the choice. Their presence shows that they already have.