Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

by Babs Rappleye (aka Tucker Neel)

Artillery Magazine, Sept./Oct. 2020.

Dear Babs, If Trump gets another term in office I think I will leave the US. Where’s the best place to go for an artist who wants to flee America?

—Expat Patty


Dear Expat Patty,

I remember getting a question like this back when Trump first came into office, so it seems fitting to answer it again this time around. In four years Trump and his cult have made America more racist, unequal, polluted and un-free than many thought possible. So you need to vote, volunteer, organize and do anything you can to kick the orange dictator and his minions out of Washington forever.

But let’s say you do leave America. There are a few countries like Israel, Ireland and Italy with generous citizenship by descent laws, so perhaps it might be time to inspect your family tree. But this process can take some time depending on the country’s bureaucracy.

If you’re wealthy you can buy a passport through “citizenship by investment.” For $250K you can call Turkey, Dominica, Cambodia or many other countries home; but most have their own issues with corruption and repression. You really should use your money to fight here in America—Lord knows we will need all the help we can get.

But if you must get away, there are many countries with work visa programs favorable to artists. If you can brand yourself as an “entrepreneur,” the Netherlands will take you. New Zealand, Australia and Ireland specifically look for young applicants. Spain and Germany are traditionally generous with artist visas. Ecuador, Cambodia and our neighbors Canada and Mexico are also an option. While these visas aren’t the same thing as citizenship, they will let you ride out the next four years or so.

Even if you do leave, you still won’t be able to escape entirely. If these fascists keep power they’ll continue their destruction and everything from climate change to the risk of nuclear war will get much, much worse. And if it does, America will need artists more than ever to shed light on how bad things really are and illuminate how something different, something better is possible.