"America does not deserve me."

October 30, 2023 9:41 AM

Why so many Black Americans are moving abroad. (slLATimes)
posted by Kitteh (27 comments total)

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posted by mcstayinskool at 9:44 AM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

This article is odd. There are lots and lots of personal anecdotes but:

There are no official statistics on how many have left the country. But academics say it may be one of the most significant emigrations of African Americans since the first half of last century, when many Black artists decamped to Europe.

It seems pretty fundamental to an article about an alleged recent increase in Black emigration from the US to establish that there is, in fact, such an increase. "There are no stats but some academics say" is pretty weak.
posted by star gentle uterus at 10:09 AM on October 30, 2023 [48 favorites]

That was interesting... a lot of the people interviewed talked about having either remote work, or a job helping other Black Americans emigrate, so obviously it's not for every Black American who wants to leave the country. But there's a kind of reverse brain drain going on here, that Ghana's tourism minister (for example) is aware of when he says that "Africa is waiting."
posted by subdee at 10:09 AM on October 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

A lot of the countries mentioned in the article will be hit worse by global warming, probably, than the continental US. But that also means the rents there will continue to be cheaper and if the emigres are finding a stronger social network abroad they are probably better off even so.

Passport privilege is real, also accent privilege, lots of people can understand an American accent where they wouldn't understand another regional English accent. Being from another country often makes you automatically a bit more interesting, especially if it's a country everyone 'knows' from Hollywood, etc like the US.
posted by subdee at 10:14 AM on October 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

I posted it because I found it fascinating. There are countless narratives of white Americans moving or working remotely overseas, but I enjoyed reading about Black people finding community and change outside of a country that works daily to make their lives worse.
posted by Kitteh at 10:20 AM on October 30, 2023 [31 favorites]

That Americans are going to Europe in greater numbers is supported by statistics. Its interesting to read about the experiences of Black Americans who are surely part of that wave.
posted by vacapinta at 11:02 AM on October 30, 2023 [7 favorites]

I love the lead picture! It certainly sets the tone.

I would've been interested to read more information about the logistics, though. Contrary to popular belief, Americans generally can't just plop down wherever they feel like: is everyone on a work visa? How does that work for national health systems? What about the kids mentioned, how do they go to school? White Americans who try to pull this off are usually a lot more wealthy than these people seem to be, so it'd be fascinating to hear how they make it work.
posted by praemunire at 11:28 AM on October 30, 2023 [7 favorites]

Costa Rica has a number of affordable "Golden Visas" requiring a modest investment: https://nomadcapitalist.com/global-citizen/costa-rica-residence/ which give residency and a path to work. They've also been active in courting digital nomads; I suspect they turn a blind eye to that form of work. Most of the people in the article seem to be holding pretty close to that model, but even so you can have a work permit in a pretty short period of time.
posted by scolbath at 11:38 AM on October 30, 2023 [3 favorites]

How does that work for national health systems?

You'd be shocked how not-evil other countries health care systems are. Also they are almost universally disinterested in trying to process any American travel insurance you may have because it is just too painful for them to do by themselves or even to provide you with the forms/proof you would require.
posted by srboisvert at 12:41 PM on October 30, 2023 [11 favorites]

srboisvert, that was my experience with office visits or outpatient services, where the office sheepishly admitted that even the forms for out-of-pocket payment (never mind foreign insurance) were more hassle than they were worth, and the only payment I made was a few euro for my prescription. That's not going to be the case for procedures or in-patient treatments, I reckon.
posted by 1adam12 at 1:37 PM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

If you must pay out-of-pocket for medical care, then the total cost outside the US usually winds up less than the co-pay inside the US. Affordable universities provide another reason for leaving the US.

Africa, Caribbean nations, etc face trouble with climate change, but so do Florida, Texas, etc. Average Florida home insurance reached $6000 per year recently.

It's always possible climate supercharged weather screws you over anywhere, but we doomers think your priorities should be social community, aka caring not adversarial, as well as communal resilience, aka depends less upon trade, aka you & your neighbors grow more of your own food and produce more of your stuff.

Costa Rica does not sound crazy for climate, probably way easier for a community to be resilient there. Also, much closer than Europe if you've family in the US.

Mexico City does not sound resilient, but if you want to live in a big city then you'll make trade offs. Mexico has some extremely dangerous cities, but Mexico City looks safer than many many US cities. And Mexico City should look really good once you add in shooting by cops and control for race.

African Americans might face more hosing and employment discrimination in Europe than the US, but they'll avoid being murdered by cops here.
posted by jeffburdges at 2:25 PM on October 30, 2023 [3 favorites]

You'd be shocked how not-evil other countries health care systems are.

Well, I once saw a documentary that involved, among other things, an NHS employee coming into the hospital room of an African woman who had unexpectedly gone into labor while transiting Heathrow to another country, lost a couple of her babies in labor, and still had a couple (?) fighting for life in the NICU, to inquire about how she was planning to get her bills paid. Many countries do not have infinite enthusiasm for paying the medical bills of non-citizens.

Anyway, I'm sure they've worked something out, I'd just be very curious to hear how they handle it in the various countries.
posted by praemunire at 5:55 PM on October 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Well that comment knocked the wind out of my sails, praemunire.

I was gonna say that I've had multiple minor injuries while a US citizen in Europe. Indeed, the hospitals rolled their eyes at the paperwork for my insurance and insisted in being paid directly. Which each time was less than a hundred bucks -- less than my copay would have been in the US.
posted by nixxon at 6:27 PM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

I’ve also had positive experiences accessing medical care in Europe for minor things. But I’m white, was there for academic conferences in all such cases so even if I didn’t have much in my actual bank account would have read as middle to upper middle class for such purposes, and had passport privilege. I can well believe that those circumstances were all highly relevant to why I had the easy, positive experiences that I had.
posted by eviemath at 6:37 PM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

*That Americans are going to Europe in greater numbers is supported by statistics. Its interesting to read about the experiences of Black Americans who are surely part of that wave.*

Not to denigrate the anyone's experience, but those statistics show an increase of a few tens of thousands in the last *decade*. Considering how many Americans there *are*, that doesn't seem out of line with population growth and ignoring the new WFH options that didn't exist in 2013. "Lies, damn lies and statistics" and all that.

*Contrary to popular belief, Americans generally can't just plop down wherever they feel like: is everyone on a work visa? *

Indeed. I came very close to moving to Dublin (on my employers dime and paperwork), until my wife and I figured out the bureaucracy for *her* to get a work visa.
posted by kjs3 at 6:48 PM on October 30, 2023 [6 favorites]

I don't have statistics, but Jerome Ringo is once such person I feel embodies the international movement for clean energy, and away from fossil fuels, and the centrality of Black americans to that struggle, but also the necessity of their out migration. I follow the environment, professionally, so i'm sure there are other examples.

Ringo was born in Lake Charles, and grew to be a union leader in a petrochemical plant. From that experience, he became an environmentalist, then a conservation leader, vice president of National Wildlife Federation. For years now he has worked as an engineer for clean energy in Ghana.

Apparently Bill McKibben has just discovered that Lake Charles exists, and the centrality of emissions coming from Black and Indigenous areas in Texas and Louisiana to any climate future, for the US or whatever. I will take it, but I mean, the white-led climate movement seems always to be about 20 to 30 years behind the Black-led environmental justice movement in the United States. To me it's not an accident that a leader like Ringo bounced from Lake Charles, up to DC, and then out to West Africa years ago.

Out of pure boredom if not of frustration.
posted by eustatic at 7:07 PM on October 30, 2023 [9 favorites]

A former co-worker of mine now runs what she claims is the first soul food restaurant in Mexico City. She seems far happier now than she ever did living in Oregon.
posted by Just the one swan, actually at 7:33 PM on October 30, 2023 [7 favorites]

Well that comment knocked the wind out of my sails, praemunire.

Sorry to be such a downer! It just seems like tightening eligibility for free/low-cost major medical care through national health systems is part of the general jingoistic malaise engulfing the world. (When I was in the UK, just being a student at one of the universities was sufficient to qualify for the NHS--now they demand a substantial surcharge, in advance.) If you stick around long enough, you or your family are going to need that kind of care. Still--not criticizing these folks or suggesting they haven't thought it through, genuinely just wondering how they're handling those kinds of issues.
posted by praemunire at 7:33 PM on October 30, 2023 [7 favorites]

You'd be shocked how not-evil other countries health care systems are.

As an immigrant in one of those "non-evil" countries: it's the immigrants paying for the system to be "non-evil" to citizens. A lot of us have to pay way more out of pocket and still be liable for taxes even though we get hardly any Government support back.

And good luck migrating to anywhere if you're disabled or mentally ill - you'd be considered a "drain on the healthcare system" (even though, again, you still HAVE TO PAY). I got through my multitudes of health reports in Australia by saying I was stable - and also waited until I was a PR here to get an autism diagnosis, since autistic children have been deported. Meanwhile, the US (I was there as an international student) didn't give a crap about my health status - and while finding this out was a struggle, I did end up being covered by Obamacare after my student health insurance failed me. Thank you Bay Area!
posted by creatrixtiara at 9:37 PM on October 30, 2023 [5 favorites]

Costa Rica has a number of affordable "Golden Visas" requiring a modest investment

I used to live in Costa Rica and it's hella racist. It's a nice country in other ways but I would not recommend it to anyone looking to escape the racism of the US as it would be very much out of the frying pan into the fire.
posted by Jacqueline at 11:13 PM on October 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Fun fact about healthcare for expats/temporary immigrants in Australia, you’re not eligible for Medicare, so you have to buy private insurance which does not give you credit for any insurance you’ve had previously in a foreign country. So your pre-existing conditions will not be covered, pregnancy will not be covered, until the waiting period is done (usually 12 months). Doesn’t matter that you’re only changing insurance because it’s a life event (moved countries) and even though you have been fully covered your entire working adult life, too bad. Nothing but accidents and new sickness are covered for the first year.

Fuckin a.
posted by LizBoBiz at 1:33 AM on October 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

You'd be shocked how not-evil other countries health care systems are.

In Vienna on vacation a few years ago, my father fell and was hospitalized for a couple of nights; he received wonderful medical care. He also received a bill that had to be paid on the spot (which, admittedly, I got part of back as a VAT refund).

So welcoming and not-evil, yes, but not free by any means. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:13 AM on October 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

This is a really cool story, and I am glad you posted it, Kitteh.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:14 AM on October 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

Wenestveldt, you got a VAT refund on a *service*? That's impressive! Ah well, I suppose it was easy to prove you were exporting the result!
posted by scolbath at 6:42 AM on October 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

Yeah, they went from the hospital directly to the train station, and never came back. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 12:16 PM on October 31, 2023

I retired (a bit early) a few years ago, privileged enough to be able to acquire an apartment in Japan as a second abode. I'll share, anecdotally, what I learned from this with you here. I appreciate the US in ways I'd forgotten how to in these times, after living abroad for a few months. Its truly made me more accepting of the modern rancor and attendant social shortcomings. No need for absolute refugee status, just a few months difference of perspective is for me at least, potent therapy.
Besides which, the IRS goes where ever you do, and someday I've no doubt this will include Mars (Shhh, don't spoil the surprise and tell Elon)
posted by Fupped Duck at 6:21 PM on October 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

One of my American buddies in Sweden is Black. They once told me that they preferred living in Sweden because here they were always seen first as an American and in the United States they were always seen as Black first and foremost. Thanks for the post Kitteh!
posted by Bella Donna at 3:02 AM on November 2, 2023 [2 favorites]