# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636 "2024-02-16T02:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 427
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8522 "2025-09-17T15:01:09Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > About half the time, I want apple pie _au naturale_. When I do want to gild the lily, my first preference is whipped cream. Ice cream is a distant second place. If you were to serve it with clotted cream or _creme fraiche_, I would enjoy it, but those are pretty rare in my part of the country, and it would not occur to me to ask for it. I voted for the dairy ones I’ve never had because I’m pretty sure i would enjoy them. But i, too, mostly want my pie by itself, maybe accompanied by a glass of milk. The only one that sounded unpleasant was caramel. Apple pie is sometimes too sweet and sticky by itself. (Not when i make it, but it’s a risk buying it.) Adding caramel would definitely push it over the edge into “not what I’m looking for” territory. I don’t think I’ve ever had it with cheese, and that’s actually a little hard for me to imagine. I think I’d need to try it to have an opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8523 "2025-09-17T15:21:42Z")
I have ridden Metros in Moscow and Tbilisi when it was the USSR. 5 kopek fare (10 cents at the official exchange rate) to go anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2025, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8524 "2025-09-17T18:31:05Z")
I had cinnamon ice cream on apple pie at a restaurant once, and it was dee-licious. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8525 "2025-09-18T00:58:32Z")
I have, for years, been planning to move out and leave the United States and live abroad. That was the case even long before Trump got reelected. The main thing holding me back is my finances - or, well, lack thereof. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8526 "2025-09-18T01:10:38Z")
I have been encouraging people to leave the USA for a while. Almost to an individual, they all say it’s impossible. I really worry that things will go south to the point that it will be too late. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8527 "2025-09-18T01:20:55Z")
Well, I mean, doing so would require giving up a lot: jobs, homes, family, friends, a fuckton of money… You’d need to convince those people that making that massive a sacrifice NOW is completely necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8528 "2025-09-18T01:25:48Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I have been encouraging people to leave the USA for a while. Almost to an individual, they all say it’s impossible. I really worry that things will go south to the point that it will be too late. We’d be gone already if our kids weren’t here. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8529 "2025-09-18T01:30:22Z")
Well, that’s why I asked about other people in my question: to see how far parents like yourself would go to steer their children in the direction they think is best. Like, have you told your kids that you fear for your life, but are staying just for them (I’m assuming they’re adults here). Have you encouraged or even pressured them to flee with you, regardless of their personal circumstances or desires? (Don’t feel like you need to answer; I’m just explaining my thinking when creating the poll. Feel free to answer through that instead if you like!) ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8530 "2025-09-18T01:31:18Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > > > I have been encouraging people to leave the USA for a while. Almost to an individual, they all say it’s impossible. I really worry that things will go south to the point that it will be too late. > > We’d be gone already if our kids weren’t here. Many of us cannot leave. What country wants a 68 year old with health problems to support indefinetley? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8531 "2025-09-18T01:42:55Z")
We don’t fear for our lives, but at this point - pretend we don’t have family - we’d now vastly prefer to live in the EU, particularly Germany, and we have both legal access and wealth (so we could buy into the German health system). Now, Germany ain’t without its problems, particularly lately, but we’ve both spent a lot of time there (my wife grew up there) and we have family there, and it would just be preferable to us in many ways. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8532 "2025-09-18T01:46:52Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > We’d be gone already if our kids weren’t here. With respect, if you emigrate and are separated from them for a few years, you might then be in a position to sponser their exit. If they are willing, which is a whole ’nother ball of wax. > [@Ellecram](#): > > Many of us cannot leave. What country wants a 68 year old with health problems to support indefinetley? I know this is true. My experience is largely talking to people nearer my age (advanced middle age, shall we say?). I might be able to sponsor my father, but not on a timescale he’ll live to see. I cannot sponsor my aunt. I am filled with such anger that their final years will be spent in this new America, but maybe that’s too dark for a lighthearted thread! ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8533 "2025-09-18T12:17:07Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > Many of us cannot leave. What country wants a 68 year old with health problems to support indefinetley Indeed. Especially if you’ve got no money. For that matter, if you haven’t got money, even if you’re younger and healthier you may not be able to emigrate. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8534 "2025-09-18T12:36:36Z")
While I wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to emigrate, the grim truth is that the problem is global. Wherever you go you’ll find the same fascists, either already in power or trying with good changes to get it. Emigrating may be a good idea anyway, there will be islands of sanity for a while yet, but I think at this point it’s clear that the only way out, if it exists at all, is through. We’ll have to fight them and defeat them worldwide and the odds do not seem to be in our favor. That said, I think there’s still some hope. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8535 "2025-09-18T12:38:16Z")
I’ve discussed it with my kids. The choices for healthy young adults (them) are different than than the choices for wealthy old people (us) so there aren’t a lot of places we could go together. Maybe Uruguay? My son has a roommate who he would have to abandon, and he’s afraid for what would happen to her. I’ve mostly been telling myself, “throughout history, lots of people have lived normal lives under evil totalitarian governments”. Right now, my husband has just started cancer treatment. Moving might literally kill him. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8536 "2025-09-18T18:22:35Z")
Yes, the USA is in the throws of being run by a Right Wing Populist. That is happening all over the world. Escaping would be difficult- many other nations might also go down that road. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8537 "2025-09-18T18:23:48Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Maybe Uruguay? It’s a good bet, but if the rest of the world falls Rivendel Uruguay will fall too, eventually. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8538 "2025-09-18T18:23:55Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > While I wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to emigrate, the grim truth is that the problem is global. > Wherever you go you’ll find the same fascists, either already in power or trying with good changes to get it. > Emigrating may be a good idea anyway, there will be islands of sanity for a while yet, but I think at this point it’s clear that the only way out, if it exists at all, is through. > We’ll have to fight them and defeat them worldwide and the odds do not seem to be in our favor. Quoted for truth. I nearly responded above that, in addition to financial, age, and health problems: where are you going to go? There are places that look safer at the moment— but a decade ago, I’d sure have thought the USA was one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8539 "2025-09-18T21:40:58Z")
The one basic activity I won’t be doing is having kids but that has everything to do with being old and not politics. I didn’t pick that because I don’t think that was what was being asked. Basically I will continue to live my life as is. If I had duel citizenship or the means to get it I might consider it but I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8540 "2025-09-18T21:43:43Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If I had duel citizenship… Good fencers make good neighbours. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2025, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/8541 "2025-09-18T23:26:48Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > While I wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to emigrate, the grim truth is that the problem is global. Good point. Plus, just about any place you care to name, things could get a lot better or a lot worse in a relatively short amount of time. None of us knows what the future holds, and there are all sorts of unexpected “plot twists” that could happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=426) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=428)