# Is it time to leave yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 30, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748 "2018-10-30T22:15:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/61 "2018-10-31T03:18:02Z")
> [@Tempe\_Jeff](#): > > You really need to stop drooling with rage. The rest of your claims are devoid of Reality. Obama, on the other hand… Such projection almost demands an intervention by loved ones. Do you have any? Does VR porn count as a loved one? Everything I said is true. Also what did Obama do that was so bad (other than be a black democrat with the temerity to become president)? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/62 "2018-10-31T03:19:19Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I’m staying. First, if everyone who’s disgusted with Trump and Co. leaves, it’s tantamount to ceding the country to the bad guys. They don’t get to take my country that easily. Second, if everyone who can gets out does, who advocates for those who can’t leave? This ^ I’m with you, brother. There might be pain, but we’ll suffer together. If I had kids, I’d say go East or South or North young man. Go, man, go! But it’s just me and my other. I’m dying here. I just hope I can be buried on a little hill in Northeast Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/63 "2018-10-31T03:20:19Z")
I never counted on the feds to feed, clothe and house me. I never expected free medical care. If you are sitting around waiting on a handout you deserve what you get. We have spent decades raising educated kids. Paying for insurance through employment. And donating where we could. We have paid into retirement knowing SS would only be a stipend and not guaranteed, at all. We bought our land by choking up those payments every month, til it was paid for. I want to believe most Americans feel the same. I totally believe when a young single mom needs food stamps or medical for her kids, it should be available. Not as a handout so much as a help up. There no reason the richest country on this earth cannot do this. We can be all of the above and more with the right person in office. Trump ain’t it. All those Billy-bad-ass rednecks that voted for him will get nothing from his time in office but a MAGA hat. So be it. A brighter day is coming. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/64 "2018-10-31T03:22:15Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I never counted on the feds to feed, clothe and house me. I never expected free medical care. If you are sitting around waiting on a handout you deserve what you get. We have spent decades raising educated kids. Paying for insurance through employment. And donating where we could. We have paid into retirement knowing SS would only be a stipend and not guaranteed, at all. We bought our land by choking up those payments every month, til it was paid for. I want to believe most Americans feel the same. I totally believe when a young single mom needs food stamps or medical for her kids, it should be available. Not as a handout so much as a help up. There no reason the richest country on this earth cannot do this. We can be all of the above and more with the right person in office. Trump ain’t it. All those Billy-bad-ass rednecks that voted for him will get nothing from his time in office but a MAGA hat. So be it. A brighter day is coming. Yes! ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/65 "2018-10-31T03:22:54Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I was born and raised in the USA. In 2010, I did, in fact, move to Canada, where I still reside. > > My life is better in some ways, worse in others. But on balance, the things that are worse are minor irritants (higher cost of living, worse postal system, weather) while the things that are better are much, much better (healthcare, for example). > > How does it help the US? I don’t know. I still vote, but my experience living abroad informs a lot of the way I vote. But I’m from California, so my individual vote matters very little, mathmatically. My existence provides a conduit for experiential information about what it’s like to live outside the US to flow back in, and what other ways of governing feel like. I’m not sure that it makes much difference: the people I know are already inclined to think like me, or else to dismiss me. > > But I don’t have to be embarrassed when I travel on a Canadian passport, so that’s something. You were able to get a Canadian passport? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/66 "2018-10-31T03:23:21Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Does VR porn count as a loved one? > > Everything I said is true. Also what did Obama do that was so bad (other than be a black democrat with the temerity to become president)? Just adding to your list: Screwing over Puerto Rico Separating families, tent cities, little kids being expected to understand immigration law in court Mocking a sexual assault survivor Admiring a guy who body-slammed a reporter Adulation for Kim Jong Un despite Kim’s record of engaging in torture, execution, fascism, having his own uncle executed, and so on Telling over 5K lies since he took office Admiration for Putin and Duterte, among other tyrants Bragging about grabbing women by their private parts Boasting that he could shoot somebody in Times Square and still have a lot of support (true, but disgusting) ETC. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/67 "2018-10-31T03:26:59Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > You were able to get a Canadian passport? Yes. I’m an anchor baby, at least on one side, so a dual citizen. I had never lived in Canada, though; my Canadian parent left in the 1960s before I was born. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/68 "2018-10-31T03:28:00Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Yes. I’m an anchor baby, at least on one side, so a dual citizen. I had never lived in Canada, though; my Canadian parent left in the 1960s before I was born. I was also going to ask how you were able to emigrate (apparently) easily too, but this explains both of those things. Thanks for the clarification. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2018, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/69 "2018-10-31T03:32:27Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I was also going to ask how you were able to emigrate (apparently) easily too, but this explains both of those things. Thanks for the clarification. The citizenship was easy, though there was a bureaucratic process, and I had to sponsor my British fiancé, too; that involved some cost and took months. Moving to a country in middle age when you have no employment history or networks there is nothing to sneeze at, either. “Easy” is not a word I would use for the process, and I didn’t undertake it lightly. And it was largely in response to US politics—I am gay and there was no way to sponsor my fiancé (now husband) for long-term immigration to the US. So we left. ---
**Author:** ![Tempe\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tempe_jeff/32/7328_2.png) [@Tempe\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tempe_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/70 "2018-10-31T03:33:10Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Does VR porn count as a loved one? > > Everything I said is true. Also what did Obama do that was so bad (other than be a black democrat with the temerity to become president)? You should cite your facts. Separating children from adults at the Border? Obama started it and used it for 8 years. Why? Because smugglers claimed children as their own with NO familial connection. Do you support sex traffickers having an easier time entering the U.S. ? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/71 "2018-10-31T03:35:51Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > What makes you think they (/we?) want to leave? Because you’re part of a party that’s clinging to power by catering to a shrinking demographic. You keep having to go to greater lengths to rig elections because you long ago lost the majority of the country. Donald Trump is the right wing’s last stand. He’s killing whatever is left of the Republican Party. So you’ll want to leave because if you stay here, you’re going to spend the rest of your life in a country run by Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/72 "2018-10-31T03:36:22Z")
> [@Tempe\_Jeff](#): > > You should cite your facts. Separating children from adults at the Border? Obama started it and used it for 8 years. Why? Because smugglers claimed children as their own with NO familial connection. Do you support sex traffickers having an easier time entering the U.S. ? \*\*Tempe Jeff, have you stopped beating your wife yet? \*\* My question is exactly equal to yours and about as factual I hope. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/73 "2018-10-31T03:38:18Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yeah, how would your leaving actually make anything any better? It makes things better for me. I can’t fix the problem, and even if Trump were to die tomorrow we would still have Pence who also wants to lead the country in the wrong direction. Canada isn’t being run by an immoral, unbalanced, corrupt and egomaniacal leader who can order a nuclear attack at any time, for any reason without any check on his power. A president who thinks he can decide the meaning of a constitutional amendment by a presidential order. A man who sees himself as king, and who would like to shut down any media that writes something about him he doesn’t like. I didn’t like George W. Bush very much, but I sure didn’t see him as a tyrant, autocrat or future dictator. I believe we are entering a very dangerous time for this country and I don’t want to be around when it all comes crashing down. Who cares about the stock market when your country’s leadership is morally corrupt? Some things are more important than making as much money for the top .01% as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/74 "2018-10-31T03:38:36Z")
> [@Tempe\_Jeff](#): > > You should cite your facts. Separating children from adults at the Border? Obama started it and used it for 8 years. Why? Because smugglers claimed children as their own with NO familial connection. Do you support sex traffickers having an easier time entering the U.S. ? And, no doubt, all those smugglers were so hard to catch because of the flying unicorns they were riding. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/75 "2018-10-31T03:40:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Because you’re part of a party that’s clinging to power by catering to a shrinking demographic. You keep having to go to greater lengths to rig elections because you long ago lost the majority of the country. Donald Trump is the right wing’s last stand. He’s killing whatever is left of the Republican Party. > > So you’ll want to leave because if you stay here, you’re going to spend the rest of your life in a country run by Democrats. I know some people that said similar things at the end of the Bush Administration / beginning of the Obama Administration. That lasted … what … 2 years? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/76 "2018-10-31T04:26:25Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > So, how easy is it to emigrate to Canada these days? Would they accept a retired couple with a modest income? Provided that neither of you has a serious medical condition, and depending on your ages, there are a couple of ways that you could become permanent residents and eventually citizens. One way is the forty acres and a mule approach: set out in your application that you want to learn how to be a farmer and have your own farm, while also setting yourself up to do some guiding and do something artistic. It just happens that the Yukon has a homesteading program (free land if you work it – growing hay counts) that is centred around Whitehorse, which is a pretty terrific place if you like the outdoors and a vibrant community. Try the [eligibility app](http://onlineservices-servicesenligne.cic.gc.ca/eapp/eapp.do). If you truly want be self-employed taking people fishing, selling arts and crafts, and watching the sunset while the grass grows in a truly beautiful Yukon landscape, then fill out the app accordingly and see what it says. I ran it using date of birth 1940 and it said nope, but when I ran it for date of birth 1950 it said yup. Another way is for each of you to separately shack up with your own Canadian of choice, and once spousal relationships are formed, apply for permanent residency, but be sure not to break up with your new-found cozy kanucks until you become citizens. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/77 "2018-10-31T04:27:07Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I wonder what the ratio of threats to move to Canada vs actual moves to Canada really is. 100 to 1? 1,000 to 1? 100,000 to 1? It’s probably closer to this last one in the Internet age. I wonder what the ratio of threats to “go Galt” vs actual goings-Galt really is. A million to one? Who knows — we’re just speculating here. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/78 "2018-10-31T04:45:35Z")
[The Yukon homesteading link.](http://www.emr.gov.yk.ca/agriculture/agriculture_land.html) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/79 "2018-10-31T05:05:26Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I wonder what the ratio of threats to move to Canada vs actual moves to Canada really is. 100 to 1? 1,000 to 1? 100,000 to 1? It’s probably closer to this last one in the Internet age. Threat? “I’m gonna move to Canada!” You call that a threat? Where’s that fellow Commonwealther Crocodile Dundee when you need him? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748/80 "2018-10-31T05:16:14Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > How many troops are on your border? My Uncle Geordie retired from guarding Seal/Machias, so that fellow who invades every year for a fish fry will be disappointed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-leave-yet/823748.md?page=5)