Since this wasn’t apparent the last time I asked… no, I’m actually not a US citizen or green card holder (permanent resident). Just happened to be in this country for a long time due to career reasons.

  • arotrios@lemmy.worldEnglish
    33·
    2 days ago

    Yosemite

    Grand Canyon

    Yellowstone

    Avenue of the Giants

    Add to this list any national parks you were thinking about visiting. After this administration, they may not be around anymore.

  • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
    70·
    3 days ago
    1. consider keeping your US phone number until all banking stuff is done since many banks do 2fa and this can be a giant pain after moving. Try to switch to an app if possible. Many providers also disallow known VoIP numbers.
    2. driving license was another one mentioned. Having it not expire before you can transfer it is preferable (assuming the target country allows transfer. Japan didn’t until after two years after I got here and my license expired so I had to start from zero despite driving for 15+ years in the US). You may need to get notarized driving records which is also easier before you leave.
    3. go through and change/cancel anything with an address on file – can be much easier from within the US. I went through the past year’s bank records to find anything sneaky that doesn’t renew monthly. If you have things that only renew every N years, don’t forget to cancel or update those (domain names, for instance).
    4. Make sure all city, municipal, county, state, and federal tax stuff will be OK to do after leaving (sometimes, some prep is needed)
    5. If you have any retirement plans like 401ks, IRAs, etc. see about rolling them over or whatever
    6. maybe do something with social security with regard to your target country if an agreement is in place, particularly if you didn’t work long enough to claim it. You can get US SS overseas in the vast majority of countries, but there are also certain provisions where you wouldn’t or it would be reduced based on what you have in the target country.
    7. Freeze credit reports at the agencies as others mentioned
    • jjpamsterdam@feddit.org
      14·
      3 days ago

      driving license was another one mentioned. Having it not expire before you can transfer it is preferable

      This is a giant, often overlooked issue. My home country of the Netherlands for example doesn’t allow a simple transef and makes you take a test (because road safety is important to Dutch people!). In Germany it’s even worse. There it depends on the state you obtained your US license in, since Germany has agreements with some states but not all…

      • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
        10·
        3 days ago

        I’ve been happy most of the time. It’s not for everyone, but I’m a decade in and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          3·
          3 days ago

          What’s the cost of living like compared to the US? I’m guessing you speak the language if you’ve been there that long?

          • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
            13·
            3 days ago

            Both the US and Japan have extremely varied costs of living depending upon where you’re talking about. I live in the countryside and things are generally fairly cheap, though inflation has been hitting hard since corona and a poor rice harvest last year. I studied the language a bit before I moved, came over as a language student (probably second-oldest there in my 30s), and found a job a few months later. I’m conversational, but my reading is pretty crap. I generally do all my own medical stuff and the like, though definitely run documents by my wife to make sure of some things (particularly government and finance). We basically only speak Japanese at home.

            Tokyo can be expensive or not totally depending upon the experience you want to have. No need to own a car so no inspection, tax, insurance, gas, and parking spot cost. I lived there for 8 years without driving at all but did end up getting a motorbike after moving to the suburbs. I had to get a car when we moved to the countryside. Houses are going to be much smaller and much closer than most of the US. I earn well above the median salary (which is something like 4-6 million JPY/year for someone in their 40s) and pay roughly 26% of that out to pension, taxes, etc. Healthcare is far cheaper than in the US but not free at point of service like other countries. There are out-of-pocket maximums over some periods and tax rebates on the year if you go over 100k yen.

  • fireweed@lemmy.world
    575·
    3 days ago

    Obviously this is entirely dependent on where you’re moving to, but I struggled to find the following when living abroad:

    • good (American-style) pizza
    • good Mexican food
    • good BBQ
    • certain ice cream flavors (like cherries jubilee/cherry garcia)
    • wide open spaces completely devoid of people
    • large-group events of a boisterous and goofy nature
    • certain types of museums/educational facilities (such as good zoos/wildlife rehab open to the public and interactive science museums)
    • Beetschnapps@lemmy.world
      178·
      3 days ago

      You will not find good bbq. Take the L and move on…

      You will find the greatest cuisine ever witnessed on this planet depending on your taste.

      A clay pot in Morocco, a grandma’s house in Toledo, a random eel cooked up in Tunisia…

      Just as good as byob bbq in Austin TX.

      • fireweed@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        Again, depending on where in the world you are, you may not have the equipment nor access to ingredients necessary to make these properly. You might be able to approximate, but it won’t be as good, which is the entire point of my comment.

        American pizza requires a pizza oven or regular oven with a steel/stone (or dish for Detroit-style pizza), specific types of cheese, and depending on your preference, specific toppings; these may not be available abroad. In some countries, ovens are not considered standard kitchen equipment; good luck making decent pizza on the stovetop.

        Similarly, really good BBQ requires special equipment that even most American homes don’t have, and requires a good deal of outdoor space (otherwise you risk smoking out yourself/your neighbors).

        Mexican food is more flexible in terms of equipment, but ingredients may be hard to source (especially spices).

        For ice cream you might struggle to find the right add-in ingredients depending on what flavor you’re trying to make, but again, the biggest issue is equipment. You can make ice cream at home without an ice cream maker, but it seems like more hassle than it’s worth and still requires some equipment and decent freezer space (fwiw I’ve never done it before; maybe it’s easier than it sounds).

        • pseudo@jlai.lu
          2·
          2 days ago

          It is not easier than it sound.

          You need freezer space which would mean to usually run your freezer half empty and recipes calling for a ice cream maker will require an ice cream maker. There is no way around it and ice cream maker were about the same in the middle age. Just not powered electrically.

      • anomnom@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        2·
        3 days ago

        Yup I do good (to our family’s taste anyway) pizza in about 40 minutes from scratch to eating with just:

        • flour
        • water
        • yeast
        • sugar (I pre feed the least in hot water for 5 minutes)
        • salt
        • olive oil
        • homemade crust spices (salt, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, etc )
        • maranara or pizza sauce (might be harder to find a good one abroad, not sure)
        • cheeses (or not for my wife)
        • basil leaves in season (we grow enough in mid summer, but buy it occasionally otherwise)

        Finding the cheese and toppings might be harder, but it’s often just frozen broccoli, bell peppers, onions and roni.

        • fireweed@lemmy.world
          2·
          2 days ago

          American style pizza

          frozen broccoli

          You have exactly ten seconds to get the fuck out of my comment section

          • anomnom@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            21·
            2 days ago

            It’s more like neopolitan pizza that I make, and sometimes I do proper high temp thin stretchy crust type too, more like I’ve seen in Italy.

            And I thaw the broccoli first before cooking it, but it doesn’t burn the tips as much when it’s cold and the oven is at 500 (I’m still working out building a brick oven in the back yard someday).

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        2·
        3 days ago

        You might need a brick oven though (or at the very least, a pizza oven) if you want that pizza to compare to the good shit you can get pretty much anywhere in the Northeast US.

    • Fonzie!@ttrpg.network
      12·
      3 days ago

      Your first three sum up to:

      • Italian food but worse
      • Mexican food but worse
      • Food that’s probably better in most other places

      I think OP is set on those in the future, but otherwise good recommendations IG

  • Tiefling IRL@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    25·
    3 days ago

    Currently in the same boat, though I’m a citizen

    1. Figure out your car and drivers license stuff. Some countries have an agreement that lets you swap a US license for theirs.

    2. Mail forwarding. Either forward your mail to someone you trust or pay for an international forwarding service. You’re still gonna be getting mail afterwards, like credit card renewals.

    3. You’ll likely have to do the same for finances

    4. Go through everything you own and trim down. Whatever you don’t get rid of, you’ll have to deal with customs.

    And finally, get a lawyer. No seriously. I know they’re expensive but you don’t want to fuck around with emigrating on your own. You’re gonna have pleeeenty of questions for them

    • frank@sopuli.xyz
      10·
      3 days ago

      Cash travels, sell your non -heirloom stuff.

      Doesn’t need to be a lawyer, relocation companies are amazing at this stuff. They can help with taxes, government registration, all of it

  • andrewta@lemmy.world
    28·
    3 days ago

    Honestly, if you have a chance go to Washington DC the museums are beautiful. If you’re leaving permanently, you probably will never see them again.

    • pleasestopasking@reddthat.com
      6·
      3 days ago

      Honestly, even if they’re not leaving permanently, who knows how much longer the Smithsonian will last if things keep going the way they are.

      • Bytemeister@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        The Museum of African-American history is already on the chopping block for having content that does not paint the US in a good light.

        I wish I was fucking joking about that. The proper way to be remembered well is by doing good things, not by having orange hitler demand that the history of bad things be erased.

  • MNByChoice@midwest.social
    16·
    3 days ago

    Have a plan for investments and bank accounts.

    Update correspondence information.

    Sell or give everything you are not taking.