Safe US Communities?
Safe US Communities?
Looking for ideas of where to move next. Places in the US that are lgbt friendly, and preferably have good trans healthcare. I'll probably never be able to move to any of them, but it would be nice to pretend for a little while.
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Why limit yourself to the US? Many other countries, including just about all of the other English-speaking countries, offer more trans rights than the US.
becoming an immigrant in a foreign country is generally much harder than moving to another state
It's hard to move out of the states, and my degree isn't a high enough level to let me get a work visa in my current field.
My plan right now is to get a degree and move out of the US in the next 2-3 years, preferably to somewhere in Europe. Texas isn't the best for trans people but since I got my license changed before the ban went in place (even though I'm def on the list :p) and I pass pretty well, I'm not too worried right now. Ofc that all depends on November, might have to emergency move to Canada if things end up going south 😅
As an immigrant you won't have the same rights as a citizen in Europe or Canada, and you will have to get someone to sponsor a visa for you to remain in those countries legally. It can be quite expensive, too - why aim for Europe or Canada and not a trans-affirming state in the U.S.?
I just know the US is not the place for me, and neither is Canada. I love the wide range of cultures in Europe, the walkable cities and public transportation, the better social programs, and the Schengen area allowing me to visit tons of other places in Europe on a whim. I just know it's right for me so I'm willing to work towards that goal, to get a work visa and work my way towards citizenship.
The Schlengen area only allows U.S. citizens to visit for 90 days. For the long-game I guess you could try to get citizenship in a EU country, though, but that will take a long time and be difficult. In the meantime you will have to find a way to get longer-term residence and visa support - might be relevant to what degree you get, if there is high demand for a particular education.
Either way, good on you for knowing what you want. There are walkable cities and public transportation in some places in the U.S., but I understand if Europe excites you more anyway. I wish you success!
90 days is a really long time haha, so I don't mind that limitation for other countries. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I am pursuing and what would be most strategic, but it seems like there is a lot of demand for IT jobs in many parts of Europe. I'm very interesting in programming, computer science, computer hardware, and networking -- really anything with computers or electronics tbh. So surely there's some niche I can fill.
I don't know what kind of service would do this, but I assume there are legal firms or services that help people figure out how to emigrate. This is a very long-term project, so it is worth really thinking through and planning, but if you can plan it even this early it might really help. I wonder even if you could find degree programs in Europe so you go to school there and might be more likely to make connections and find jobs. Getting a job is one of the hardest parts, as I understand it.
Right now I'm taking things one step at a time. I got my legal name and gender marker changed several months ago and got my name and gender marker amended on my license 2 months ago, after already having it changed on my birth certificate (thankfully it was before Texas made the ban). While there's still tons of other paperwork with different companies and entities I have to individually update (it's such a pain), the only big important document left for this is my passport, and I have everything I need to update it ready except for a new photo. So that's my first step. From there I'm not really sure what to do tbh, money is also an issue which is why I wanted to wait until I have a degree and can get a job (in community college atm). Maybe there's some way to save up and attend uni in Europe but I'm really not sure.
Where do you get the visa to stay in the country from?
Each country's immigration department website.
Unfortunately, it's quite hard to expat from the US. I've looked into it myself, and, basically, if you aren't some kind of skilled labor, good luck.