Americans Fleeing to Europe because of Fear of trump. (French) [View all]

&t=269s

0:02
[Music]
0:08
Come on, let’s find a van. Wait for me here.

0:14
Ugh, the taxis… what a mess. It’s this way.

0:19
Chris Kelly and her daughter Thesa have just landed in Barcelona from California.

0:25
Seven, eight, nine suitcases.

0:31
My whole life in 11 suitcases. I’m a little nervous. Everything stresses me out a bit.

0:38
My new school, arriving in Spain barely speaking Spanish.

0:44
Go on, get in. Watch your head.

0:47
Where are you from?

0:51
San Diego.

0:54
But we were advised to say we’re from Canada because of the current political situation.

0:58
We’re worried about being judged in Europe, given what’s happening right now in the United States.

1:06
Well, in any case, the food here in Spain is much better.

1:11
What did he say?

1:14
That the food is better than in the United States.

1:20
[Music]

1:34
Chris, 62 years old, and her 17-year-old daughter have left everything behind to start a new life in Barcelona.

1:40
You managed to fit everything into suitcases.

1:57
Welcome home.

2:00
Oh, I love it.

2:02
Oh my God!

2:05
In 2016, during Donald Trump’s first term, I said, “I want to leave.”

2:10
But I couldn’t afford it financially.

2:14
As a single mother, my biggest concern is my daughter’s education and safety.

2:22
This time, as the election approached, my daughter and I talked about what we’d do if he won.

2:29
No longer feeling in tune with this “new America,” Chris and Thesa decided to go far away from California.

2:36
They reached out to Barbara, a French woman who specializes in helping people relocate to Barcelona.

2:41
She’s the one who found this two-bedroom place in the city center.

2:48
I hit the jackpot with Barbara. I never could have done this on my own.

2:54
Where’s the light switch?

2:57
Oh, this bedroom is so cute.

2:59
It’s the first time she’s had her own room.

3:02
This is my bathroom.

3:05
And mine? Where is it?

3:08
Over there.

3:11
In San Diego, Chris owned a beauty salon—
a single mother from the middle class, facing inflation and a housing crisis.

3:17
She couldn’t afford to give her daughter her own bedroom.

3:24
We had a pull-out bed in the living room.

3:29
To rent a place like this in the United States would cost me $3,500, even $4,000.

3:39
In Barcelona, her rent is 2,000 euros a month.

3:44
Thanks to her savings and her retirement pension, Chris hopes to increase her purchasing power compared to the U.S.

3:51
A loaf of bread was costing me six dollars. I’m not even talking about meat or other expensive products.

3:57
It’s just a simple piece of bread.

4:00
Same with housing prices.

4:03
Trump promised his voters he would take care of it, that prices would go down.

4:05
But now that he’s in power, he’s doing the exact opposite.

4:10
And he doesn’t mind taking people for idiots, because it’s idiots who put him in power.

4:18
Come see before the sun disappears completely.

4:24
The terrace, and the Sagrada Família.

4:27
Yeah, yeah…

4:30
Yeah, yeah.

4:36
In concrete terms, I’d say I have two or three times more Americans contacting me now than before, since Donald Trump’s election—

4:42
especially regarding how he views human rights and the kind of life he wants to live.

4:47
And today, for them, the United States is just not it.

4:54
Since November 5th, 2024, the day Donald Trump was re-elected, American society has never seemed so fractured.

5:00
Direct consequence: questions about moving abroad have jumped 1,500% on search engines.

5:13
Donald Trump would be the trigger for a wave of departures that began during his first term in 2016.

5:19
U.S. citizens living in the Netherlands went from 15,000 to 24,000.

5:26
Their numbers have tripled in Portugal, reaching 15,000 people today, and visa applications for Spain have increased by 70% in 9 years.

5:33
With 41,000 permanent American residents, Spain has become a favored destination—

5:39
not just for elites or students.

5:46
Today, middle-class families, single mothers, and academics are also settling in the country.

5:52
But are all these Americans really welcome in Spain?

5:59
For now, these new arrivals aren’t asking themselves that question.

[Music]

6:18
For Spaniards, the priority is quality of life—spending time with family and friends.

6:24
Everything doesn’t revolve around their careers.

6:30
Whereas in the United States, we have this reputation for “work above all.”

6:33
Here, I feel lighter.

6:39
At 45, Siit (Sii?) Abibian is part of the American diaspora in Spain.

6:48
She has been living in this country for 10 years—now in Málaga.

6:55
Gracias. Adiós.

[Music]

7:00
How are you, my darlings? You look happy to see me.

[Music]

7:10
This is not what I expected when I moved to Spain. I feel so lucky.

7:17
Look at my view: the Mediterranean Sea.

7:23
I grew up in the suburbs—in a very typical American neighborhood—
and “beautiful” is not a word I would associate with the environment I grew up in.

7:29
So this is very different from my upbringing.

7:36
In Austin, Texas, Siit worked in human resources.

7:42
Today, far from office life, she’s become an influencer and relocation coach.

7:49
OK, not too much sun. Let’s go.

7:56
Do you want the latest news on visas and moving abroad? Well, stay tuned.

8:02
Follow me for more tips and tricks.

8:07
Then I share these videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, and people contact me that way.

8:14
Since Donald Trump’s election, her “move to Europe” videos have been watched more and more.

8:20
On social media, she’s followed by more than 65,000 people.

8:27
Among the 19 European countries Siit recommends, Spain is the most requested.

8:32
Spain has many different visas, and there’s something for everyone,

8:36
like the Spanish digital nomad visa, the retirement visa, or the student visa.

8:39
OK, that’s good.

8:45
Once niche, her online masterclasses are now highly sought-after:

8:45
$100 for 4 days of intensive coaching to study all the options for emigrating to Europe.

8:52
Before, in my masterclasses, I had 90 to 100 people.

8:57
But for the one I organized a week after Trump’s election, I was completely stunned—

9:03
there were 664 people signed up.

9:06
I’m not naïve. I figured if Trump won, it would push people to move abroad,

9:12
but I hadn’t imagined it on this scale.

9:20
Siit’s original idea was to share her own experience, that of a woman speaking primarily to other women.

9:25
When I moved to Madrid, I met so many women who had also left the U.S.,

9:31
and I thought it would be cool if those of us who were already here could help those who wanted to come.

9:36
But I didn’t start this project with any activist or political intent.

9:43
It wasn’t even a topic of conversation.

9:49
Every week, she also has an online meeting with women who are about to change their lives.

9:54
All right, let’s let everyone in.

10:01
Hi ladies, welcome. Welcome.

10:07
Hi Gigi. Hello everyone.

10:10
It feels so good to see your faces.

10:13
Let’s go around the room. Does anyone want to share something? Any good news?

10:19
I’m saying hi from Lisbon. Actually, I’m on a scouting trip right now.

10:25
So I hope that by the end of the trip I’ll have a better idea of where I want to focus and what visa I want to apply for.

10:31
For me, it’s between Spain and Germany, but I’m a bit more inclined to follow the Spain path.

10:37
I love that. I thought Germany was alone on the list—great surprise to hear Spain is on there too.

10:43
But the smiling faces can’t hide a real distress:

10:48
that of people facing an America they no longer recognize.

10:54
I live in Florida, which is one of the most Republican states, and here everything feels like a Trump rally.

11:01
I can’t go anywhere without running into them. And it’s just so much hate speech,

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so much anger, so much blaming immigrants, blaming “corrupt judges.”

11:11
I’m trying not to get emotional, but it’s absolutely terrifying. I think about it all the time.

11:21
I don’t feel at peace in this country anymore, and I’m not just talking about my mental health—
I feel physically unsafe too.

11:33
I work at a university in diversity, equity and inclusion.

11:39
About a month ago, my university decided to cancel its diversity programs.

11:45
That’s really upsetting—seeing your whole life and work just swept aside.

11:52
You start wondering how long you can endure it without sacrificing your health,

11:57
and you think, “It’s time to protect myself and change my life.”

12:03
Thank you so much for sharing that.

12:08
It makes me very sad to hear what you’re going through.

12:13
I read the news, but I don’t live what you’re living every day, because I’m in Spain.

12:19
And it’s like you’re giving shape to the fear, the discomfort, the uncertainty—everything I read—

12:26
but making it real.

12:33
That gives even more meaning to the work I do.

12:36
It’s not just about wanting to travel and live in another country.

12:39
Now it’s really about safety and security.

12:43
I feel very torn. I wish the election result had been different, and that my business was booming for other reasons.

12:51
While I’m living my best life here, it’s not only my clients but also my family and friends who still live in the U.S.

12:57
who have to deal with this new America.

Ciao!

12:57
Bye!

[Music]

13:11
[Music]

Like 15,000 other Americans, Vanessa Velasquez chose Madrid.

13:20
[Music]

Vanessa is a Texan who lived on Republican soil.

13:28
Her sexual identity is at the heart of her decision.

13:33
Being gay in Texas was already risky.

13:40
And I associate the recent surge in anti-trans and homophobic violence with the election,

13:46
because a lot of people felt even more uninhibited.

13:52
And I ended up deciding to leave because now there’s a government that could come after my rights.

[Music]

13:58
What did I put in this bag again?

13:58
After two months in a shared flat in Madrid,

13:58
she has just moved into this 15-square-meter place.

14:05
It’s basically a studio in an attic. I live in an attic.

14:11
Here will be my living room.

14:17
And here, this pile of stuff I still need to deal with.

14:25
It wasn’t easy to shrink my old life down to just these few belongings.

14:30
I only took what was most important to me.

14:35
I felt a lot of sadness—
not so much for the things I left behind, but especially for leaving a country where I have so many memories.

14:50
Vanessa comes from a Colombian family.

14:57
When I cook Colombian food, I absolutely have to put on salsa music to summon my ancestors.

15:03
They’re the ones who tell me how to season things, and if I don’t have music, it’s inedible.

15:14
For her, speaking Spanish was essential in choosing a new home country.

15:24
When I was little, we spoke Spanish at home, and I made it my mission to keep studying it in college.

15:36
And there you go, this is a typical Colombian breakfast, “arepas.” Over there, we eat this all the time.

15:47
I’ll still need to buy a table, though.

15:53
Vanessa’s parents arrived in the United States in the 1970s.

15:58
Before leaving, I asked my mother for this photo. It was on her bedside table.

16:04
This is my father.

16:11
Her father, who has since passed away, crossed the border illegally on foot, chasing the American dream.

16:11
Fifty years later, Vanessa is changing continents—with an American passport in hand.

16:17
She’s fully aware of her privileges.

16:22
It’s crazy when I think about my father and his migration.

16:28
He didn’t have a phone; he didn’t have access to all the conveniences I have today.

16:33
It constantly reminds me that even if migrating is emotionally, physically, and psychologically difficult,

16:41
you have to keep going.

16:46
I’d forgotten I had this photo. I was so blonde—unbelievable.

16:51
But there’s something ironic about this whole situation.

16:58
My parents immigrated to the United States to have a better life.

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And now I’m doing the same—I’m exiling myself to Europe so I can have a better life.

17:12
In her family, Vanessa is one of the few who voted Democrat.

17:19
Hello, how are you, Mom?

17:21
You see my mess?

17:23
Yeah, I can see that.

17:25
Her own mother is among the Latin-Americans who support Donald Trump, including his anti-immigration stance.

17:31
We didn’t get anything for free.

17:37
We worked very hard to get where we are.

17:43
Today you have people who come trying to get everything for free.

17:50
They don’t even want to work. And that’s why a lot of people say, “Enough.”

17:55
It’s a bit scary. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

17:59
Yeah, Mom, it’s kind of a mess.

[Music]

18:04
OK, kisses, Mom, I love you. Talk to you later.

18:10
It’s always a bit weird. My mother and I have different points of view,

18:17
so it’s really uncomfortable to talk about politics.

18:24
My mother and I manage pretty well, but it’s always a very delicate subject with other family members.

18:31
Uncles and aunts openly made homophobic and racist comments.

18:36
By leaving for Spain, Vanessa cut ties.

18:42
We had a family WhatsApp group with 30 or 40 people—it’s crazy.

18:48
But I left that group because some things were being said and I thought, “This is no longer possible,”

18:53
and I felt more and more alone in my own family.

18:59
I think they loved me—maybe they still love me—

19:03
but as long as I don’t say I’m gay.

19:06
I didn’t choose to be gay. I didn’t choose to be a woman. I’m just like this, that’s all.

[Music]

19:24
First morning in Barcelona for Chris, but even 10,000 kilometers from home, her mind is still in the United States.

19:35
Besides Thesa, she has two other children over 30 who live in Seattle.

19:41
Yeah, I’m really worried about them. Even though they’re adults, they’re still my children.

19:47
By being here, I’m able to get some distance from what’s happening over there.

19:52
But at the same time, it’s so outrageous that I can’t stop myself from following the news.

19:58
It’s almost like a movie: what will the next twist be?

[Music]

20:10
Thesa got a visa for Spain quickly because she’s here to continue her studies.

20:17
That morning, she’s going to visit her new high school.

20:23
You get on the bus and you put this in the machine.

20:29
I think you get about ten rides.

20:34
The 17-year-old has never taken public transport alone.

20:41
In San Diego, it was her mother who drove her to school and picked her up, morning and evening.

20:46
Tomorrow, I’ll let her get on a bus alone for the very first time to go to school.

20:54
It’s a bit scary. It’s not something I would have considered in the United States.

[Music]

20:59
I think it’s here.

21:06
At this international school, classes are taught in Spanish and English.

21:12
And welcome to Barcelona.

21:16
Thank you, I’m so happy.

21:17
Follow me.

21:22
And Logan—this is Logan from California, our science teacher.

21:29
Ah, OK. Hello.

21:31
Of the school’s 340 students, 60 are American.

21:39
Yeah, I start Monday at 11 a.m.

21:43
Are you stressed?

21:45
No, I’m fine, I’m not stressed.

21:47
Thesa can’t wait to discover her new class, far from the violence that marred her last years in school in San Diego.

21:52
In the United States, schools are locked up, doors are bolted.

21:58
At my old school, there were at least three armed police officers patrolling the hallways.

22:04
In my first year, we had a shooting alert. We were completely locked down.

22:12
The police smashed the doors. Parents were notified. It was insane.

22:18
That really affects me—just thinking about it.

22:25
I was terrified at the idea that I could send my daughter to school and she might never come home.

22:31
You know, there’s a reason why our doors aren’t locked here, why there are no armed police officers—

22:36
it’s because we don’t need them here.

22:42
And I know that’s hard for you to understand at first, but soon you’ll realize that what you experienced wasn’t normal.

[Music]

22:44
By choosing exile, many American parents are also trying to escape a school system targeted by the Trump administration.

22:51
Yes, we still have many families who will arrive for the September school year,

22:56
and many contacted me right after Trump was re-elected to ask if they could come earlier.

23:02
I’d say there’s been about a 40% increase in the number of families trying to come from the United States,

23:09
but we’re not able to welcome everyone.

23:13
Do you feel lucky?

23:15
Yes, of course.

23:17
[Music]

23:22
The streets are so different from San Diego.

23:25
Yeah, they’re so much wider.

[Music]

23:28
When they stroll around the city, mother and daughter savor a simple pleasure: wandering through the streets of Barcelona.

23:37
Come on, let me take your picture.

23:40
This is the Arc de Triomf, but I don’t know why it’s here and not in Paris.

23:45
It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

23:51
Bit by bit, day by day, I’ll be able to climb out of this nightmare my country is sinking into.

[Music]

24:05
In Málaga, Siit has never been so busy.

24:16
When was the last time it rained like this?

24:23
Oh, ages ago—
really, it just didn’t stop.

24:29
I live here, but I was in France at the time.

24:34
On Spanish TV, I saw that it rained for about twenty days straight.

24:42
In recent months, the entrepreneur has been spending her life on planes.

24:47
And this weekend, she has a meeting in Madrid.

[Music]

24:53
Hi, guys. So happy to see you.

24:56
It’s so beautiful. You chose such a great neighborhood.

25:02
Right next to it, there’s another amazing one.

25:07
Hélène and Lee are a couple from New York.

25:10
They’re meeting with her today to get advice on life in Madrid.

25:14
This place is really cute. If you want a glass of wine, down this street there are tons of restaurants of all kinds.

25:25
So, you’re in the middle of buying furniture for your apartment—exciting.

25:30
Yeah, it’s part of the process when you move to the other side of the world.

[Music]

25:39
OK, we’re getting to where it all started.

25:44
This street, this neighborhood—
they’re really special memories for me.

25:51
It’s here that I had my first apartment when I arrived in Madrid.

25:58
Ten years later, Siit still says she’s passionate about her work, but mentally exhausted by the situation in the U.S.

26:03
Sometimes I just want to focus on the positive. I don’t even want to talk about politics anymore,

26:09
even with people who agree with me. It’s just depressing.

26:17
The idea of the American dream—
of a democratic America—is collapsing,

[Music]

26:25
and seeing everything change so quickly…

26:33
it breaks my heart.

26:42
It’s hard to digest this in real time.

26:42
So yes, it’s truly shocking to see how fast things are evolving.

26:51
I think we moved at the right time.

[Music]

26:57
There’s no chance I’d go back to live in the United States.

27:04
At the same time, I still feel very American—
whether it’s my entrepreneurial spirit, my optimism, my smile…you know how we are.

[Music]

27:12
The moments the coach loves most are when she finally meets in person the women she’s been helping online.

27:19
It’s open bar—grab a drink.

27:26
That night, 25 of them answered her invitation.

27:32
I honestly feel like crying.

27:34
Oh, you’re real!

27:37
You’re so tiny!

27:39
Everybody says that—I thought you were taller.

27:46
After months of coaching, Casey Forbes is leaving Florida. She, too, chose Madrid for a fresh start.

27:52
I started out wanting to live in Germany, then the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal…I just couldn’t decide.

27:57
And it’s really Siit who helped me refine my choice, to get clarity.

28:02
And that was essential, because this isn’t a temporary move. This is my life.

28:09
It’s a decision that will change my life. Leaving is both huge and terrifying.

28:17
And in the middle of all these feelings stands the person who connects us all.

28:23
You can sit down.

28:28
OK, we’re good.

28:28
Good evening, everyone. My name is Siit—
it rhymes with “happy,” as I like to say.

28:33
The goal of this event is to create a space where women like us can meet and make friends.

28:40
And tonight is a very special event where we’re celebrating both the journey my community has taken,

28:49
but I also want you to celebrate all the distance you’ve covered since you left.

[Music]

28:55
Evenings like this one are kind of my after-sales service.

29:01
It’s really the “after.” They’ve reached their goal, and now it’s time to celebrate.

[Music]

29:15
[Music]

29:23
Over in Barcelona, Chris has set herself a goal: to learn Spanish as fast as possible, with Thesa’s help.

29:33
[Music]

29:40
Three months after her arrival, Vanessa continues to explore Madrid with new friends.

29:45
[Music]

29:52
Next semester, she’ll resume psychology studies.

29:59
In two years, thanks to her Colombian roots, she’ll be able to apply for Spanish citizenship.

[Music]






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