3 ms·

> it's starting to become hard to really qualify what I really get for being american I’m preparing to renounce my American citizenship (lived most of my life

> it's starting to become hard to really qualify what I really get for being american I’m preparing to renounce my American citizenship (lived most of my life elsewhere, no remaining ties to the USA), and I am amused by the frequent exhortation on internet fora against renunciation "If you have a US passport, you can rely on the US government to get you out of trouble". People really seem to think that Seal Team Six is on standby to save any ordinary American facing violence or natural disaster abroad. Me, I remember the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami when many European countries swiftly evacuated their citizens or citizens of fellow EU states, while US citizens were mainly left to fend for themselves.

janalsncm 3y ago
Well, you have to ignore all the ideological stuff (read: propaganda) and think about actual advantages. FYI, if you’re considering other citizenships I think it’s safe to assume you’re not struggling financially. (If you think you can just move to Canada think again, it’s not that easy.) In practical terms, it’s a good passport. You will be able to travel to many countries visa free. Not the best passport (Japan’s is, but much harder to get) but still pretty good. You also have work authorization in a highly developed economy. Probably the highest pay for Software Engineers. The US is also a good place to start a company. Large market, mostly homogeneous, pretty developed. The US isn’t great when it comes to economic equality but also not the worst. However its anti poverty programs aren’t great and companies can be predatory with little by way of consumer protection. Buying a house is still achievable in the US but getting harder. Schools are pretty good if you live in a nice neighborhood. If you’re poor, good luck. You will be surveilled. Pretty much every country with the means to do so will surveil its citizens, so that’s not a differentiator for me. The question is how much, and how that information can be used in the future.

janalsncm 3y ago

Well, you have to ignore all the ideological stuff (read: propaganda) and think about actual advantages. FYI, if you’re considering other citizenships I think it’s safe to assume you’re not struggling financially. (If you think you can just move to Canada think again, it’s not that easy.) In practical terms, it’s a good passport. You will be able to travel to many countries visa free. Not the best passport (Japan’s is, but much harder to get) but still pretty good. You also have work authorization in a highly developed economy. Probably the highest pay for Software Engineers. The US is also a good place to start a company. Large market, mostly homogeneous, pretty developed. The US isn’t great when it comes to economic equality but also not the worst. However its anti poverty programs aren’t great and companies can be predatory with little by way of consumer protection. Buying a house is still achievable in the US but getting harder. Schools are pretty good if you live in a nice neighborhood. If you’re poor, good luck. You will be surveilled. Pretty much every country with the means to do so will surveil its citizens, so that’s not a differentiator for me. The question is how much, and how that information can be used in the future.