Leaving the U.S. ...

Well, my husband and I have signed the papers with the realtor, and after 10 years in the U.S., we're returning to Canada where we will be equal citizens.

I have a job interview in October, and we should be out of here by January... It's actually really sad... I am finally about to get citizenship, and will be leaving shortly afterwards...

There are alot of great people in this country and this state, but we have been fighting for rights for close to 30 years, and don't feel like fighting for the rest of our lives... and I don't want to continue paying taxes to Governments who treat us as second class citizens... and use OUR money to actively work against us.

The Land of the Free no longer exists in America. It has now officially been moved to Canada.

I know at least two other couples who are listing their houses and working on leaving... One couple has already bought a Condo in Vancouver...

I wish there was a way to let every Gay person who wants to cross the border ESCAPE...

by international borders.

Canada helped the slaves escape, it resisted the Vietnam war, and the Iraq wars I and II... So I have little doubt that it will manage to stay independent...

There is broad support for Gay marriage in Canada, and the opposition leader who came out against it was very quickly painted as an extremist....

There's actually a book out that I read that analyzes how Canadian and American values are actually moving farther and farther apart... Canada is becoming much more European in it's outlook - thank God...

The monsters are the mega-wealthy blue blood minority. The base and heart of this country are what they are trying to destroy - the true center of this destructive force *isn't* in the USA. You'll find it everywhere. There is nowhere to run.

Companies that want to do business in Canada have to deal with the political realities of the country... and Canada has full equality for Gays and Lesbians... it's in the constitution...

There are pockets of right wing supporters, but NOTHING like here...

Canada is a big country with a smaller population.

I can't say that I blame you one bit. If it weren't for my grandparents (who I adore, and who would never come along) I'd take the husband and kid and go north as well.

Best of luck to you...and you'll still post here, right?

:hug:

Because for the last 9 years we have been taking care of our 93 year old neighbor... I feel horrible that she won't have anyone to bring her dinners every night like we always do...

But at some point, we decided we have to take care of ourselves... We've talked with all our other neighbors and STRONGLY encouraged them to make sure they take care of the 93 year old...

If she had been a grandparent, it would have been virtually impossible to do...

And OF COURSE I'll still post here... I'm going to have dual citizenship, and will get to vote against Bush from our new home in Toronto!

All the good people are leaving the country....

We'll miss you.

I think we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. Hope all goes well for you and your family. Keep in touch with us.

I think it's going to get alot worse here before things improve... I want to take every GLBT person with me - to let them feel REAL freedom...

I suspect that Canada will be a far more rewarding experience than what you have encountered here. For myself, I still have some hopes of Vancouver at some point, but if not, Winnipeg. Godspeed!

Lemme suggest Vancouver if you're not a fan of FREEZING! :D

doesn't bother me much. And I love snow, just like a little kid.

find your peace and spread some joy.

That's a really wonderful benediction!

We are thinking about getting out. Our son is planning to go to Sweden, where he will get a free university education. "I've had it", he says.

We've also been looking at real estate in Sweden. You can buy a decent house for around $30K. I'm actually going to apply for some jobs in the Stockholm area!!!

This country is turning into a 3rd world country. Who wants to live in a country where the government lets its own people drown? Screw that.

the last week would have pushed us over the edge... The Government here has shown itself to be totally racist in the way it is treating the citizens of New Orleans...

We discussed France, since my husband is from Quebec and his first language is French, but we've both become SO proud of being Canadian over the last few years that we figure we need to go home...

And if London weren't so expensive, we'd have moved there in a minute... It's one of my favorite cities in the world... But moving from California to Toronto will let us pay cash for a house... Being mortgage free and having free health care was too tempting...

Now, if only we could do something about those winters.... I'm out of practice!

I've said it before here and so I'll say it again, my family first came here 350 years ago from Great Britain. We didn't leave Great Britain any more than someone from New York who moves to Hawaii seems himself/herself as "leaving the USA", but when the bridge went out, we had no choice but to stay. That was a LONG time ago. American is really my only culture...it's the one my family has worked to build for generations. I cannot even envision abandoning this country for another one. I've considered it - heaven knows I would be far more in sync with the cultural attitudes in Canada (although I live in California, which is of course as liberal as anywhere, in general), but it would be like abandoning my family.

Everyone has to make his/her own decision, but that's how I see it. My .02.

Unfortunately, there are huge areas of California that are as anti-Gay as anwyhere else in the U.S... And unfortunately, Arnold is going to veto the Gay Marriage Bill, and there are THREE ballot initiatives that the right is working on for next year to take away our Domestic Partner rights...

I certainly think you should stay if you want to stay... This country is going to need as many people possible to fight the right as possible....

But for many of us, our family has abandoned US... We aren't abandoning our family....
(And since I'm Canadian, I sort of feel it was like being adopted by a new family who turned out to be right-wing bigots, and are going to attack for the next 40 years.)

That's only natural. Your whole foster family wasn't right-wing bigots, you just are paying attention to the part that is. However, we all must come to our own decisions, and I respect yours.

This is my home, however, the only one I have.

One of the promises for us is the right to self determination and the pursuit of happiness.

A hummingbird and an elephant are given the same number of heartbeats to get through life; why should we waste our heartbeats pursuing happiness here when it can be had elsewhere?

America is not THAT great. Any more.

in the U.S. are moving back. Our 'brain drain' has stopped. People are just disgusted with Bush.

Unfortunately my partner and I are stuck here for financial reasons, for the time being anyway.

and don't forget - you can always come back to visit friends and loved ones! I'm glad to hear that you're retaining your citizenship, I'm going to do the same when I move in a year (to Scandinavia). We can never stop fighting for equality, even if that is only by our votes.

I loved it there, and, despite having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1989 (having moved just a couple of days before the Loma Prieta Earthquake) I'm so saddened by the state of affairs in this country that I'm jobsearching there.

On a more positive note, I loved how beautiful Vancouver is. It's one of the most beautiful cities I've been to.

I hope wherever you settle in Canada, you have good fortune and happiness. Don't forget us down here.

as well

I am seriously considering it. The U.S. feels less like home every day. I hope I and my partner have a good deal of fight left, but there is something deeply wrong with having to fight for lifetimes for basic rights.

maybe I'll defect to France while I'm on vacation

Maybe Canada can start offering political asylum to GLBTs

lord knows we may need it sooner or later

You and I haven't even managed to meet yet while we still live in the same city!

Even our (Gay) realtors today asked us to recommend a good immigration attorney so they can move to Canada... They've been selling houses for a few people moving to Canada, and after Arnold's upcoming veto and everything else, they said they have finally decided life is too short to be hated by your own Government...

and I'm leaving on vacation for a couple of weeks Saturday

like I said, maybe I'll defect to France

Seriously, I consider it all the time. I live in Virginia, which is a horrible state to live in if you are gay. My local news paper even published folks calling gay people "children of Satan". Ugh. I've been the only one to stand up to any of these people, and I've even had to find other people to send letters in to the paper. I've even wrote some of those letters myself so all they had to do was stamp their name on it!

It's really sad. I want to leave, but monetary restraints just won't let me go. I have a friend in Canada, hell he even offered to marry me to help me get in, but I can't go unless I know I'll be able to afford it and at least be able to stand on my feet. I even think about just moving to Massachusetts, but with gay marriage there under threat…

It sucks to always be scrounging around for money. Most likely I'll be stuck in this hell-hole till the day that I die. Bah.