Senior Spring
Between the Life You Knew and the One You Must Build
I've had several conversations with readers recently, but one stood out. It captured a sentiment I've heard over and over, but never quite this clearly.
The reader said: "It feels like Senior Spring."
That phrase hit hard. It crystallized the emotional state so many of you have shared with me over the last few months.
For those unfamiliar, "Senior Spring" is the final stretch of high school or college. It’s a weird, liminal period. You know everything is about to end—the routines, the faces, the familiarity. But in the present moment, none of it has ended yet. You're still going to class. Still seeing your friends. Still playing out the old patterns. But change is looming. Graduation is coming. And with it, a total upending of what has been your life.
Many of you are in that exact space.
You don’t want to leave the United States. But you believe you must. You don’t know if the country you’re targeting will be right. You don’t know what your life will look like. You don’t even know who you’ll be on the other side.
So you cling to the now—with both gratitude and grief.
The Four Emotions of Senior Spring
Here’s what I hear most frequently:
Gratitude — for the mundane moments that still feel normal.
Anger — for being robbed of those moments by forces outside your control.
Bargaining — asking if you really have to go.
Anxiety — about what comes next.
I feel all of these myself. Especially the anxiety. For example, what if I move my family to Ireland... and Ireland falls apart?
That’s why our country reports are sober, not saccharine. There are no Instagram-filtered guides to “Croissants and Citizenship” here. This isn’t a lifestyle blog. It’s about navigating irreversible transitions, with your eyes wide open.
This is not a vacation. It’s a transformation.
Underestimating the Change Required
When you move abroad, you don’t just change your address. You change your identity. Your sense of self. Your habits, language, career, family dynamics, sense of place. It’s harder than people think. And many give up.
Statistically, most who move abroad return home within three years.
But this time, going back may not be an option. If the U.S. collapses into authoritarianism or chaos, there may be no home to return to.
Some of you ask me, implicitly or explicitly, for permission not to go. If that’s where you land, that’s your decision. I’m not your conscience. I’m not your judge. But I am trying to be your mirror.
If you’re consuming this content, it's probably because some part of you knows you need to prepare. I’m spending my time attempting to provide information, analysis, and community. I think it’s time well spent. I hope you do too.
Who Are You If You're Not Who You Were?
This is the real core of it.
For years, you were someone. You had a role, a title, a routine, a country. Your identity was shaped by what you did, where you lived, and who you were surrounded by.
Now that may all be going away.
That’s not minor. That’s existential. For you and your family. And if you’ve spent a lifetime told that patriotism is identity, then rethinking your national allegiance feels like treason. It’s not. But it feels like it.
That’s why the most important decision isn’t where to go. It’s who you’re going to be. Because identity is the only anchor that gives you agency.
As I wrote in the doctrine on Stochastic Anarchy: when the systems collapse, all that remains is the individual.
Agency is the last sovereign structure.
The Excuses Are Real. But So Are the Counterexamples.
Some say: I can’t afford to move. And that might be true. But plenty of people with modest means have done it.
Some say: I’m too old. Again, that may be true. But many retirees live abroad. Not all countries penalize older immigrants.
Whatever your reason, it may be valid. But someone else with the same reason still made the leap.
Which tells you: the real barrier isn’t the reason. It’s the choice.
A mindset of agency is the necessary condition. Without it, no plan will save you.
It’s Hard to Think Clearly Right Now
Believe me, I get it. I’m trained in national security risk analysis. Even I have days where I can’t tell signal from noise. The threat landscape is fluid. It’s disorienting.
But here’s what I believe:
We are all in Senior Spring. The United States is not the country we thought it was. And it is unlikely to return to what it once was. That may sound pessimistic. I think it’s just descriptive.
Some of you are motivated by politics. Others by economics. Some by a gut sense that the future lies elsewhere. Fine. Your why is your own.
But if you’ve concluded that staying is no longer acceptable, then the only rational move is to build optionality now.
Graduation Is Coming. And This One Isn’t Benign.
In high school or college, graduation is a rite of passage. An emotional end, but not a dangerous one.
The forces ending this era in America are not benign. They are violent, authoritarian, and accelerating.
Capital controls.
Immigration lockdowns.
Collapse of civil government.
Currency devaluation.
Militarized cities.
These are not just hypotheticals. They are active probabilities.
And if they harden, your window to move may close. Permanently.
Final Thought
So yes: this is Senior Spring.
It’s bittersweet. It’s confusing. It’s emotionally destabilizing.
But the best way to manage that pain is not denial or despair. It’s action.
You cannot stop the change. But you can prepare for it.
And the first preparation is the mindset to choose.
👨👧 Father’s Day Promo: A Gift of Agency
If you’ve been meaning to take the next step toward building optionality—for yourself or your family—Father’s Day is a good moment to do it.
I decided to put the annual subscription on sale once again. From now through Sunday, June 16, you can upgrade to a paid annual subscription to Borderless Living at 20% off for the first year.
Whether you’re a father, have one, or want to lead like one—this is your invitation to claim agency in uncertain times.
👉 Unlock the Father's Day Offer
Stay safe.
Stay sovereign.
Stay Borderless.
As usual you describe with precision the emotions I am feeling in this moment. And I love the comparison to senior spring. It feels just like it but with less parties. 😉
I recently subscribed to Borderless Living because I want to understand what options I have as the US deteriorates into authoritarianism. I'm 65, just retired and have a very comfortable amount to draw from in retirement. I'm not ready to move from the US. But I've been thinking very seriously about some of the advice you've given and preparing for an exit, working on the options.
To start with, I'm leaning towards moving a lot of our money out of the US. One can invest in the same funds overseas. Your post about moving money was very helpful. I appreciate that you aren't advising this as a tax-dodge. I can probably make the IRA move you describe.
The second step would be to buy property in another country, probably Ireland. I look at it as a combination of an investment and a possible refuge.
My wife and I are not at all ready to relocate outside of the US though. We have kids, large extended family etc. Perhaps we'd spend the majority of the year outside of the US and return frequently.
If things get really bad, we have at laid the groundwork to permanently move. And perhaps for our younger adult kids to join us. I see this as a last resort, like a life insurance policy.
No one knows the future. I still believe Trump and the Republicans will ultimately fail but I'm keenly aware of how hard this all is to process; the unimaginable is now happening every day. And that the opposition has been so feeble. Who is going to stop them? Elections can now be suspended and results manipulated (they may have been in the last few elections . . . https://thiswillhold.substack.com/?r=78xf&utm_campaign=pub&utm_medium=web).
Does this make sense or are these just half measures?