Coffee on the walk to the farmers’ market. A language class. An art history class.
That’s how one reader described the life she wanted abroad, and it’s the clearest picture of the goal I’ve been handed. Two other readers asked for the same thing in three words: “a sense of belonging.” Another put it this way: “I want to go someplace where I do not feel the need to doom scroll.”
If you’re reading this before November 3, that picture can feel a long way off. Every two years the country holds its breath, and so do the people who write to me. They aren’t asking who will win. They’re asking whether the result means they have to do something, and how fast.
My honest answer is that the vote won’t settle your plan. Heads or tails, the most it can do is buy you time, and time is how you get to that market without a costly mistake along the way.
This piece is about making sure you don’t waste that time, whatever the outcome. One election won’t change America’s direction. It could, however, change yours, depending on how you use it.