I'm not homesick, because I'm not a sentimental person. But from a practicality standpoint, this country sucks. I'm in the suburbs on the East coast and everything is a 30 minute drive away. I don't drive. Where I came from in Europe, everything could be reach by walking or cycling or taking a train or bus. Here, nothing is reachable unless you're willing to spend half of your day in a massive, expensive, gas-guzzling death machine. The neighbours out here are all boomers who do nothing but mow their lawns and watch CNN or Newsmax all day. I've never felt this level of capitalist alienation before, and I've always been an introvert. It's not only inconvenient here, but gaslighting because everyone else seems not to question this boring concrete hellscape. There is nothing to do or see; only hundreds of fast food restaurants and gas stations. There's a PSL branch downtown, but that's an hour away by bus and the bus stop is a 45 minute walk (I'm not exaggerating). I thought the capitalist society I moved from was bad, but this is so much worse. And this is the bastion of freedom and liberty I've heard so much about? I guess I'm free to eat cheetos and watch Fox but other than that it isn't very liberating. My partner is a yank and really doesn't notice or mind, but I feel like I'll go crazy here. It's just miles and miles of asphalt and paranoid gun owners. I hate it and don't really know what to do. The food in the US costs at least two or three times as much as where I immigrated from, and tastes like garbage (I'm talking about the 'fresh' stuff). Utility bills are also much higher. On every street is a church blasting some religious doctrine at me (Easter was a cringe-fest). How do the rest of you cope???

  • TerminalEncounter [she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I've legit thought of travel nursing in the States but I dunno, yeah I could make more money but yall are popping off right now and I dunno if I could handle a health crisis episode even with insurance. Plus, I'm a member of a communist party and I swear there's a law the US has that bars entry of communist party members??? But somehow it excepts Cubans and people from the PRC? Seems like an additional headache on top of the safety stuff.

    • kristina [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      iirc the citizenship process asks if you are an anarchist or communist. at least thats what my relatives were asked back in their day

      • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I do believe “Are you or have you ever been a member of the communist party” or something similar is still a question in the citizenship process

        • FreakingSpy [he/him]
          ·
          2 years ago

          From the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:

          An immigrant who is or has been a member of or affiliated with the Communist or any other totalitarian party is inadmissible under INA 212(a)(3)(D), unless an exception applies.

          Don't ask the US government about harboring nazis, though side-eye-1

              • chickentendrils [any, comrade/them]
                ·
                2 years ago

                He did famously "renounce" said citizenship during/after emigrating to the Soviet Union, but never actually went through the legal process of renouncing it at an embassy. He didn't re-naturalize, as it were. I bet his taxes were a mess though stirner-shocked

              • MattsAlt [comrade/them]
                ·
                2 years ago

                You're correct, I was. A bit excited with the post. Just left the US then returned