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Is anyone else considering leaving the US or moving to a secluded area for the 2024 election season? The 2020 and 2016 election seasons had such a negative impact on my mental health that I don't want to stay where I am for the election next year and since I can afford to avoid it I think I will. I will probably also block myself from reading the news and themotte and most social media as well when I'm away. But I can't remember when things really start to amp up where politics becomes unavoidable- the election is held in November, but what time of the year do things start to get ridiculous? I'd like to be gone for all of September through the beginning of November at least but I can't remember if the entire summer in an election year is bad or not. Maybe I'll just wait it out and leave as soon as it gets unavoidable but I fear by then it'll be too late and I'll be too annoyed and I'll chicken out and stay longer than I need to.
Yep that's why I'm looking to be someplace outside the anglosphere and avoiding the media. US cultural domination is pretty much unavoidable anywhere that English is spoken these days
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If you stay outside of the US for too long then there is a chance the local politics of your new home may start to negatively impact your mental health. There is political disfunction in many places so you may only be trading on cause of negative mental health for another. Additionally, US politics is often a trendy topic in foreign countries. If you socialize with the locals they may be interested in your thoughts on US politics. It would still be better than being in the US though because foreigners are far less vested in the outcome and can do very little to influence it.
I like your strategy of avoiding news and social media. Maybe just extend your strategy to avoid people (especially ones that bring up politics) for a while. You don't really have to travel anywhere to do that. Just do all your shopping online and only leave the house to go to secluded spots in nature.
Yep, I just permanently moved from Canada to the US this summer. Never been happier! And yes, politics and the culture war more broadly is a huge part of why.
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I spent over a year traveling outside the US and it was great, I completely ignored local politics and didn't have to worry about US politics at all except for what I saw online. Almost no one talked to me about American politics or if they did they had such a different perspective than the people who irritate me in the US that I was able to hear them out and listen to them with a more critical distance than I do when people in America do the same. I like spending time in places where I don't know the local language because I don't have to get irritated by the political implications of everything and can just operate at a more basic level like a child does, sort of feeling what is going on around me rather than being bombarded with social and cultural messaging at every second like it is in the US
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not if there is a large language and culture barrier, for the same reason some immigrants to the US fail to ever assimilate
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What is it about the election season that's impacting your mental health? If you live in an area where things are known to get fiery (but mostly peaceful!) I'd say leave at least six months in advance. The civic powder kegs are being packed tight and there's no telling what might set them off.
If what you're trying to get away from is a feeling of anxiety about the election and its outcomes, then a change of scenery on its own won't help. That's coming from within, and will follow you to the ends of the earth.
I definitely don't have anxiety about the election and its outcomes at all. I know dumb shit will happen either way and my actions have effectively no impact on the outcome, I don't even vote, what irritates me is that other people have anxieties about the outcome of the elections and I hate having to see their anxieties on full display for months on end. I really don't imagine anything particularly fiery or explosive happening either, but the incessant political signaling and cultural anxiety is enough to drive me crazy and the past two election seasons had me thinking "I wish I was out of the country" for months at a time and now that I can make it happen I have no reason to stick around
Travelling will certainly separate you from the stimulus of seeing other people lose their minds on this specific issue. From your other replies it even sounds like you've done one of these trips before and had a good time. If you have the opportunity, you might as well take it.
However, speaking as your certified internet stranger, it still comes across as dodging the main issue: you're letting the behavior of others dictate your mental well being. You can't control the initial flash of annoyance when you see someone with election fever, but you do control your response.
This could even be a great opportunity for you to bring a little sanity to the world by setting a better example. Tune your media intake and personal systems to let you be the steady rock in the political storm. That way when the election is over you'll be better prepared for when life throws you a stressor that you can't travel away from.
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My aunt and uncle had a place in Florida for the past decade until they sold in June this year. Like a lot of retired Canadians they live half up north, then go somewhere warm in winter. It wasn't the only factor in their decision to sell, but the forthcoming election was another push to convince them to get out. They felt in general people had gotten a bit more aggressive, rude, and generally unhinged in their time there. Aggressive driving seemed to be up as well as casual/threatening handling of guns. They didn't live in an expensive part and if you just walked around the neighbourhood you could see a number of sort of gauche displays of political affiliation. They decided that it was best to leave before you leave with bitterness.
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instead of being discrete, elections have become increasingly merged into a sort of contiguous event. elections have become so intense and high stakes and the losers so embittered that you would never be able to return, because the aftermath of the prior election would still be unfolding, and then the cycle repeats itself. The dems were still challenging the 2016 election and bitter well until 2019, until Covid came along.
That's correct but from my view, there will always be some background noise of politics going on but it's usually possible to tune it out. But there is a point leading up to the presidential election when it becomes completely impossible to avoid politics for months at a time- just driving down the street you'll see signs, non political people on social media will be posting non stop about voting, the news will be a landmine etc
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Another way to put this would be that elections are settling issues less and less over time.
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True. Same thing for 2020. Trump and the republicans have continued to deny the validity of the 2020 election to this day and it’s become a loyalty test for the current Republican presidential candidates.
With the amount of money pouring into national races and federal elections every two years, it’s hard to avoid any election season.
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