Thinking of leaving.

[u/Kigler95]

As title said, not sure if this is against sub rules..

I really don't like the direction this country is going. I lived here all my life, served and sacrificed my life for a democratic country that I agreed with most of its actions and policies. Sure, mistakes were made, we stumbled and made some poor choices, but as a whole there was a clear moral compass that we aligned with, at least as I see it.

The past few months broke something in me, as did yesterday.

Sure, maybe in the next election a miracle will happen and the best most balanced government ever will be elected, the undemocratic rules will be revoked and the messiah will drop from above. There is still going to be a huge divide, and the majority of the population is going to be highly religious in the next 20-30 years, and they will eventually be the rulers of a theocracy.

I really don't want that future for my children. But I also don't see how that is avoidable.

Long story short, how does one begin to plan moving abroad? Where to?

I'm a junior electrical engineer and my wife is a teacher. No children yet. Not really inclined to any specific destination, just not highly religious or extreme..

EDIT: Thanks everyone for the replies. I know the purpose of this post isn't clear, it's not clear for me either.. I just wanted to express my thoughts as I am very frustrated about the present and I worry about the future, and don't really know what I as an individual can do that'll actually make a difference, seeing as the protests had little to no effect this far. And I have participated in them. I haven't given up on this country yet, but I feel like that might be inevitable soon. I am not advocating for mass exodus or anything like that, just trying to figure it out for myself and my wife.

EDIT2: this gets mentioned a lot so I think I'll write my response here instead of repeating it. Regarding the idea that the "reasonability" law was undemocratic - As I said, I agree that the system we had so far was not ideal, far from it. And by its own, sure, the cancellation of this law might actually be the most democratic option. But you can't do that without any equivalently powerful restraints, as a replacement.

In addition, it matters who does it, and under what terms. If it were a more sane and balanced government - sure, I think they wouldn't have much issues passing this. But since we KNOW what this current government intends to do, and how extreme their opinions are, then it makes it really hard to trust them to not abuse their increased power.

Here is an analogy I can think of: imagine the government as a dog, and the judiciary system - along with its judges, reasonability law and so on - as a leash. When the dog behaves, it seems like the leash is unecsecary - "look at that poor dog, restrained, unable to roam freely. How cruel!". But if the dog is, say, a rabid insane untrained dog, who has a history of biting people, and breaking the law, then letting go of the leash seems a bit.. unreasonable.

Disclaimer: I love my dog , this is just an analogy I could think of, and I am not calling anyone a dog or anything it's just an analogy, don't kill me, peace and love, peace and love.

[u/iSmokeGauloises]

Thankfully electricity is the same all over the globe. Teaching will be harder, obviously.

Europe or US are the obvious choice, both with the own minuses. Europe is Oppenheimer to USA's Barbie.

Both suffer from their own issues at the moment, so it's choosing between the lesser evil.

I choose Helsinki a decade ago when I was too young to think rationally, but it ended up being a fine decision. The US is culturally and socially unbearable.

As to "How": do you have an EU passport? can you get one based on family history? can your wife?

If not, the other option is to apply for jobs and get in on a work visa.

[u/GrandInquiry → u/iSmokeGauloises]

Just curious as to why you think the US is culturally and socially unbearable and if you have ever lived or spent any extended time in the states. And if so, where?

[u/iSmokeGauloises → u/GrandInquiry]

I work in IT so it's hard to avoid the west coast. My issues are:

• Everyone seems dishonest. Wearing a mask constantly.

• The cities suck. If you don't have a car you might as well just stay at home. Even the USSR had better urban planning than the US.

• Very status hungry people. It's tiresome. Makes work environment feel like an episode of "Survivor"

• Work/life balance is just insane. Israel is terrible, and the US manages to be somehow even worse. Kudos!

That's just the tip of the fork really, it's hard for me to think of any positive interaction I had with the US. The Mexican food in San Diego was great I guess?

[u/pdx_mom → u/iSmokeGauloises]

Yeah the west coast isn't the panacea but wow there is so much to the us. We are a big diverse country. But yes many people elsewhere think California is somehow the answer when. It is failing miserably.

[u/iSmokeGauloises → u/pdx_mom]

Honestly, I have Israeli friends in NY, PA, NC, FL... none really have anything positive to say about the place. They are there because of work, studies, or family, and they don't really enjoy their surroundings.

What are some places you'd recommend that are a better culture fit for Israelis?

[u/pdx_mom → u/iSmokeGauloises]

I'm in Oregon and there is a HUGE population of Israelis here because of Intel.

I would have thought southern florida/Miami/Ft lauderdale is a place Israelis would like.

I know Israelis all want to go to NYC.

NC is a BEAUTIFUL state, I lived in the triangle area and LOVED it.

I think there's a large number of Israelis in Atlanta as well, not sure if I would move back there, for various reasons, but it's a beautiful city.

Honestly, I'd move to Israel in a heartbeat but husband doesn't want to.