Leaving Trumpsylvania

Art by Sue Coe, American photo books, Breuer tables in apartment in Norwich, U.K. December 2024. Photo: The author.

Initial reconnaissance

I’m a recent expat, living in England. If I’m not envied now by my friends back in the states, I will be soon — after January 20. But I feel guilty, like I ran out of a restaurant without paying the bill.

It wasn’t, however, a sudden departure. I’ve been preparing for eight years, if you put aside the decades of fantasies — generally following U.S. presidential elections ...