December 10, 2025
Passport panic, comment wars
How to Leave the USA
Americans plot a Dutch escape as comments erupt: stay and fight or go already
TLDR: An American couple joined GTFO Tours in the Netherlands to plan leaving the U.S. over politics and money stress. Comments split between “stay and fight” and “go already,” with paywall jokes and an [archive link](https://archive.is/JOmN3) stealing the show—turning a travel plan into a culture clash.
At a brewery inside a converted church in Haarlem, a Texas couple joined GTFO Tours—a relocation service—to prep their escape from the U.S. Debi (ex-military, now project manager) and Bane (photog and D&D fan) say Trump’s second term and rising costs broke the American Dream. They’re eyeing free healthcare, bikes, and bitterballen in the Netherlands. The community reaction? Explosive. One camp warns that leaving is abandoning the fight: “If you’ve given up, your vote no longer counts,” scolded 1970-01-01. Another crowd cheers the exits, with dogemaster2032 daring Hollywood and “other liberals” to actually follow through.
Then came the meme war: stackedinserter joked the real tutorial is beating the New Yorker paywall, and redrove swooped in with an archive link like a caped crusader. A Swiss voice, justmedep, flipped the script, saying the U.S. can be better for individuals, even if it’s rough for the average person. Comments split hard between stay-and-fight patriots and pack-your-bags pragmatists, with side-eye at selling blood plasma to make ends meet. Love them or roast them, Debi and Bane became the faces of a bigger question: is fleeing self-preservation—or surrender? Either way, the internet brought the popcorn and the passports.
Key Points
- •A relocation-focused tour in Haarlem, Netherlands, organized by G.T.F.O. Tours, introduced U.S. travelers to Dutch life.
- •Debi and Bane from Denton, Texas, plan to move permanently in January and joined the tour to prepare.
- •Their decision was accelerated by political concerns following Donald Trump’s second term, including perceived disregard for court orders.
- •Debi’s military and contracting experience across multiple countries influenced her views on social safety nets and inequality.
- •Economic pressures, including inflation and retirement worries, led the couple to cost-saving measures such as selling blood plasma.