Definitely out of reach for most. So many are paycheck to paycheck as it is

I totally get that, but we are married with a child and living very far away from any traditional support system (in a different country than either of our families). It's certainly tough, especially missing out on the free child care that everyone around us seems to be enjoying, but honestly it's not that bad, and even has some of its own benefits.

I agree. I'm in the same boat. I would make the point though that if you emigrate somewhere else, you're going to have to leave behind a lot of comfort. That includes your support systems. Without wads of cash you will have to endure living in conditions you don't want to. You will have to struggle more than you think is reasonable.

We are just not uncomfortable enough yet to take that leap.

I actually left the US because I have kids - I didn't want them growing up there, or with the trouble we saw coming years ago.

Now you've moved to Japan, with its rising far right politics

Wow! Incredible, well done

Congrats. Was reading about the apartment application process for foreigners (giving them gift money for considering your application is a thing?) - that's daunting. Did you go for a large city or somewhere a bit off the main track?

50k? Trips and ____?

I'm about 2 lifetimes worth of labor short of having the money to leave.

Wish I could leave. This is going to get bad ...

MASSIVE EXODUS!

single digit change in migration patterns

It's pure hysterical clickbait. The far more newsworthy headline would be about people declining to immigrate to the US, as the Feds add more and more foreign nations to its shit list. Very obvious that Trump (by way of Steven Miller) wants the US to be Whites Only.

But they idea that people are leaving in droves requires you to believe that's a viable option for anyone.

Yeah, this isn’t cheap at all. It’s either a huge chunk of money up front or you have to uproot and move your family only taking what you can afford to the next country, a huge upheaval, with probably no support network at all where you move to. Ans that’s just residency, you’re not a citizen until you've put in years and meet whatever citizenship requirements.

Why would the rich leave? Don't they benefit from Trumps policies like tax breaks and stuff? Or do you just mean the moderately 'normal' rich people with 'only' 6-figure incomes?

The average Joe working at the Ford factory

That isn't the average Joe though, not by a long shot.

The average is the average Joan working as a cashier.