I'm extremely fortunate to possess both US and German citizenship but have never taken advantage of it to work in the EU. Given the recent turning point in US politics towards authoritarianism I find myself wondering what signs I should watch to decide to get my family and I the hell out of the States. Here are some factors I'm considering, in no particular order. I think if any of these things happened, we'd be actively planning our exit.

* I have two young kids and in addition to the possible dismantling of the Department of Education, the thought of them being involved in a school shooting sits in the back of my mind. I don't have any data for this but fear that school shootings in the US will become even more frequent with the next administration. If the DoE goes down, this is a major sign.

* If the military and police team up to shut down protests including violence against citizens.

* Criminalizing "fake news" or arresting politicians who are critical of the administration.

* Women losing status as first class citizens. Abortions becoming harder and harder to get safely, or being outright illegal.

* Gay marriage losing it's legal status. The criminalization of being trans. Ending birthright citizenship.

So yeah basically Project 2025. What I gather from historic authoritarian take overs is that things can happen much more quickly than some may have assumed.

If you're also thinking of escaping the crumbling US government, what is it going to take for you to say "OK, that's it, I'm out."