After Trump's win, many despondent Americans research moving abroad

8/11/2024 16:38

        As U.S. election exit polls began to point to a second presidency for Donald Trump, many Americans were already looking for another kind of exit: moving abroad.
        
        Google searches for "move to Canada" surged 1,270% in the 24 hours after U.S. East Coast polls closed on Tuesday, company data shows. Similar searches about moving to New Zealand climbed nearly 2,000% while those for Australia jumped 820%.
        
        Late Wednesday evening on the U.S. East Coast, Google searches about emigrating were hitting all-time highs for all three countries, according to a Google official.
        
        The search giant does not provide absolute figures but data from the Immigration New Zealand website showed the site logged some 25,000 new U.S. users on Nov. 7, compared to 1,500 for the same day last year.
        
        Many Americans are worried that his presidency could drive a bigger wedge between Democrats and Republicans on issues such as race, gender, what and how children are taught, and reproductive rights.