American Violence Is Pushing Families to Think About Leaving

The one group in the United States most interested in leaving the country and permanently living somewhere else is American women ages 15 to 44. According to Gallup, 40 percent of women polled in my age bracket expressed this desire, double the rate of all U.S. adults. That tells me that the women who are building their lives and the lives of the next generation are looking for the exit.

Women in other, similar nations do not share this desire to relocate. In November, I asked readers who were considering moving what was driving them out.

While the responses were varied (the rollback of rights for women, immigrants and L.G.B.T.Q.+ people was mentioned by several), the most common reason cited was gun violence in the United States. Whether at the hands of fellow citizens or militarized law enforcement officers, this particular form of violence and its unremitting nature is just not a significant problem in our peer nations.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/opinion/leaving-america-gun-violence.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share