You actually have to implicitly install google services on GrapheneOS, but if you do install it then it is sandboxed.

Yes, especially since the diamond markets recent collapse.

While it’s true that his executive orders are unconstitutional, what does it matter if the people who are supposed to enforce those rules of law instead comply with Trumps orders? While I certainly hope that those in power will reign him in , I have very little faith that they will. We all know that the SCOTUS is firmly in his pocket and while not a super majority there is certainly a plurality of supporters in the two houses of congress. I’ve also seen very little push back from the democrats in office aside from some token efforts. They threw us under the bus after they lost the election and I don’t see them actually standing up for us anytime soon.

Sadly it would seem that we are on our own. Find what help you can from supportive friends and family. Allies are the only real protections we have left. But I would encourage all LGBT folk and especially trans people to make real solid plans for any new policies they might enact.

Find alternative sources for your meds, a good resource is Transgendermap.com If your doctor will agree to it have them change your diagnosis to something that won’t be regulated against. Millions of cis people have low testosterone or estrogen, spiro is sometimes used as a diuretic. Anything you can do to ensure your continued health and wellness in case gender affirming care gets banned.

You should also make concrete plans to run if it comes to it. Get together some cash if you can afford to save, get jewelry that can also be traded or sold in an emergency. It draws less attention than a stack of cash and is easier to hide. Pack a go bag with all of your essentials. Find where your nearest border crossings are and get your papers in order. It’s a good idea to get travel visas arranged ahead of time, many countries have short term visitor visas that can be used anytime in a 2 year window once you’ve registered for it. It’s also not a bad idea to look at a map and decide where you might jump the border outside of the official crossing points.

Lastly, learn to defend yourselves. Take self-defense classes, learn a martial art. Kravmaga was created with rapid training and maximum effectiveness in mind. Take a firearms safety class and arm yourselves. .380 is a good caliber for beginners, it has low recoil and decent energy transfer, 9mm is better but has more recoil. Once you’ve taken a class and procured a weapon practice with it, go to a range and practice regularly, a tool is only ever as good as its user. Be prepared to defend yourself but never be the aggressor, they will use any excuse they can to crack down.

This all may sound alarmist to you but the phrase “better safe than sorry” strongly applies to situations like these. I know the fascist label gets thrown around a lot, but so far the maga playbook closely mirrors the actions of Germany’s government in 1938. I sincerely hope that I am wrong about all of this but if you don’t prepare, you could lose everything. If you prepare for the worst and nothing happens, you’ve lost nothing.

That sounds a lot more sane than our politics, out policies change rapidly whenever the parties switch who’s in charge. The whole presidential executive orders thing is really wild, they can’t pass full laws but the power they do weild is immense. The 00s invasion of Iraq was done on an executive order, and no Trump is using them to take away lgbt rights and deport a ton of immigrants. The president is supposed to be reigned in by congress and the judicial branch but they’re both strongly aligned with same party and do little to check his power.

How bad is the racism against Chinese people specifically? My GF is Chinese.

That all sounds a lot better than it is here, we’ve both experienced verbal harassment and I was attacked a couple years ago. I think I’d also feel more comfortable since yall have actual gun control laws, I grew up rural and have been around guns my whole life, but it is absolutly insane how prevalent they are here.

The work life balances sounds a lot better than what we have. We don’t have any minimum time off laws at all, and the current government wants to get rid of overtime pay and union protections.

We’ve started the process for getting our work related papers in order, her medical license has been accepted and my engineering degree and certs are in process. Our current plan is to use the 90 day tourist visas we have to do more in person job searches and then get a work visa. Our leaving the states hinges on how bad things get here. She shares child custody with her ex so we really don’t want to leave the kids if we don’t have to.

We have thought about a couple other countries but NZ is currently our first choice. Australia does appear to have more opportunity as far as work and housing go, but they also feel closer to the US politically which worries us.

How bad at the rural areas? We want to live in a larger city anyways but we both lobe hiking and camping so would like to be able to at least visit the countryside.

Could you expound on work life balance? What kind of vacation time is considered average? Here we get 2-3 weeks a year.

That sounds similar to things here in the US, especially housing and costs of living, though I expect those to be exacerbated by NZ being an island.

I’ve been trying to get an idea of NZ politics and have noticed the rightward shift, but it seems that overall the political climate is a fair bit more leftward. Also proportional government sounds like a dream compared to the shit show we have over here.

Yes, my gf is a healthcare practitioner and I’m an engineer. Both of our careers are on the immigration green list, which gives us a permanamt resident visa.