Europe Ruined America For Me (After 10 Years Abroad) YouTube video by Joe Baur

Growing up in the U.S., I assumed that America is the best country on Earth. After 10 years or living in Europe and traveling around the world, I’m not so sure about that. youtu.be/ZQDGV9rdXEU

My latest ZD article is LIVE!

Finding breath-taking locations in nature feels like discovering parts of Hyrule in the real world. Come with me as I dive into @baurjoe.bsky.social’s video essay with fellow ZD Teammates @katshaff.bsky.social, Sofia, and Julie!

American Suburbs Took My Freedom — Zelda Gave It Back YouTube video by Joe Baur

Our friend @baurjoe.bsky.social just posted his latest travel & exploration video, this time focused on Zelda!

Thanks for shouting out our team and our website, Joe, and for interviewing our team members: Katie, Julie, & Sophia!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zn2...

This SHOCKS Me Coming Back to America (After 10 Years in Europe) YouTube video by Joe Baur

And like mass shootings or inaccessible health care—it doesn’t need to be this way.

I’m talking about the ubiquity of our suburban slop. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzIL...

Those shock me. But what shocks me most is something that’s been around my entire life. I grew up with it—and I thought it was completely normal. It wasn’t until I started traveling and moved abroad that I realized this is uniquely American.

What shocks me most when I visit the States aren't the GoFundMe pages to pay for medical bills or the fact that we saw a senile fascist wannabe try to overthrow an election and thought, “Ah, let’s give him another shot. He’s not a woman!”

Unfortunately, that’s not the reality for tens of millions of Americans.

This is what they live with: Parking lots the size of football fields, dangerously wide roads, empty strip malls—all designed to numb the soul.

This is what shocks me most every time I visit the U.S. after 10 years of living in and traveling around Europe...

If you watch American movies or television shows—this is what the country usually looks like: Gorgeous, untouched mountains, quaint towns, and vibrant, big city life.

What Americans Don't Understand About Moving to Europe (After 10 Years) YouTube video by Joe Baur

So if escaping the far-right is why you’re romanticizing life in Europe or thinking about moving here, just keep in mind that you might be trading a senile fascist for someone with a lot more years ahead of them. youtu.be/h064-jv30Fs

Again, this is a very German example, because that’s what I know best.

But the fact is, the far right is gaining power across the continent, even in countries like France, Italy, and across Scandinavia—some of the places Americans are referring to when they say they want to move to Europe.

The latest polls show the AfD are stronger than ever, capturing 24.5% of votes if a federal election were held today. They’re now the second most popular party in the country and are on pace to win their first outright state victory later this year in Saxony-Anhalt.

Remember how I said roughly 13-16% of Americans consider themselves MAGA—the political engine behind Trump and the very motivation for many Americans to leave in search of a better life abroad in Europe?

If I had a Hefeweizen handy, this is when I’d get ready to do a spit take.

Now how does this party poll in Germany? Surely this country, celebrated by many progressives in the U.S. for how they’ve confronted their horrific 20th century history, would see the rise of such incontrovertible evil and show them the proverbial door.

For one of their greatest hits, they participated in a conference in Wannsee, right where the Nazis planned the Final Solution, and discussed plans with other far-right activists and politicians to “remigrate” millions of people from Germany, including German citizens with an immigration background.

In Germany, the far-right is the AfD—the Alternative for Germany party. If you don’t know who they are, many consider them neo-Nazis without the boots and brown shirts. They minimize the Holocaust and are grossly Islamophobic and homophobic—really, all the phobics.

A YouGov poll from May 2025 estimates that 53% of Republicans describe themselves as MAGA. That was down from a peak of 60%. But let’s use 53%. Approximately 27% of Americans identify as Republican. That would mean that roughly 13-16% of the American electorate consider themselves MAGA.

Let’s say MAGA represents the far-right of the United States. As far as I can tell, there’s no official data on the percentage of American voters who consider themselves MAGA. So we have to do a bit of educated guessing.

As I’ve mentioned in other YouTube videos, the growing interest in Americans wanting to move to Europe ties directly to the rise of Trump and the far right in the United States.

If that’s your motivation for moving to Europe, buckle up.

The far right is growing in the U.S., fueling an increased interest in moving abroad. But is moving to Europe the answer to escaping far right politics?

Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Lyric Video) YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

When you are the villain of a Bruce Springsteen song, it's long past time to reconsider your choices. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDaP...

Exploring Portugal's Algarve in Winter (Coastlines, Mountains, No Crowds) YouTube video by Joe Baur

To kickoff 2026, I traveled to the Algarve for a stay with the Kimpton Atlantico, to get a taste of the region in winter, and immerse myself in its wildly diverse natural surroundings. youtu.be/-Xhv90Kbgjk

What's so special about Portugal's Algarve? 🇵🇹

Is it the rocky coastal views, the food, the historic, human-sized towns, or perhaps, the people — from the trail-side chef to the olive oil farmer?

If YOU are a US citizen living overseas, I’d love to hear from you.

How do you feel? How has it changed your perception of the US? Are you doing anything different in light of *everything* going on in the US right now?

Thank you!

That said, I’m often asked by people in the States what it’s like to be a US citizen overseas right now. So this video would be for them.

Before people potentially rage (as is so often the reflex on social media)… This might not be a video or question for you. I realize 99% of people do not care about Americans. It’s just the government they have an issue with.

Thinking of making a video about what it’s like to be a US citizen abroad right now.

We Need To Start Traveling Again YouTube video by Joe Baur

That, my friends, is travel. And whether it’s for ourselves or the places we claim to love, we need to start traveling again. youtu.be/VZzd4CbbJf4

When is the last time you’ve arrived in a country or a region to challenge the narrative of what corporate news and media have to say about a place? When is the last time you woke up and thought, “I don’t know what’s happening today,” or “I don’t know where I’m going next”?

I mean: When is the last time you had an unexpected conversation with a stranger in a foreign countryside, trying to communicate with nothing more than well-meaning gestures and a friendly smile?