I'm an American living in the Netherlands. People won't stop talking to me about Trump — here's what they ask me.

Kenneth Price.Courtesy of Kenneth PriceKenneth Price, an American engineer, moved to the Netherlands for a better quality of life.Price faces questions about US politics from locals, especially after Trump's election win.He prefers the Netherlands' work-life balance and less polarized political environment.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kenneth Price, a 47-year-old engineer living in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I've been living in Eindhoven, Netherlands, since July. I moved here from San Diego for my job in machine engineering in the semiconductor industry. My wife and I are happy and secure here.During the most recent US election, most locals were confident that the result would be different than what it was. Leading up to the election, there were a lot of conversations about it.Since Trump won the election and took office in January, I've been getting a lot of questions as an American abroad.In general, the current US president is not very popularMost people here seem to think that almost all Americans are into politics. I'm interested in politics, but my views don't align with either major party.I've never voted for either of the two major parties. I've always voted third party because I don't believe in binary choices. It's been hard to explain that to people here.It's not uncommon for people to start the conversations here by asking who you voted for, what you think about Trump, and what you think about what's going on. I think they automatically assume I support the current administration. They see a lot of divisiveness on social media, but many of us don't fit into those boxes.I've heard a lot of comments like 'I bet you're glad you're not there right now' — and I amIt's very direct. To be honest, I don't want to talk about it. I don't follow the news in the US all that much. What I do follow on social media is polarized, and it seems to have gotten worse.I hear mostly about how friends in the US are afraid to leave the country to visit because they fear not being able to return home.Immediately after the election, I started getting even more questions. It was really interesting. At first, my colleagues asked, "How do you feel?"My response was generally, "I'm glad I'm here." They're fairly understanding once you explain that you don't know the answer to their questions. It's a bit disconcerting that you have to explain it because it wasn't like that before last year. I came to the Netherlands several times a year for four years before moving full-time.The election solidified my decision not to return to the US. I'm on a five-year highly skilled visa. I can apply for citizenship or renew it at the end of the five years.We want to stay for the quality of life, work-life balance, air quality, low cost of living, and low crime — everything about this place that the US isn't.The biggest thing since the election has been the change in how people are tiptoeing around subjectsI noticed that conversations always start with "no offense." I respond, "Where's that coming from?" Regardless of whether I agree, I won't be offended by what people say.People always ask me to explain what the US government is doing. As soon as I open my mouth, even if I speak Dutch at A2, or an intermediate level, they know I'm American.It seems as though people feel like they have to go out of their way to have conversations about topics related to the US if they know you're American.I don't see a lot of anti-Elon Musk stuff, but I do see a lot of caricatures of TrumpI do follow Dutch news and politics. In the Netherlands, we have a center-right government and some politicians who get compared to Trump. This government is mostly unpopular among the people I associate with, but I know it's popular among certain groups.There's a lot of conversation around that, and people are always making comparisons to the US. The politics here are less polarized because there are more options for who to vote for, and the government is very competent.I've been more affected by real-world things like the dollar going down against the euroI have money in a US bank account that I want to move here. The exchange rate used to be roughly one-to-one, or the dollar was a bit stronger. Recently, it's dropped around 10%.I don't want to keep anything in my US bank account. I'm worried it won't be worth anything unless something significant changes. Being directly affected like that has made me mad.Read the original article on Business Insider

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