What The Flux

I’ve heard stories about people being ostracized just for saying they’re thinking of leaving their community. That wasn’t my expectation—but my experience has turned out to be more complicated.  I tend to share openly. I even wrote a book about sharing and the gift economy because I genuinely believe life isn’t a zero-sum game. That belief comes from how I see life itself: as one vast, interconnected organism continually branching into endless variation—birds, fish, fungi, humans. What we call evolution. When you see the world this way, someone else’s well-being becomes your own. When others thrive, so do you. A couple of years ago, I began spending my summers away from the small town where I live. It gets intensely hot here, and like many places, we have a lot of snowbirds. But my absence stirred up questions: “I thought you left?” “I heard you’re moving.” Soon, a few “friends” began to distance themselves. That hurt. I realized that my value to them may have been tied to my visib...

Later this month, my partner Rob and I will be visiting Greece—yes, because of its Golden Visa program. I’d heard the term often, but only recently began to research it. What I found is that the rules around residency and citizenship for Americans are constantly evolving, and the costs vary widely. As financial expert Scott Galloway says, we now live in a time when rights aren’t granted by nationality—they’re bought. If you have the means, you can purchase a passport to just about anywhere and when you get there you can obtain whatever rights you are after. Countries entry fee can be found listed on sites that resemble eBay. Since I don’t wish to leave a country that’s fast resembling Viktor Orban’s style of leadership to enter one, I’m heading to Greece.  Unlike programs that require investment in a country’s infrastructure (after that you can buy a home), Greece’s Golden Visa offers a path to residency—and potentially citizenship—through real estate ownership. A few years ago, co...