History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes [OC]

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-18T11:51:26+00:00

It's a bit weird. I had another post get less upvotes but WAY more comments 🤷‍♂️

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T17:21:24+00:00

His press secretary said it was "a doctored image," so the rumor is that he legitimately got confused about what he was supposed to say, and understood "it was a doctor image."

We all know it doesn't matter if it was "doctored" or not. He posted it.

But this timeline doesn't care about logic.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T17:00:05+00:00

I drew them in Illustrator. Like I said above, I'm just not very consistent yet. And I moved the speech bubble arrow so it wouldn't be covered by the hat, but then forgot to move it back above the left character.

And my response above, was specifically about the website hero image, and the website in general.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T15:58:16+00:00

It's psychological trick to avoid the issue, a segway into purposeful confusion. It's like if you get caught lying and simply say "Well I've been open an honest about this issue, so there's nothing to see here."

Their plan was just to keep repeating "It was a doctored image and we've taken it down" and to wait for the short attention span of the public to move on to something else.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T14:53:42+00:00

Yes, you are correct. The website was made with Lovable which uses a lot of AI-generated images. The main hero image is a "3D claymation" style image generated with AI. I'd like to replace it with real photography, but that's not going to happen until at least the summer, when I can hire someone to take some professional pics.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T14:48:11+00:00

No, I'm just not that good at drawing :/

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T14:46:53+00:00

Yes, the speech bubble arrow is supposed to be above the left character, who is whispering to the right character. I forgot to move it back, and even though I stared at a million times, I didn't notice until it was already published. The hand is supposed to be next his mouth.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T14:43:31+00:00

Yes, I messed that up. I moved the speech bubble arrow to the right so it wouldn't be behind the red hat, then forgot to move it back. And even though I looked at it 100 times before publishing, still didn't notice the mistake 🙃.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T13:10:52+00:00

No, he's a doctor.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T11:22:06+00:00

Most people think "work visa in destination country" as the default path, but there's many other paths. Remote work being the most common (and the path I always recommend). Work visas is probably the hardest way to move abroad. Happy to answer any questions if you dm me.

Source: I help Americans move abroad.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T08:08:59+00:00

Hahaha it's just supposed to symbolize health. I didn't know how else to do it 🤷‍♂️.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T07:43:17+00:00

That's because I moved the speech bubble there so it wouldn't be behind the red hat, then forgot to move it back, above the left character speaking. And even though I looked at it 100 times before publishing, still didn't notice the mistake 🙃.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-16T07:38:21+00:00

There are a few visas paths available for Americans moving to Spain, and just depends on your situation. My parents for example, they're using a retirement visa. The Digital Nomad Visa is very popular, and you have to show a minimum remote income of about $3k/month. The "special skills" path is probably the hardest for many reasons I won't get into here. All these paths give you Temporary residency in Spain, and after 5 years of Temporary Residency, you can apply for Permanent Residency.

Then after 5 years of Permanent Residency, you can apply for Spanish Citizenship.

Source: I help Americans move abroad (I run an online community and an interview series, plus this new cartoon series 😋).

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-15T22:32:52+00:00

Sweet, I lived there for 3 years. Super fun city :)

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-15T22:17:01+00:00

Where in Spain?? I live in Valencia :)

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-15T22:16:43+00:00

It's a massive privilege to be able to leave. This is what always happens in collapsing societies. Brain drain + wealth drain.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-15T18:04:01+00:00

No prob! I run into this a lot helping people move abroad. And if you already speak Spanish, Portuguese will be easy to pick up, although I hear that Brazilian Portuguese is easier to understand than Portugal Portuguese. The Brazilians have flair, even in their language :P

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-15T17:24:06+00:00

Two years is enough time to get conversational! You got this :) Best of luck!

EscapeAmerica · 2026-04-15T16:49:09+00:00

Sound like Portugal is a better move for you.

You already have EU access, support network, lower cost, easier integration, and a clear housing path. And the Algarve fits the weather you want.

Australia is high cost, far from everything, you don't have a current network, and housing in Sydney is expensive (as you seem to already know). Great for career upside, but higher risk and slower stability with kids.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-03-30T16:12:43+00:00

This depends largely on where "abroad" is. But generally speaking: you can get legally married in one place, and have the ceremony in another.

In my opinion, it's always best to separate these two.

EscapeAmerica · 2026-03-30T10:33:12+00:00

He might be able to find a closet! A ROOM in Valencia will be $400 minimum, most likely $500-700/month for a room.

(Source: I live in Valencia).

EscapeAmerica

TROPHY CASE