A father has revealed the exact moment he knew that he wanted to leave the United States and raise his children in Spain.
Luna, who goes by the username @lunagoestospain on TikTok, frequently posts videos about preparing for her move with her family. In a recent clip, she noted that a lot of people who live in the US have told her that, while they also want to move abroad, their husbands don’t want to do the same.
She went on to direct her camera towards her own husband, before explaining that he didn’t want to move at first either. However, he then shared the experience he had while visiting Spain that ultimately changed his mind about raising children outside of the US.
“We go to a cafe and there’s a ton of people walking around,” he recalled about the trip to Spain. “Being from St Louis, that’s not a very comfortable place for me to be in. And you turn to me and say: ‘Have you seen all these people?’ And I’m like: ‘Uhuh,’ and you’re like: ‘None of them have guns.’”
He concluded his message by describing his change in perspective about living in Missouri, which has allowed individuals to carry concealed firearms in most places without first obtaining a permit since 2017.
“I realised that this weight that I’d been carrying around my whole life wasn’t necessary,” he said. “It’s like what we think is normal is not normal.”
In the caption, Luna went on to describe her husband’s comments, writing: “Here’s what shifted for him. I’m sure this’ll piss the right people off. No pun intended.”
The TikTok video has quickly gone viral, as it has amassed more than 121,600 views. In the comments, multiple viewers also expressed their interests in raising children outside of America, while also describing their positive experiences when taking trips abroad.
“There’s so much mental energy we dedicate to simply existing in the US,” one person claimed.
“We lived in Japan for three years. Feeling safe in any neighbourhood or at any time of day or night was amazing,” another wrote.
A third added: “As a father of two young boys, your husband’s explanation has me shook because I cannot disagree.”
Earlier this month, Luna shared another video reflecting on her upcoming move to Spain. In the clip, she explained that she’ll miss her family and friends in Missouri, but highlighted some of the benefits to living abroad.
“I won’t ever have to tell her she can’t wear light-up shoes because of safety,” she wrote. “No shopping for bulletproof backpacks. I’ll move mountains to make sure she’s as safe as humanly possible.”
The Independent has contacted Luna for comment.
Luna’s videos also come two years after Missouri enacted the “Second Amendment Preservation Act,” which “subjects local and state law enforcement officers to fines of $50,000 for helping to enforce a federal gun law,” according to the Giffords Law Center. In March of this year, a federal judge ruled the controversial law as unconstitutional, but “has since allowed the law to remain in effect pending appeals,” per Giffords.
In recent years, research has found that more Americans are opting to move out of the US. According to the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), there were nearly 4.8 million Americans living overseas in 2018. This number has continued to grow, as the US Department of State estimated that in 2021, there were about 9 million US citizens living abroad.
