Category: Uncategorized

As a retired U.S. Air Force officer, I firmly believe in civilian control of our military. This country should be a nation of laws — not of special interests, oligarchs or kings. Before committing our forces to battle, Congress should always declare war in the name of the people. Our military should indeed be a citizen-soldier force, not an isolated caste driven by a warrior ethos. And above all, the United States should be a republic ruled by law and shaped by sound moral values, not a greed-driven empire fueled by militarism.

Yet when I express such views, I feel like I’m clinging to a belief in the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. It feels idealistic, naïve, even painful to think that way. Yes, I served this country in uniform for 20 years, and now, in the age of Donald Trump, it has, as far as I can tell, thoroughly lost its way. The unraveling began so long ago — most obviously with the disastrous Vietnam War of the 1960s and 1970s, though in truth this country’s imperial desires predated even the Spanish-American War of 1898, stretching back to the wanton suppression of Indigenous peoples as part of its founding and expansion.

A glance at U.S. history reveals major atrocities: The displacement and murder of Native Americans, slavery and all too many imperial misadventures abroad. I knew of such realities when I joined the military in 1985, near the end of the Cold War. Despite its flaws, I believed then that this country was more committed to freedom than the Soviet Union. We could still claim some moral authority as the leader of what we then referred to as the “free world,” however compromised or imperfect our actions were.

That moral authority, however, is now gone. U.S. leaders fully support and unapologetically serve an ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. They sell weapons to nearly every regime imaginable, irrespective of human rights violations. They wage war without Congressional approval — the recent 12-day assault on Iran being just the latest example. (The second Trump administration has, in fact, launched almost as many air strikes, especially in Yemen and Somalia, in its first five months as the Biden administration did in four years.) Those same leaders have been doing a bang-up job dismantling the America I thought I was serving when I took that oath and put on second lieutenant’s bars four decades ago. That America — assuming it ever existed — may now be gone forever.

FUBAR: A Republic in Ruins

My fellow citizens, America is FUBAR (a term that dates from World War II). We are not faintly who we claim to be. Rather than a functioning republic, we are an ailing, flailing, perhaps even failing empire. We embrace war, glorify warriors and profit mightily from the global arms trade, no matter the civilian toll, including tens of thousands of dead and wounded children in Gaza, among the latest victims of U.S.-made bombs, bullets and missiles.

Signs of moral rot are everywhere. Our president, who would like to be known for his budget cuts, nonetheless giddily celebrates a record trillion-dollar war budget. Our secretary of defense gleefully promotes a warrior ethos. Congress almost unanimously supports or acquiesces in the destruction of Gaza. Images from the region resemble bombed-out Stalingrad in 1942 or Berlin in 1945. Meanwhile, for more than two decades now, America’s leaders have claimed to be waging a successful global “war on terror” even as they fuel terror across the globe. What do they think all those U.S. weapons are for — spreading peace?

My wife and I cope through dark humor. We see news on cuts to Medicaid, the mentally ill in the streets and crumbling infrastructure, and quip: “But Bibi [Netanyahu] needs bombs. Or Ukraine does. Or the Pentagon needs more nukes.” That’s why Americans can’t have nice things like health care. That’s why all too many of us are unhoused, in debt, out of work and desperate. In 1967 — yes, that’s almost 60 years ago! — the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. warned of exactly this: America’s approaching spiritual death through militarism (aggravated by extreme materialism and racism). That death is visibly here, now.

Washington is not even faintly committed to “peace through strength,” a vapid slogan touted by the Trump administration, and an unintentional echo of George Orwell’s dystopian “war is peace.” It is committed instead to what passes for dominance through colossal military spending and persistent war. And let’s face it, that warpath may well end in the death of the American experiment.

The Mediocrity of Our Generals

In this era of creeping authoritarianism and mass surveillance, perhaps the U.S. is lucky that its generals are, by and large, so utterly uninspired. Today’s American military isn’t open to the mercurial and meteoric talents of a Napoleon or a Caesar. Not in its upper ranks, at least.

One struggles to name a truly great American general or admiral since World War II. That war produced household names like George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton and Chester W. Nimitz. In contrast, America’s recent generals — Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell of Desert Storm fame, Tommy Franks in Iraq in 2003, David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal of the “fragile” and “reversible” Iraq and Afghan “surges” — have left anything but a legacy of excellence or moral leadership, not to speak of decisive victory. At best, they were narrowly competent; at worst, morally compromised and dangerously deluded.

Mind you, this isn’t a criticism of this country’s rank-and-file troops. The young Americans I served with showed no lack of courage. It wasn’t their fault that the wars they found themselves in were misbegotten and mismanaged. Twenty years have passed since I served alongside those young troops, glowing with pride and purpose in their dedication, their idealism, their commitment to their oath of service. Many paid a high price in limbs, minds or lives. Too often, they were lions led by donkeys, to borrow a phrase once used to describe the inept and callous British leadership during World War I at bloody battles like the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917).

Today, I fear that America’s lions may, sooner or later, be led into even deeper catastrophe — this time possibly a war with China. Any conflict with China would likely rival, if not surpass, the disasters produced by World War I. The world’s best military, which U.S. presidents have been telling us we have since the 9/11 attacks of September 2001, stands all too close to being committed to just such a war in Asia by donkeys like Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

And for what? The island of Taiwan is often mentioned, but the actual reason would undoubtedly be to preserve imperial hegemony in the service of corporate interests. War, as General Smedley Butler wrote in 1935 after he retired from the military, is indeed a racket, one from which the rich exempt themselves (except when it comes to taking profits from the same).

A disastrous conflict with China, likely ending in a U.S. defeat (or a planetary one), could very well lead to a repeat of some even more extreme version of Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign, amplified and intensified by humiliation and resentment. From the ashes of that possible defeat, an American Napoleon or Caesar (or at least a wannabe imitator) could very well emerge to administer the coup de grace to what’s left of our democracy and freedom.

Avoiding a Colossal Act of Folly

War with China isn’t, of course, inevitable, but America’s current posture makes it more likely. Trump’s tariffs, his bombastic rhetoric, and this country’s extensive military exercises in the Pacific contribute to rising tensions, not de-escalation and rapprochement.

While this country invests in war and more war, China invests in infrastructure and trade, in the process becoming what the U.S. used to be: The world’s indispensable workhorse. As the 10 BRICS countries, including China, expand and global power becomes more multipolar, this country’s addiction to military dominance may drive it to lash out. With ever more invested in a massive military war hammer, impetuous leaders like Trump and Hegseth may see China as just another nail to be driven down. It would, of course, be a colossal act of folly, though anything but a first in history.

And speaking of folly, the U.S. military as it’s configured today is remarkably similar to the force I joined in 1985. The focus remains on ultra-expensive weapons systems, including the dodgy F-35 jet fighter, the unnecessary B-21 Raider bomber, the escalatory Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile and Trump’s truly fantastical “Golden Dome” missile defense system (a ghostly rehash of President Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” proposal, vintage 1983). Other militaries, meanwhile, are improvising, notably in low-cost drone technology (also known as UAS, or uncrewed autonomous systems) as seen in the Russia-Ukraine War, a crucial new arena of war-making where the U.S. has fallen significantly behind China.

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The Pentagon’s “solution” here is to continue the massive funding of Cold War-era weapons systems while posing as open to innovation, as an embarrassing video of Hegseth walking with drones suggests. America’s military is, in short, well-prepared to fight a major conventional war against an obliging enemy like Iraq in 1991, but such a scenario is unlikely to lie in our future.

With respect to drones or UAS, I can hear the wheels of the military-industrial complex grinding away. A decentralized, low-cost, flexible cottage industry will likely be transformed into a centralized, high-cost, inflexible cash cow for the merchants of death. When the Pentagon faces a perceived crisis or shortfall, the answer is always to throw more money at it. Ka-ching!

Indeed, the recent profit margins of major military contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and RTX (formerly Raytheon) have been astounding. Since 9/11, Boeing’s stock has risen more than 400%. RTX shares are up more than 600%. Lockheed Martin, maker of the faltering F-35, has seen its shares soar by nearly 1,000%. And Northrop Grumman, maker of the B-21 Raider bomber and Sentinel ICBM, two legs of America’s “modernized” nuclear triad, has seen its shares increase by more than 1,400%. Who says that war (even the threat of a global nuclear war) doesn’t pay?

Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s war budget, soaring to unprecedented levels, has been virtually immune to DOGE cuts. While Elon Musk and his whiz kids searched for a few billion in savings by gutting education or squelching funding for public media like PBS and NPR, the Pentagon emerged with about $160 billion in new spending authority. As former President Joe Biden once reminded us: Show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value. Far too often, America’s leaders, whatever they’ve said in their election campaigns, have valued weapons and wars over almost anything else.

What Is To Be Done

I’ve written against warriors, warfighters and U.S. militarism since 2007. And yes, it often feels futile, but silence means surrender to warmongering fools like Hegseth, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and the farrago of grifters, clowns, toadies, con men and zealots who inhabit the Trump administration and much of Congress as well. The fight against them must go on.

All leaders, military and civilian, must remember their oath: Loyalty to the Constitution, not to any man. Illegal orders must be resisted. Congress must impeach and remove a president who acts unlawfully. It must also reassert its distinctly lost authority to declare war. And it must stop taking “legal” bribes from the lobbyists/foot soldiers who flood the halls of Congress, peddling influence with campaign “contributions.”

For tyranny to be stopped, for a catastrophic war with China (and who knows what else) to be avoided, America must have profiles in courage, not cowardice. Yet even despair is being weaponized. As a retired colonel and friend of mine wrote to me recently: “I don’t even know where to start anymore, Bill. I have no hope for anything ever improving.”

And don’t think of that despair as incidental or accidental. It’s a distinct feature of the present system of government.

Trump and Hegseth are not faintly what the founders of this country envisioned when they placed the military under civilian control. Yet power ultimately resides in the people (if we remember our duties as citizens). Isn’t it high time that we Americans recover our ideals, as well as our guts?

After all, the few can do little without the consent of the many. It’s up to the many (that’s us!) to reclaim and restore America.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cheryl Orlov, a 55-year-old from Los Angeles who moved to Albania in 2023. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I spent 23 years living in the Los Angeles area, where my home was two miles from Redondo Beach. I owned a furniture company for 32 years, built from the ground up, and worked very hard to create a comfortable lifestyle for myself.

I had a full life in Los Angeles. I built a good community of friends and was very active, especially in endurance sports. I’m a lover of traveling and experiencing different cultures, and I’ve always said that the city is a great place to live if you can’t travel the whole world.

While I was happy living in Los Angeles, I still had an aching wanderlust.

I used to travel abroad one to two times a year and was satisfied for a while. But back in 2016, I went to Africa for a charity trip. I visited Uganda, Morocco, and South Africa, and during my visit, something in me switched: I was ready to move abroad, I just had to figure out how.

A few things stood in my way. I owned a couple of properties and had a full time business. But as the years passed — it took about seven — I started unloading my properties. I downsized my home, and I even began to dissolve my business, all for the dream of leaving the US.

I found out about Albania on a podcast

In April 2022, I was listening to an expat podcast, and a blogger being interviewed said to check out Albania. I’ve been to all seven continents and almost 50 countries, and Albania wasn’t even on my radar back then.

I started doing a lot of research. I watched videos on YouTube and even interviewed female solo travelers about their experiences in Albania. And in September 2022, my friend and I took a scouting trip there.

During my scouting trip, I hired a driver who took us from city to city. We wound up in Tirana, the capital of Albania. Initially, I did not want to live there based on what I had read online, but when I was physically there, I knew right away that this was my place.

Albania’s culture and history are so rich — it’s mind-blowing. Historically, it has strong influences from the Ottoman Empire. The country broke free from communism in the 1990s and is still developing.

Albania is very similar to California topographically. Although it’s a small country, it features the Albanian Alps and coastlines along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

I love the people of Albania; their hospitality is unmatched. They make you feel like you’re right at home and like your family.

I feel safe and comfortable where I live

After the scouting trip, I flew back to the US and started making arrangements to move. I sold almost everything I owned and continued dissolving my business.

I didn’t need to apply for a visa to visit Albania because Americans are allowed to stay for up to one year without one. After that, if we leave the country for 90 days, the one-year period resets when we return.

I found an apartment in Tirana, the capital city, by word of mouth on a Facebook group. An American had raved about the landlord, who had lived in America for six years.

I was moving my whole life to an unfamiliar place, so it was important to be in a good and safe area, in a building where people spoke English, and where I liked the landlord.

In September 2023, I moved to Tirana. I live in the city, but in a quiet neighborhood where a lot of Albanians live — immigrants and expats tend to live closer to the city center.

The building I live in is a five-unit villa where each level has its own apartment. I live on the ground level and have a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment. I have a good relationship with my landlord, and I wouldn’t say that’s the norm here, but I pay €400 ($466) a month.

My other bills are pretty affordable, too. I usually spend €20 to €30 ($23-$35) a week on food at the local market, and going out to dinner typically costs between €15 and €20 ($17-$23). Taking the bus costs about $0.50, and taxis are usually around €5.

I’ve never felt more like myself

Learning Albanian is tough, but one of the biggest challenges to living here is how often expats come and go. I’ve noticed that people usually stay for a year or two, then move on.

The impermanence is difficult for me — it’s just hard to keep saying goodbye. When I was in California, I didn’t have to worry about that as much. So, it’s something I’ve had to adjust to.

I don’t know if Albania will be my forever place, but still, I’m really happy here. I didn’t realize how stressed I was in America until I moved to Tirana.

While living here, I’m traveling more. From Albania, I can easily fly anywhere in Europe, Africa, or Asia — right now, I’m in Malaysia. I’ve been experiencing so many different cultures, and while that’s not for everyone, I feel like a more complete person.

Earlier this year, I finished dissolving the business. I’m not worried about being unemployed abroad, because I’ve been saving and building up my retirement since my 30s. While I don’t want to retire, I’m financially in a position to do so if I choose.

I do go back to the US from time to time to visit my friends and my family — my relationships are really important to me — but I don’t ever see myself moving back full-time.

I definitely wanted to leave the US earlier, but I believe everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t do anything differently. I believe it’s never too late to start traveling or move to somewhere new.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cheryl Orlov, a 55-year-old from Los Angeles who moved to Albania in 2023. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I spent 23 years living in the Los Angeles area, where my home was two miles from Redondo Beach. I owned a furniture company for 32 years, built from the ground up, and worked very hard to create a comfortable lifestyle for myself.

I had a full life in Los Angeles. I built a good community of friends and was very active, especially in endurance sports. I’m a lover of traveling and experiencing different cultures, and I’ve always said that the city is a great place to live if you can’t travel the whole world.

While I was happy living in Los Angeles, I still had an aching wanderlust.

I used to travel abroad one to two times a year and was satisfied for a while. But back in 2016, I went to Africa for a charity trip. I visited Uganda, Morocco, and South Africa, and during my visit, something in me switched: I was ready to move abroad, I just had to figure out how.

A few things stood in my way. I owned a couple of properties and had a full time business. But as the years passed — it took about seven — I started unloading my properties. I downsized my home, and I even began to dissolve my business, all for the dream of leaving the US.

I found out about Albania on a podcast

In April 2022, I was listening to an expat podcast, and a blogger being interviewed said to check out Albania. I’ve been to all seven continents and almost 50 countries, and Albania wasn’t even on my radar back then.

I started doing a lot of research. I watched videos on YouTube and even interviewed female solo travelers about their experiences in Albania. And in September 2022, my friend and I took a scouting trip there.

During my scouting trip, I hired a driver who took us from city to city. We wound up in Tirana, the capital of Albania. Initially, I did not want to live there based on what I had read online, but when I was physically there, I knew right away that this was my place.

Albania’s culture and history are so rich — it’s mind-blowing. Historically, it has strong influences from the Ottoman Empire. The country broke free from communism in the 1990s and is still developing.

Albania is very similar to California topographically. Although it’s a small country, it features the Albanian Alps and coastlines along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

I love the people of Albania; their hospitality is unmatched. They make you feel like you’re right at home and like your family.

I feel safe and comfortable where I live

After the scouting trip, I flew back to the US and started making arrangements to move. I sold almost everything I owned and continued dissolving my business.

I didn’t need to apply for a visa to visit Albania because Americans are allowed to stay for up to one year without one. After that, if we leave the country for 90 days, the one-year period resets when we return.

I found an apartment in Tirana, the capital city, by word of mouth on a Facebook group. An American had raved about the landlord, who had lived in America for six years.

I was moving my whole life to an unfamiliar place, so it was important to be in a good and safe area, in a building where people spoke English, and where I liked the landlord.

In September 2023, I moved to Tirana. I live in the city, but in a quiet neighborhood where a lot of Albanians live — immigrants and expats tend to live closer to the city center.

The building I live in is a five-unit villa where each level has its own apartment. I live on the ground level and have a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment. I have a good relationship with my landlord, and I wouldn’t say that’s the norm here, but I pay €400 ($466) a month.

My other bills are pretty affordable, too. I usually spend €20 to €30 ($23-$35) a week on food at the local market, and going out to dinner typically costs between €15 and €20 ($17-$23). Taking the bus costs about $0.50, and taxis are usually around €5.

I’ve never felt more like myself

Learning Albanian is tough, but one of the biggest challenges to living here is how often expats come and go. I’ve noticed that people usually stay for a year or two, then move on.

The impermanence is difficult for me — it’s just hard to keep saying goodbye. When I was in California, I didn’t have to worry about that as much. So, it’s something I’ve had to adjust to.

I don’t know if Albania will be my forever place, but still, I’m really happy here. I didn’t realize how stressed I was in America until I moved to Tirana.

While living here, I’m traveling more. From Albania, I can easily fly anywhere in Europe, Africa, or Asia — right now, I’m in Malaysia. I’ve been experiencing so many different cultures, and while that’s not for everyone, I feel like a more complete person.

Earlier this year, I finished dissolving the business. I’m not worried about being unemployed abroad, because I’ve been saving and building up my retirement since my 30s. While I don’t want to retire, I’m financially in a position to do so if I choose.

I do go back to the US from time to time to visit my friends and my family — my relationships are really important to me — but I don’t ever see myself moving back full-time.

I definitely wanted to leave the US earlier, but I believe everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t do anything differently. I believe it’s never too late to start traveling or move to somewhere new.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cheryl Orlov, a 55-year-old from Los Angeles who moved to Albania in 2023. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I spent 23 years living in the Los Angeles area, where my home was two miles from Redondo Beach. I owned a furniture company for 32 years, built from the ground up, and worked very hard to create a comfortable lifestyle for myself.

I had a full life in Los Angeles. I built a good community of friends and was very active, especially in endurance sports. I’m a lover of traveling and experiencing different cultures, and I’ve always said that the city is a great place to live if you can’t travel the whole world.

While I was happy living in Los Angeles, I still had an aching wanderlust.

I used to travel abroad one to two times a year and was satisfied for a while. But back in 2016, I went to Africa for a charity trip. I visited Uganda, Morocco, and South Africa, and during my visit, something in me switched: I was ready to move abroad, I just had to figure out how.

A few things stood in my way. I owned a couple of properties and had a full time business. But as the years passed — it took about seven — I started unloading my properties. I downsized my home, and I even began to dissolve my business, all for the dream of leaving the US.

I found out about Albania on a podcast

In April 2022, I was listening to an expat podcast, and a blogger being interviewed said to check out Albania. I’ve been to all seven continents and almost 50 countries, and Albania wasn’t even on my radar back then.

I started doing a lot of research. I watched videos on YouTube and even interviewed female solo travelers about their experiences in Albania. And in September 2022, my friend and I took a scouting trip there.

During my scouting trip, I hired a driver who took us from city to city. We wound up in Tirana, the capital of Albania. Initially, I did not want to live there based on what I had read online, but when I was physically there, I knew right away that this was my place.

Albania’s culture and history are so rich — it’s mind-blowing. Historically, it has strong influences from the Ottoman Empire. The country broke free from communism in the 1990s and is still developing.

Albania is very similar to California topographically. Although it’s a small country, it features the Albanian Alps and coastlines along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

I love the people of Albania; their hospitality is unmatched. They make you feel like you’re right at home and like your family.

I feel safe and comfortable where I live

After the scouting trip, I flew back to the US and started making arrangements to move. I sold almost everything I owned and continued dissolving my business.

I didn’t need to apply for a visa to visit Albania because Americans are allowed to stay for up to one year without one. After that, if we leave the country for 90 days, the one-year period resets when we return.

I found an apartment in Tirana, the capital city, by word of mouth on a Facebook group. An American had raved about the landlord, who had lived in America for six years.

I was moving my whole life to an unfamiliar place, so it was important to be in a good and safe area, in a building where people spoke English, and where I liked the landlord.

In September 2023, I moved to Tirana. I live in the city, but in a quiet neighborhood where a lot of Albanians live — immigrants and expats tend to live closer to the city center.

The building I live in is a five-unit villa where each level has its own apartment. I live on the ground level and have a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment. I have a good relationship with my landlord, and I wouldn’t say that’s the norm here, but I pay €400 ($466) a month.

My other bills are pretty affordable, too. I usually spend €20 to €30 ($23-$35) a week on food at the local market, and going out to dinner typically costs between €15 and €20 ($17-$23). Taking the bus costs about $0.50, and taxis are usually around €5.

I’ve never felt more like myself

Learning Albanian is tough, but one of the biggest challenges to living here is how often expats come and go. I’ve noticed that people usually stay for a year or two, then move on.

The impermanence is difficult for me — it’s just hard to keep saying goodbye. When I was in California, I didn’t have to worry about that as much. So, it’s something I’ve had to adjust to.

I don’t know if Albania will be my forever place, but still, I’m really happy here. I didn’t realize how stressed I was in America until I moved to Tirana.

While living here, I’m traveling more. From Albania, I can easily fly anywhere in Europe, Africa, or Asia — right now, I’m in Malaysia. I’ve been experiencing so many different cultures, and while that’s not for everyone, I feel like a more complete person.

Earlier this year, I finished dissolving the business. I’m not worried about being unemployed abroad, because I’ve been saving and building up my retirement since my 30s. While I don’t want to retire, I’m financially in a position to do so if I choose.

I do go back to the US from time to time to visit my friends and my family — my relationships are really important to me — but I don’t ever see myself moving back full-time.

I definitely wanted to leave the US earlier, but I believe everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t do anything differently. I believe it’s never too late to start traveling or move to somewhere new.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Cheryl Orlov, a 55-year-old from Los Angeles who moved to Albania in 2023. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I spent 23 years living in the Los Angeles area, where my home was two miles from Redondo Beach. I owned a furniture company for 32 years, built from the ground up, and worked very hard to create a comfortable lifestyle for myself.

I had a full life in Los Angeles. I built a good community of friends and was very active, especially in endurance sports. I’m a lover of traveling and experiencing different cultures, and I’ve always said that the city is a great place to live if you can’t travel the whole world.

While I was happy living in Los Angeles, I still had an aching wanderlust.

I used to travel abroad one to two times a year and was satisfied for a while. But back in 2016, I went to Africa for a charity trip. I visited Uganda, Morocco, and South Africa, and during my visit, something in me switched: I was ready to move abroad, I just had to figure out how.

A few things stood in my way. I owned a couple of properties and had a full time business. But as the years passed — it took about seven — I started unloading my properties. I downsized my home, and I even began to dissolve my business, all for the dream of leaving the US.

I found out about Albania on a podcast

In April 2022, I was listening to an expat podcast, and a blogger being interviewed said to check out Albania. I’ve been to all seven continents and almost 50 countries, and Albania wasn’t even on my radar back then.

I started doing a lot of research. I watched videos on YouTube and even interviewed female solo travelers about their experiences in Albania. And in September 2022, my friend and I took a scouting trip there.

During my scouting trip, I hired a driver who took us from city to city. We wound up in Tirana, the capital of Albania. Initially, I did not want to live there based on what I had read online, but when I was physically there, I knew right away that this was my place.

Albania’s culture and history are so rich — it’s mind-blowing. Historically, it has strong influences from the Ottoman Empire. The country broke free from communism in the 1990s and is still developing.

Albania is very similar to California topographically. Although it’s a small country, it features the Albanian Alps and coastlines along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

I love the people of Albania; their hospitality is unmatched. They make you feel like you’re right at home and like your family.

I feel safe and comfortable where I live

After the scouting trip, I flew back to the US and started making arrangements to move. I sold almost everything I owned and continued dissolving my business.

I didn’t need to apply for a visa to visit Albania because Americans are allowed to stay for up to one year without one. After that, if we leave the country for 90 days, the one-year period resets when we return.

I found an apartment in Tirana, the capital city, by word of mouth on a Facebook group. An American had raved about the landlord, who had lived in America for six years.

I was moving my whole life to an unfamiliar place, so it was important to be in a good and safe area, in a building where people spoke English, and where I liked the landlord.

In September 2023, I moved to Tirana. I live in the city, but in a quiet neighborhood where a lot of Albanians live — immigrants and expats tend to live closer to the city center.

The building I live in is a five-unit villa where each level has its own apartment. I live on the ground level and have a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment. I have a good relationship with my landlord, and I wouldn’t say that’s the norm here, but I pay €400 ($466) a month.

My other bills are pretty affordable, too. I usually spend €20 to €30 ($23-$35) a week on food at the local market, and going out to dinner typically costs between €15 and €20 ($17-$23). Taking the bus costs about $0.50, and taxis are usually around €5.

I’ve never felt more like myself

Learning Albanian is tough, but one of the biggest challenges to living here is how often expats come and go. I’ve noticed that people usually stay for a year or two, then move on.

The impermanence is difficult for me — it’s just hard to keep saying goodbye. When I was in California, I didn’t have to worry about that as much. So, it’s something I’ve had to adjust to.

I don’t know if Albania will be my forever place, but still, I’m really happy here. I didn’t realize how stressed I was in America until I moved to Tirana.

While living here, I’m traveling more. From Albania, I can easily fly anywhere in Europe, Africa, or Asia — right now, I’m in Malaysia. I’ve been experiencing so many different cultures, and while that’s not for everyone, I feel like a more complete person.

Earlier this year, I finished dissolving the business. I’m not worried about being unemployed abroad, because I’ve been saving and building up my retirement since my 30s. While I don’t want to retire, I’m financially in a position to do so if I choose.

I do go back to the US from time to time to visit my friends and my family — my relationships are really important to me — but I don’t ever see myself moving back full-time.

I definitely wanted to leave the US earlier, but I believe everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t do anything differently. I believe it’s never too late to start traveling or move to somewhere new.

LONDON — British police said they arrested 474 people in central London on Saturday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flouted the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.

Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organization. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two tanker planes to protest Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the U.K. over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.

Daring police to arrest them

More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police officers to arrest them by displaying signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” That was enough for police to step in.

But as the demonstration began to wind down, police officers and protest organizers sparred over the number of arrests as the organizers sought to show that the law was unworkable.

“The police have only been able to arrest a fraction of those supposedly committing ‘terrorism’ offenses, and most of those have been given street bail and allowed to go home,” Defend Our Juries, which organized the protest, said in a statement. “This is a major embarrassment to (the government), further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government’s own crimes.”

London’s Metropolitan Police Service quickly hit back, saying this wasn’t true and that many of those who gathered in the square were onlookers, media or people who didn’t hold placards supporting the group.

“We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested,” the police force said in a statement.

On Friday, police said the demonstration was unusual in that the protesters wanted to be arrested in large numbers so as to place a strain on police and the broader criminal justice system.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday local time (4 p.m. ET), 466 people had been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a post on X. Eight others were arrested in connection with other offenses including five alleged assaults on officers, police said.

Why the group is being banned

The government moved to ban Palestine Action after the activists broke into a British air force base in southern England on June 20 to protest British military support for the Israel-Hamas war. The activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes at the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire and caused further damage with crowbars.

Palestine Action had previously targeted Israeli defense contractors and other sites in the United Kingdom that they believe have links with the Israeli military.

Supporters of the group are challenging the ban in court, saying the government has gone too far in declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organization.

“Once the meaning of ‘terrorism’ is separated from campaigns of violence against a civilian population, and extended to include those causing economic damage or embarrassment to the rich, the powerful and the criminal, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy is dead,” Defend Our Juries said on its website.

Busy weekend of protests

The arrests outside Parliament came amid what is expected to be a busy weekend of demonstrations in London as the war in Gaza and concerns about immigration spur protests and counterprotests across the United Kingdom.

While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has angered Israel with plans to recognize a Palestinian state later this year, many Palestinian supporters in Britain criticize the government for not doing enough to end the war in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Saturday afternoon in central London for a march that ended outside the gates of No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence and offices.

On Sunday, a number of groups are scheduled to march through central London to demand the safe release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. Palestinian militants have held the captives since Hamas-led attackers surged into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. There are 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive.

Police are also preparing for protests outside hotels across the country that are being used to house asylum-seekers. Protesters and counterprotesters have squared off outside the hotels in recent weeks, with some saying the migrants pose a risk to their communities and others decrying anti-immigrant racism.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said the scale of the events would “put pressure” on the police department.

“This is going to be a particularly busy few days in London with many simultaneous protests and events that will require a significant policing presence,” Adelekan said before the protests began.

LONDON — British police said they arrested 474 people in central London on Saturday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flouted the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.

Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organization. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two tanker planes to protest Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the U.K. over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.

Daring police to arrest them

More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police officers to arrest them by displaying signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” That was enough for police to step in.

But as the demonstration began to wind down, police officers and protest organizers sparred over the number of arrests as the organizers sought to show that the law was unworkable.

“The police have only been able to arrest a fraction of those supposedly committing ‘terrorism’ offenses, and most of those have been given street bail and allowed to go home,” Defend Our Juries, which organized the protest, said in a statement. “This is a major embarrassment to (the government), further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government’s own crimes.”

London’s Metropolitan Police Service quickly hit back, saying this wasn’t true and that many of those who gathered in the square were onlookers, media or people who didn’t hold placards supporting the group.

“We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested,” the police force said in a statement.

On Friday, police said the demonstration was unusual in that the protesters wanted to be arrested in large numbers so as to place a strain on police and the broader criminal justice system.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday local time (4 p.m. ET), 466 people had been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a post on X. Eight others were arrested in connection with other offenses including five alleged assaults on officers, police said.

Why the group is being banned

The government moved to ban Palestine Action after the activists broke into a British air force base in southern England on June 20 to protest British military support for the Israel-Hamas war. The activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes at the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire and caused further damage with crowbars.

Palestine Action had previously targeted Israeli defense contractors and other sites in the United Kingdom that they believe have links with the Israeli military.

Supporters of the group are challenging the ban in court, saying the government has gone too far in declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organization.

“Once the meaning of ‘terrorism’ is separated from campaigns of violence against a civilian population, and extended to include those causing economic damage or embarrassment to the rich, the powerful and the criminal, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy is dead,” Defend Our Juries said on its website.

Busy weekend of protests

The arrests outside Parliament came amid what is expected to be a busy weekend of demonstrations in London as the war in Gaza and concerns about immigration spur protests and counterprotests across the United Kingdom.

While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has angered Israel with plans to recognize a Palestinian state later this year, many Palestinian supporters in Britain criticize the government for not doing enough to end the war in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Saturday afternoon in central London for a march that ended outside the gates of No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence and offices.

On Sunday, a number of groups are scheduled to march through central London to demand the safe release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. Palestinian militants have held the captives since Hamas-led attackers surged into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. There are 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive.

Police are also preparing for protests outside hotels across the country that are being used to house asylum-seekers. Protesters and counterprotesters have squared off outside the hotels in recent weeks, with some saying the migrants pose a risk to their communities and others decrying anti-immigrant racism.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said the scale of the events would “put pressure” on the police department.

“This is going to be a particularly busy few days in London with many simultaneous protests and events that will require a significant policing presence,” Adelekan said before the protests began.

LONDON — British police said they arrested 474 people in central London on Saturday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flouted the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.

Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organization. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two tanker planes to protest Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the U.K. over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.

Daring police to arrest them

More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police officers to arrest them by displaying signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” That was enough for police to step in.

But as the demonstration began to wind down, police officers and protest organizers sparred over the number of arrests as the organizers sought to show that the law was unworkable.

“The police have only been able to arrest a fraction of those supposedly committing ‘terrorism’ offenses, and most of those have been given street bail and allowed to go home,” Defend Our Juries, which organized the protest, said in a statement. “This is a major embarrassment to (the government), further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government’s own crimes.”

London’s Metropolitan Police Service quickly hit back, saying this wasn’t true and that many of those who gathered in the square were onlookers, media or people who didn’t hold placards supporting the group.

“We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested,” the police force said in a statement.

On Friday, police said the demonstration was unusual in that the protesters wanted to be arrested in large numbers so as to place a strain on police and the broader criminal justice system.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday local time (4 p.m. ET), 466 people had been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a post on X. Eight others were arrested in connection with other offenses including five alleged assaults on officers, police said.

Why the group is being banned

The government moved to ban Palestine Action after the activists broke into a British air force base in southern England on June 20 to protest British military support for the Israel-Hamas war. The activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes at the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire and caused further damage with crowbars.

Palestine Action had previously targeted Israeli defense contractors and other sites in the United Kingdom that they believe have links with the Israeli military.

Supporters of the group are challenging the ban in court, saying the government has gone too far in declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organization.

“Once the meaning of ‘terrorism’ is separated from campaigns of violence against a civilian population, and extended to include those causing economic damage or embarrassment to the rich, the powerful and the criminal, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy is dead,” Defend Our Juries said on its website.

Busy weekend of protests

The arrests outside Parliament came amid what is expected to be a busy weekend of demonstrations in London as the war in Gaza and concerns about immigration spur protests and counterprotests across the United Kingdom.

While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has angered Israel with plans to recognize a Palestinian state later this year, many Palestinian supporters in Britain criticize the government for not doing enough to end the war in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Saturday afternoon in central London for a march that ended outside the gates of No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence and offices.

On Sunday, a number of groups are scheduled to march through central London to demand the safe release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. Palestinian militants have held the captives since Hamas-led attackers surged into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. There are 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive.

Police are also preparing for protests outside hotels across the country that are being used to house asylum-seekers. Protesters and counterprotesters have squared off outside the hotels in recent weeks, with some saying the migrants pose a risk to their communities and others decrying anti-immigrant racism.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said the scale of the events would “put pressure” on the police department.

“This is going to be a particularly busy few days in London with many simultaneous protests and events that will require a significant policing presence,” Adelekan said before the protests began.

LONDON — British police said they arrested 474 people in central London on Saturday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flouted the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.

Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organization. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two tanker planes to protest Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the U.K. over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.

Daring police to arrest them

More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police officers to arrest them by displaying signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” That was enough for police to step in.

But as the demonstration began to wind down, police officers and protest organizers sparred over the number of arrests as the organizers sought to show that the law was unworkable.

“The police have only been able to arrest a fraction of those supposedly committing ‘terrorism’ offenses, and most of those have been given street bail and allowed to go home,” Defend Our Juries, which organized the protest, said in a statement. “This is a major embarrassment to (the government), further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government’s own crimes.”

London’s Metropolitan Police Service quickly hit back, saying this wasn’t true and that many of those who gathered in the square were onlookers, media or people who didn’t hold placards supporting the group.

“We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested,” the police force said in a statement.

On Friday, police said the demonstration was unusual in that the protesters wanted to be arrested in large numbers so as to place a strain on police and the broader criminal justice system.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday local time (4 p.m. ET), 466 people had been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a post on X. Eight others were arrested in connection with other offenses including five alleged assaults on officers, police said.

Why the group is being banned

The government moved to ban Palestine Action after the activists broke into a British air force base in southern England on June 20 to protest British military support for the Israel-Hamas war. The activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes at the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire and caused further damage with crowbars.

Palestine Action had previously targeted Israeli defense contractors and other sites in the United Kingdom that they believe have links with the Israeli military.

Supporters of the group are challenging the ban in court, saying the government has gone too far in declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organization.

“Once the meaning of ‘terrorism’ is separated from campaigns of violence against a civilian population, and extended to include those causing economic damage or embarrassment to the rich, the powerful and the criminal, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy is dead,” Defend Our Juries said on its website.

Busy weekend of protests

The arrests outside Parliament came amid what is expected to be a busy weekend of demonstrations in London as the war in Gaza and concerns about immigration spur protests and counterprotests across the United Kingdom.

While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has angered Israel with plans to recognize a Palestinian state later this year, many Palestinian supporters in Britain criticize the government for not doing enough to end the war in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Saturday afternoon in central London for a march that ended outside the gates of No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence and offices.

On Sunday, a number of groups are scheduled to march through central London to demand the safe release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. Palestinian militants have held the captives since Hamas-led attackers surged into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. There are 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive.

Police are also preparing for protests outside hotels across the country that are being used to house asylum-seekers. Protesters and counterprotesters have squared off outside the hotels in recent weeks, with some saying the migrants pose a risk to their communities and others decrying anti-immigrant racism.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said the scale of the events would “put pressure” on the police department.

“This is going to be a particularly busy few days in London with many simultaneous protests and events that will require a significant policing presence,” Adelekan said before the protests began.

LONDON — British police said they arrested 474 people in central London on Saturday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flouted the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.

Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organization. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two tanker planes to protest Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the U.K. over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.

Daring police to arrest them

More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police officers to arrest them by displaying signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” That was enough for police to step in.

But as the demonstration began to wind down, police officers and protest organizers sparred over the number of arrests as the organizers sought to show that the law was unworkable.

“The police have only been able to arrest a fraction of those supposedly committing ‘terrorism’ offenses, and most of those have been given street bail and allowed to go home,” Defend Our Juries, which organized the protest, said in a statement. “This is a major embarrassment to (the government), further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government’s own crimes.”

London’s Metropolitan Police Service quickly hit back, saying this wasn’t true and that many of those who gathered in the square were onlookers, media or people who didn’t hold placards supporting the group.

“We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested,” the police force said in a statement.

On Friday, police said the demonstration was unusual in that the protesters wanted to be arrested in large numbers so as to place a strain on police and the broader criminal justice system.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday local time (4 p.m. ET), 466 people had been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a post on X. Eight others were arrested in connection with other offenses including five alleged assaults on officers, police said.

Why the group is being banned

The government moved to ban Palestine Action after the activists broke into a British air force base in southern England on June 20 to protest British military support for the Israel-Hamas war. The activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes at the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire and caused further damage with crowbars.

Palestine Action had previously targeted Israeli defense contractors and other sites in the United Kingdom that they believe have links with the Israeli military.

Supporters of the group are challenging the ban in court, saying the government has gone too far in declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organization.

“Once the meaning of ‘terrorism’ is separated from campaigns of violence against a civilian population, and extended to include those causing economic damage or embarrassment to the rich, the powerful and the criminal, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy is dead,” Defend Our Juries said on its website.

Busy weekend of protests

The arrests outside Parliament came amid what is expected to be a busy weekend of demonstrations in London as the war in Gaza and concerns about immigration spur protests and counterprotests across the United Kingdom.

While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has angered Israel with plans to recognize a Palestinian state later this year, many Palestinian supporters in Britain criticize the government for not doing enough to end the war in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Saturday afternoon in central London for a march that ended outside the gates of No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence and offices.

On Sunday, a number of groups are scheduled to march through central London to demand the safe release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. Palestinian militants have held the captives since Hamas-led attackers surged into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. There are 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive.

Police are also preparing for protests outside hotels across the country that are being used to house asylum-seekers. Protesters and counterprotesters have squared off outside the hotels in recent weeks, with some saying the migrants pose a risk to their communities and others decrying anti-immigrant racism.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said the scale of the events would “put pressure” on the police department.

“This is going to be a particularly busy few days in London with many simultaneous protests and events that will require a significant policing presence,” Adelekan said before the protests began.