With election day in the US looming, American citizens both at home and abroad are concerned with the potential outcome. Belga spoke with five American expats living in Belgium to understand how their views of the US have changed during their time abroad.
Rich Ketcham, 42, a recent PhD graduate from KU Leuven, found himself drawn to the cultural shift of European life after moving to Belgium six years ago. Originally from a small town in Vermont, Ketcham grew up surrounded by natural beauty and spent much of his youth outdoors, enjoying camping, fishing and hiking.
He later earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Vermont and worked nearby for over a decade, designing wireless sensors. However, like many Americans, he eventually felt the need for a change of scenery.
Seeking both a new perspective and professional growth, he applied to PhD programmes in Europe and accepted a position at KU Leuven. What began as a temporary move grew into a lasting commitment; after he and his partner welcomed their first child, they decided to make Belgium home.
Accessible childcare
Living in Leuven, Ketcham quickly came to appreciate the city’s international culture and accessible public transport. His experience raising a family in Belgium has also reshaped his perspective on several American policies, particularly those around childcare and healthcare.
“While childcare in the US is outrageously expensive, often requiring one parent to stay home, childcare in Belgium is more affordable through subsidies,” he says.
The accessible childcare options in Belgium allowed both him and his partner to continue their careers while their child enjoyed a nurturing environment, a reality he believes the US could benefit from embracing.
Ketcham says that living in Belgium has challenged his previous political beliefs. “It has made me less of a libertarian. For example, with childcare, I used to think that if a couple have kids, then they are more or less responsible for them and the cost. However, trying to navigate a PhD with a very small child has taught me that there are dividends when society invests in families.”
From his perspective, affordable childcare not only benefits children but also fosters healthier, more productive families by allowing parents to continue developing their careers.
“I didn’t think so many Americans could be so easily manipulated into supporting a person like Trump”
The rise of populist politics in the US is another point of departure Ketcham has noted since living abroad.
“My views have changed, but I think it has more to do with the divisions in the US rather than the influence of Belgium,” he says, noting a growing disillusionment with the spread of misinformation. “I didn’t think so many Americans could be so easily manipulated into supporting a person like Trump, who is obviously bad in so many ways. Nor did I think that one news network, like Fox News, could almost single-handedly orchestrate it, but I was wrong.”
For Ketcham, Trump’s candidacy is particularly troubling due to the former president’s legal challenges and his alleged role in efforts to overturn election results. “I cannot vote for Trump,” he says. “I believe in personal integrity, so I cannot vote for a person who has been credibly implicated in a conspiracy to overturn an election through fraud. It’s traitorous and antithetical to American ideals, which hold voting as a central right.”
While his political alignment is generally mixed, with a history of leaning Democrat on social issues and Republican on fiscal matters, this election, he feels, is uniquely consequential.
“I think this election is existential in that electing Trump places American democracy at risk, and so operational differences between the parties are the least of my concerns.”
Belgian views on the US
The sense of stakes is not lost on Belgians, many of whom follow US elections closely due to the impact American policies have on the global stage.
Ketcham shares how his Belgian peers often express bewilderment at certain aspects of American life and his amazement with how well versed Belgians are regarding politics in the US. Typically, he says, they often ask “Why?” when discussing American politics. “Why do people support Trump when it’s so obvious that he’s not the success story he makes himself out to be? They also wonder about why we as a society accept a healthcare system that bankrupts people or why there has been no meaningful action to address school gun violence.”
Issues of climate change, gun violence and healthcare tend to dominate Belgian perspectives on US policy, Ketcham says. The contrast between Belgium’s strict gun laws and universal healthcare system and the US’s polarising approach to these issues often puzzles Europeans.
The US’s perceived reluctance to act decisively on climate change is another common point of concern. “Climate change is an interesting topic,” he says. “In the US, there is still a lot of forest, but Belgium, I think, is largely urban with a lot of farmland in between. The forests that still exist aren’t particularly wild. Having lost truly wild environments, I can see how the evidence of climate change would be a lot easier to accept in Belgium since it’s clear how transformational humanity is. In the US, this is still an abstract concept, especially for those in rural environments.”
For Ketcham and others, living abroad has provided valuable perspectives on the distinct policies and ideologies that characterise American life. However, Ketcham says, “I understand that Belgium may be experiencing this now to some extent,” recognising that political divides are not unique to the US.
(MOH)
American expat Rich Ketcham © BELGA HANDOUT