The family sold all their belongings before the move and are currently living out of 10 suitcases
A family escaped the U.S. to travel the world because it has become “too hostile,” and they didn’t want to raise “white supremacist” kids.
Rachel, 29, and her husband, Ethan Edwards, 33, have always thought about traveling, but after the birth of their four children, aged seven, five, four, and 10 months, they got “sidetracked”.
She said Donald Trump’s reelection and the current cost-of-living crisis made them take this leap, as they didn’t feel that life would get better for them in the U.S..
The couple sold all their belongings, including their four-bedroom home, and are living out of 10 suitcases. They left the States on July 7, 2025.
They are currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, until September, when they plan to visit Thailand. They intend to get residency in a different country.
Rachel said she is fearful of the future for the USA, and said she wanted her children to see the world and explore different cultures.
Rachel, a mortgage and loan officer from Tulsa, Oklahoma, said, “Where we were living has become so hostile, everything is divided.
“If you are walking around with a red hat on, you get people being mean to you; if you have a Kamala ticket on your car, you get it keyed.
“You are targeted because of your beliefs. Everyone is so stressed out because we are all living through the same crisis. Everyone is suffering from the cost of living.”
Rachel and Ethan have always dreamed of traveling, but after the birth of their four children, they admit that life got in the way.
She said that the cost-of-living crisis, combined with the current political climate in the U.S., confirmed their decision to leave.
They decided to leave the USA in March 2025, and by May, they had put their house on the market and sold all their belongings.
On July 7, 2025, the couple flew from San Francisco International Airport on a one-way ticket to Malaysia.
Rachel said: “There have definitely been some recent political events that led us to feel there was no better time to leave than now.
“We wanted to live a life worth living. The biggest catalyst was the cost-of-living crisis in America. We felt like we were working ourselves to death and having nothing to show for it.
“We were afraid we were one problem away from going bankrupt, or not being able to pay for the house it was terrifying.”
In the U.S., Rachel said they were paying $3k a month on basic house costs including mortgage and household bills compared to the $700 they are currently paying.
Back home, Rachel said the couple was paying $650 a month for health insurance, compared to $200 for international health insurance.
Rachel said it was a “no-brainer” to leave the U.S., and they are enjoying every moment. She said, “The biggest difference we have realized is the housing crisis. With property taxes and insurance, we were paying $800 a month more than we did originally.
“We were spending $3k a month on basis housing costs. We were able to pay our bills, we had minimal debt, and not in that bad of a spot.
“But it was one of those situations, where after everything was paid, we didn’t have much money left – we weren’t saving a thing.”
Rachel said that the current political climate in America was a worry for her and Ethan. She said she didn’t want to raise children who thought they were better than everyone because they are white.
According to The Guardian, the state’s new social studies curriculum will ask high school students to identify “discrepancies” in the 2020 election.
Rachel said, “Oklahoma schools to teach pupils that the 2020 election was stolen and Trump won. I don’t say this lightly, but we did not want to raise white supremacists; we wanted our children to see the world.
“We didn’t want them to think that just because they are born with that privilege, they are better than everyone else. People think because they are white, they are entitled to everything and other people are entitled to nothing I did not want that for my children.”
The family is currently living in the nation’s capital Kuala Lumpur and plans to visit Thailand before finding a place where they will seek residency.
Rachel said, “We have loved every minute of being here, and we feel comfortable raising our kids here. We are on a tourist visa for now, but we would eventually like to settle somewhere to raise our kids long term and get integrated into the community.
“The plan is to start applying for schools to get my master’s degree so then we can apply for a longer-term visa. The end goal is to apply for residency somewhere.”
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