Nigel is from the UK, but he and his family had been living in Australia before they moved to LA two weeks before the 2016 elections. Yep, two weeks before. All his new friends and colleagues keep saying, "It isn't always like this, we promise.”

On top of the political divide, he has lived through multiple fire seasons in LA and now the pandemic. He sometimes does video calls with friends in Australia—where people are unmasked in their offices and walking around freely—and he says it looks like he's calling the past. Meanwhile, he is working from home with his wife and son in the other room doing online school. The pandemic has taught him that they don’t need two cars and a lot of fancy things, he says. Simpler is better these days.

Nigel says he’s grateful to all the teachers doing their best in these trying times, but if things don't change in November, it’s more and more likely that he and his family will be going back to Australia.