It kinda depends on on distance. I live in a country with a long shared border with Russia. Putin, putinists, Ukraine and whatthefuckcanwedoaboutit are regular and well researched debate in here.
In here American politics/elections are not in daily discussions but they surely are a thing to follow/be aware.
So here on Fediverse it is what most active users see and do. It’s pretty American (and German). Far away from the war and Putin.
It’s really great to be able to browse via all - these days it’s very easy to bubble up in some echo chamber. I’ve been here since the great API apocalypse and you all have made me research so many topics I’d never looked up on my own.
Find something middle sized. I work in a bakery, around 200 employees. I do some industrial automation, in house IT support and I ended up writing ERP for the joint. I think I could get 20 to 30 percent more at a larger company but here I do what I want and not what I’m told to.
It’s really not that hard. I’m the IT department for a medium sized bakery operation. Around 200 employees. This just means that I’m available when it really is necessary. I’m in situ or on call when orders come in and when shipments go out.
In the end I’m cheaper than outsourcing all the in house software and hardware. And I’m available at 3am when the bakers do their thing.
And yeah, I do have somebody somewhat trained in every bakery. When they’re at end of their wit I’m the person they call.
In the end, I’m around 1% of the payroll. IT is not that special.