"I have a "my bags are already packed" approach,"
Good advice for ex-pats everywhere IMHO
I know people who have had to leave East Africa, Nigeria, South Africa, Indonesia, the Balkans, Timor Leste & the Lebanon at a moment's notice - one family drove off as the (well-organised) mob arrived at the other end of the street to burn them out
You are a guest, and often a disliked guest, when you go overseas - never, ever, forget it