Phelena Jean is a South Central LA native living her best life as a black ex-pat for over 10+ years. Jean has lived on 4 continents, 6 countries and traveled to 40+ countries in between. She wants to let other women of color know the joys of living life overseas.
“Every place offers something unique. I quite love Salvador de Bahía, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro. Hong Kong is super poppin. As far as African cities, I love Kigali in Rwanda and Johannesburg in Europe, Rotterdam, Den Haag, and Frankfurt in particular. Every place has its unique charm.”
After a painful divorce, she bought a one-way ticket to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. She had nothing holding her back in Philly, where she was residing at the time.
“Initially, it was going to be a vacation, but about 4 weeks leading up to my trip, I decided, fuck it, I’m just going to move there. At that time in my life, everybody had me F’d up. My husband, the Divided States, and my job.”
She was watching a PBS special covering “Black in Latin America. The series was produced by Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Salvador de Bahia seemed magical and palpable to Jean while also reminding her of her ancestral homelands, New Orleans. According to Atlantico, Salvador is the most representative city of the African continent in Brazil. It is the most Afro-based population in the world outside of Africa, over 80% of the population is from an African background. Being around black people in the diaspora was important for Jean, it was somewhere she could easily blend in. Reading “The Secret” and “The 4 Hour Work Week” at that time further emboldened her to follow her heart. It also allowed creating location-independent income.
Jean is a mental health advocate and understands the importance of education and awareness in the black community. She is a firm advocate of therapy. She says, “The single best investment that I made in myself in 2020 was committing myself to weekly therapy.”
Also, let us know the different effects it has on our own community. Particularly those who are descendants of enslaved Africans. They invariably suffer from some sort of PTSD on top of any other traumas experienced by default of maturation from childhood to adulthood. When it comes to being a supporter of mental health no circle is too small.
“Having a small intimate group of friends/family and cultivating those intimate relationships, with folks that hold you accountable. That you can be vulnerable with and that genuinely have your best interest at heart is monumentally important. I definitely have riders whose shoulders I can cry on, that can tell me “Bitch you fucked up, but I got you.” This type of support is priceless.”
Many black Americans are choosing to live as ex-pats in places that are less stressful and fulfilling. Jean gives us the common misconceptions when it comes to transition abroad. Many may believe that it will be a laborious undertaking. That you need to have a ridiculous amount of money saved. That it is difficult or that you will be alone.
“Listen, every day we are doing shit by ourselves. We commute to work by ourselves. We go to the grocery store by ourselves. We run errands alone. It’s no different outside of your traditional cultural context. You will meet people.”There are Black ex-pat communities in every place that you can imagine. You will not be alone.”
“Not to mention, if you set yourself upright, by being recruited by a company or organization. Your housing and mostly all of your expenses will be covered. If you do this as an entrepreneur or digital nomad, particularly in an emerging nation, your money will do somersaults and backflips. There is an enormous opportunity to live an even better, more luxurious life with less money if you’re earning USD or other higher-yielding currency. Most importantly, the world is a safe and friendly place I have discovered. Media propaganda will have you believe otherwise. I have lived on 4 continents, 6 countries and have traveled to more than 40 countries solo WITHOUT incident. Things can happen anywhere, but if you’re moving correctly that limits the possibility of nonsense or otherwise dangerous occurrences.”
This is a confirmation for any black woman that has been considering living abroad. Jean says it best, “Do it. Comfort zone is lethal.”
“There are so many opportunities for Black women outside of the Divided States, professionally, personally, romantically. Not to mention, there is a thing called passport privilege. Your status is automatically venerated as an American and you become a part of an exclusive global membership with your blue passport. You are treated as an American first, which is the closest thing to White privilege I have ever felt.
Furthermore, there is some cache that comes with being African American specifically. All over the world, people want to walk like us, talk like us, dance like us, dress like us, roll their necks like us. These are all invaluable tools in living a more fulfilling life devoid of some of the incumbrances and micro (and sometimes) macro-aggressions we face on a day-to-day basis while minding our Black-owned business. Try it out. If you don’t like it, just like anything else, you can try another place or come back home. I have to say, though leaving over a decade ago was the best life decision I have EVER made.”
Salvador: The most african city in the world | ATLANTICO (atlanticoonline.com)
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