Between the soaring cost of living, shifty changes in our healthcare system, and an ominous Trump presidency in our wake, there’s so much uncertainty on the horizon. The 2024 election was a disappointing yet necessary reminder that racism is alive and well in America, and it’s inspired a lot of us to take stock of what’s keeping us here.
For many Black expats, systemic racism is a driving force for wanting to leave America. But there are also other factors that make living abroad seem like a better bet: a cheaper cost of living in many places, accessible healthcare, a better work-life balance, and, for some singles, a fresh new dating pool. Though there’s not hard data around how many Black American citizens have relocated in the past few years, we have seen more social media groups and content creators crop up with tales of how they successfully relocated themselves and/or their families to new countries and been welcomed with open arms.
Though moving abroad can be a daunting process, it can be done with the proper planning in place. We spoke to three Black women who have made the move outside the U.S. to find out how their lives have changed since.
Dawn Belisle – Nice, France
Dawn Belisle, a former Atlanta resident, had been a criminal prosecutor for over 25 years while running a bakery on the side. She managed to build a thriving business selling custom cakes and even landed a contract with the Georgia Dome to sell her alcohol-infused baked goods during games. Then, a trip to France changed the trajectory of her life. “It was my 50th birthday in 2019,” she tells ESSENCE. “I went to France because I love French pastries and wanted to incorporate that into my business. I did a whole culinary week and when I got there, I felt what I never felt in any other city or state. I felt at home.”
One of Belisle’s former colleagues who had previously lived in France heard all about her trip and suggested she watch the Netflix series Emily In Paris. From there, the dream of calling France home was solidified. “While working remote [during COVID], I said, ‘Maybe I should go to pastry school.’” Rather than returning to France’s famous capital, she set her sights on the south of France to be closer to the ocean. “I took a six-month leave of absence from work, went to culinary school for three months, and then traveled up the coast of France to different little towns to see how the vibe felt.”
For Belisle, the vibe was just right in Nice, where she decided to relocate permanently. Belisle’s story reads like a scene out of Eat, Pray, Love, but the logistics of moving were anything but storybook. “I had to drive from Atlanta to Washington D.C. for my [student visa] interview two weeks before my flight. It was very stressful, my first time applying. The French don’t make anything simple.”
According to Belisle, the stress of uprooting her life in America was well worth it, though, for the easy living she now enjoys. She glows as she talks about the delicious local foods, the thousands of steps she gets in each day walking through her idyllic French town, and the joy of getting to opt out of hustle culture. “I don’t need the amount of money that I was making in the U.S. to live here comfortably.” Dawn currently wears many hats now as a legal consultant, content creator, and French language student (which allows her to keep her student visa), all while making plans to open her own bakery in Nice. She even authored an expat planner to help others map out their international move step by step. All that said, she embraces the slower pace of living she’s found. “Here, it’s about enjoying life.”
While many may be considering moving abroad following the disappointment of the 2024 presidential election, Belisle says, “Do not move based on emotions. You still need to plan and do it the right way. Nothing worth having comes easy, but moving abroad is not as hard as you think. You don’t need as much money as you think, but you do need a plan. You’ll need to be prepared to change your mentality. You can’t move to another country and constantly compare it to how things are done in the U.S. The first step is to visit for an extended time, like two weeks to a month; that way, you’re out of the honeymoon tourist phase, and you can see what it would be like every day.”
Chrissy Rutherford – London and New York
If the thought of moving abroad permanently is just too daunting for you, take a page out of Chrissy Rutherford’s book. The former fashion editor and content creator now splits her time between New York and London. But going across the pond wasn’t a thrilling adventure for Rutherford initially. “I started covering London Fashion Week in September of 2016, and I remember when I first got assigned to go there, I was so angry. It’s right after New York Fashion Week [which is] so intense. I’m like, ‘I don’t have stamina like that.’” But after putting boots to the ground and making friends with other London-based editors, her love of the city began to spark. “I just really loved the vibe and started to feel profound sadness every time I had to go back to New York.”
After leaving her magazine job in 2020, Rutherford planned to spend two months in London to test out the idea of living in the city. Her two-month trial run in London got cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic but was jump-started again in 2022. “People were starting to travel again, and I wanted to go to London in the summer. I was living with my parents and needed a break from them, so it just felt right.”
As Rutherford recalls, the stars aligned for her semi-permanent move to London. The logistics of moving were made easier by a work trip to France that Rutherford was asked to take in May of 2022. “That got me to Europe for free,” Rutherford says, beaming at the memory. “From there, I just had to buy a ticket to London.” When it came to housing, Rutherford’s luck came through again. She jokingly posted an Instagram story asking if anyone wanted to do a house swap and was surprised to receive a message from a friend in the city who shared that her sister had a fully-furnished flat available for rent. The confirmation that she needed to make London her part-time home became crystal clear with every plan set in place.
When asked what she loves most about London, Rutherford lists the cleaner streets and reduced incidents of cat-calling as some of the perks. But as a single woman, she also appreciates that the dating scene is much more straightforward in the U.K. “Men in Europe in general are socialized so much differently around relationships and sex. There is far less game playing,” she reveals. “When you have a first date with someone [here], and they’re into you, they’re going to show interest. They’re not going to do this weird game of who can show the least amount of interest. If we’re both interested, we’re going to continue to take steps toward each other.”
Since then, Rutherford has signed with a London-based influencer agency, which allows her to travel and stay in the city for months at a time. While she loves everything it has to offer, she sees her dual-city lifestyle working just fine. “I don’t really have a desire to live in London full-time because my family, my full network, and most of my work is in New York,” she says. “I do think I’ve been able to build another extension of my life in London. I’m not ready to commit to being in any one place for an extended period of time, and that’s kind of the beauty of it.”
When it comes to her advice on moving abroad, Rutherford, who calls London and NYC home, reminds Black women that you don’t have to plan to pick up and be gone forever. “People sometimes think about moving to another country as this concrete decision to get up and uproot your life. You could also try going there for two weeks or a month,” she says. “When I first came to London, the plan was to go for two months max. Ease into it instead of seeing it as this big leap. If you live in a major city, see if you can do a house swap with someone [in another country]. You just have to be realistic about what your circumstances are. Maybe [moving] is not something you can do in the next six months or a year, but if it’s something you want to do, you try it. It’s never too late.”
Gabby Fequiere – Trinidad and Tobago
Model and content creator Gabby Fequiere grew up in Orlando, Florida, and fell in love with Trinidad and Tobago at 10 years old during a family vacation. Her parents emigrated to the U.S. from the island years earlier, and as a first-generation American, she was immediately enamored by the way Trini people embraced living off the land. “I saw people climb trees and pick coconuts to drink and eat mangoes they grew in their backyard,” she says. “They could look at a plant and tell you what sickness it treats. They could look at a tree and tell you what fruit it grows. They knew so much about nature that I didn’t learn in school.”
During her youth, Fequiere daydreamed about returning to stay in Trinidad long-term, but an actual plan to move came about in the most serendipitous of ways. After graduating from college, she took a break and retreated back to Trinidad where her mom was now living. But a talk with her dad brought her back to reality. “I wasn’t thinking about my future because I was having so much fun in Trinidad,” she recalls. “And my dad told me, ‘I know you’re having fun, but you can’t just live on a permanent vacation. You should actually use your degree.’” Fequiere went back to the United States in pursuit of her own version of the American dream. She did stints in New York City and then Los Angeles, accumulating success as a plus-size model. She also built a mass following on Instagram and TikTok through her lifestyle content. “As good as my career was going, my personal life sucked,” she admits. “I had no friends. I couldn’t afford to go out in LA because it was super expensive. Nobody wants to leave their house when gas is seven dollars a gallon.”
To get her out of her funk, Fequiere’s mom invited her back to Trinidad for her birthday. After swimming in the exotic blue waters, eating delicious Trini food, and making friends with the locals, Fequiere decided to make the leap and call Trinidad her home. She was able to get dual citizenship due to her parents being natives of the island but says she was required to obtain a letter of recommendation from a Trinidad citizen who was not a blood relative. Now, Fequiere flies back to the States for modeling gigs but can also work remotely while creating social media content. “I thought I had to be in New York or LA to do what I love, but I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities here as well,” she says. “I was even invited to model for one of the top carnival bands in Trinidad called Yuma, and I was the first plus-size model on stage in Trinidad’s history.”
Aside from her professional success, Fequiere says the loneliness she once felt living in Los Angeles has dissipated. “I’m happy I have a community. I have my friends and my mom,” she says. “I have people around me that make me feel less alone in the world. And I feel like it’s such a blessing to be able to do life with people.”