About 6 years ago I created a blog about my travels in New Zealand. I have to admit it was poorly written. I cringed at my lack of commas, grammar and the lack of attractiveness. I almost wanted to go back and edit everything but that wouldn’t be encouraging to others that are thinking about blogging and don’t know if it will be good. Well honestly it might not be, guess what? THAT’S OKAY!

Well a quick catch up on my 6 years of life: Graduated school, joined leadership development team, worked, worked som’ mo’, left leadership development team, loved and lost twice, worked som’ mo’, Covid, PANAMA! Okay, now you are caught up on the last 6 years of my life haha. I am loving my life currently. Well, I always love my life but traveling again and living in another country is my happy place. I know I don’t necessarily want to be a travel blogger or anything but the joy I feel from different experiences in a different country is just wonderful!

My goal is to do a blog post once a month, fingers crossed. I want to share my life experiences of travel and the mundane life of living in Panama or whatever else I plan to do with my life. I pray my blogs become a platform of authenticity, laughter and randomness, thanks in advance to all the people who decide to read or skim through my blog. Hey, I’ve skimmed through plenty of blogs. Especially the one with recipes. Why aren’t the recipes at the top of the page?! Ugh!

So, as some people know, I moved to Panama City, Panama. For those who don’t know where it is; it is in Central America between Costa Rica and Colombia. If you still don’t know just google it! The biggest question I get is why did I move honestly….. because I wanted to! However, the formal answer is I wanted to learn Spanish and I know the best way to learn a language is immersion. So why not fulfill a dream, pack up your whole life and live in another country. Who cares if we still have Covid floating around. I later found out Covid cases are much lower in Panama than many states in the US. Someone recently told me “girl don’t come back it’s ghetto here” that made me laugh so hard. 

Many people like to do lots of research before making big decisions. Well for those that know me well know, that’s not me! So no, I didn’t do a lot of research. When I got my English certification from internationalteflacademy they had a list of facts about each country such as cost of living, visa requirements, average income for teachers, and suggested saving amount before moving and much more. That is what I looked at plus the average weather, it told me it was hot all year round BET! I am there. I figured I would figure everything else out when I arrived and guess what I did. Yes, I am a solo traveler… I guess. What’s the phrase people are saying these days…. Catch flights not feelings! Ha P.s. it’s okay to catch both!

So I will let you know how I planned my move out of the country. Many people have done this. However, not as many POC (People of Color) have or have the courage to. Especially, if they are young, ps I’m 27. Many POC are taking trips to different countries which is awesome but not necessarily living in different countries. However, shout out to all the POC taking those American/Canadian/ UK/European dollars and living a great life in another country. We are soo blessed and privileged to have the opportunity to do so. I understand everyday it’s a privilege to live the way I do, as well as, think the way I do. I DO NOT take that for granted.

Back to the details of how I made this move. So I started saving February 2020, then March everything changed. Well it actually worked out really well. January 2021 I lost my job, so what do I do next? Well of course, book my airbnb for a Month in Panama. I decided to go with a place where I rented out a room because I wanted to be able to ask someone questions who lived in Panama. I am glad I made that decision because Halima was so helpful in my transition to Panama. In January 2021 I also bought my plane ticket for mid-July. I have to admit, it didn’t feel real yet. I still had to sell and pack my whole life into 3 suitcases, 1 carry-on and a personal bag. The last two weeks before coming to Panama are so special for me. Makes me emotional thinking about it. I will have to be in my feelings on another blog.

So fast forward to June/July 2021 and I sold everything I own. All my items added up to $3,932. My car was the biggest item sold. It was an older car. I know people like number here is my personal break down. looking back I could have gotten a cheaper plane ticket but all good. Plane ticket 1-way ($490)+ airbnb stay($685) + 3 checked bags ($200) = $1,868.

So, I traveled to Panama with almost $6k. If I can do it you can too! I’m Young, I’m Afro, and I’m an Expat in Panama

My World, My Vision, My Travel Adventure!