The Real Struggle of African Americans Living Abroad

[@HeatherICreateMyPath]

I agree 💯 that hiring consultants should be part of your budget. It can be make or break on our relocation. Also, we've got to do our work psychologically. Wherever we go, there we are.

[@kjwking3923]

Excellent info. Thank you for the transparency. "Adulting" is no joke wherever you are. I believe you have helped some folks not to be afraid to move but to be more informed about their move. 💜

[@FlutterBYEpnw]

Wishing Ric a belated happy birthday and get well soon. Thanks for the info Halisi; that was good food for thought!

[@OurBlackUtopia]

You are so welcome and Ric is finally feeling better.

[@MichelleLynnThompson]

Hello Everyone❤. Hi Halisi! Sending healing prayers to Ric.

[@danielleamory5428]

Love how you're giving reality checks. One other thing you may want to cover is the minimum amounts you must be able to prove financially to get residency in some countries. Just grabbing your last paycheck may not be enough to get the visa you need.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Hey Danielle, we have covered that extensively - you are absolutely right! Thank you so much for watching and please forgive the delay in responding. The MOVE 2 PORTUGAL VIRTUAL SUMMIT has been stealing my time. 😳 Let us know how else we can help your journey. In the meantime, here are some resources that might help: bit.ly/OBUresources. You might also be interested in our private Facebook group - FIRE over 50, you don’t have to be over 50 but definitely from the diaspora: bit.ly/FIREover50 🙄

[@janwig9347]

Speedy recovery for Ric!!! 💚💚💚

[@OurBlackUtopia]

He's not a good patient but I'm tryin'

[@MichelleLacy-o7h]

Great information Halisi…..you are doing a great job!🥰 Happy Birthday Rick please feel better.

[@brooklynqueen7089]

I’m listening to you in your beautiful country sitting on the sand in Cascais (Praia da Rainha). I’m staying @ an Airbnb in Lisbon. Love it❤

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Hey BrooklynQueen - how long are you here?

[@brooklynqueen7089]

@@OurBlackUtopia I am scheduled to leave on Monday. I was headed to Porto, but I may take the train to Madrid instead.

[@brooklynqueen7089]

@@OurBlackUtopia I’m at an AirBnB on Rua do Poço dos Negros. If you’re in town I’d love to buy you a beverage and chat🥰

[@kjwking3923]

I ESPECIALLY like the advice about making a plan for moving back should you need or want to.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Always! Need to have a plan A,B,&C - Thank you so much for watching and please forgive the delay in responding. The MOVE 2 PORTUGAL VIRTUAL SUMMIT has been stealing my time. 😳 Let us know how else we can help your journey. In the meantime, here are some resources that might help: bit.ly/OBUresources. You might also be interested in our private Facebook group - FIRE over 50, you don’t have to be over 50 but definitely from the diaspora: bit.ly/FIREover50 🙄

[@danielleamory5428]

Take care of yourself both of you. Happy Belated Birthday Rick🎉😊

[@jamettajohnson6172]

Happy Birthday Ric!🎉🎂🎉I hope you feel better.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Me too, Jametta - you know husbands are not good patients 😜

[@abdulidi733]

Great information. It will help a lot of people in deciding what to expect!!

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Thank you so much for your kind words! It's awesome to hear that the information can help others out.

[@debrajones3656]

As always great information, Halisi

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Thank you so much for your kind words! I really appreciate your support and feedback!

[@kimberlygila]

Hello halisi and nice information 😊

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Hey Kimberly - thank you for watching and for the continued support. 💕

[@Stellasbaby724]

Love you guys and you did great!!! This was so important. If you move abroad shouldn’t you stay there and live outside the vacation bubble. Good to hear about the purchasing property piece. This was very informative.

[@LoveParkConnection]

Yes, that is what I noticed no smiles but they were truly polite.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

yeah, it's a whole different vibe, but our neighbors know us and are quick with a Boa Tarde or Tudo bem?

[@actionvj]

Feel better Ric!!

[@denisejames3089]

Halifax, It was brave of you to tackle it without hubby. I can understand that it may not have been without the other half. Great job! Hope he's feeling better.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Awww thank you Denise, thank you so much for watching and please forgive the delay in responding. The MOVE 2 PORTUGAL VIRTUAL SUMMIT has been stealing my time. 😳 Let us know how else we can help your journey.

[@sharonlaudat3297]

Boa noite👋🏾 Wishing Ric a speedy recovery!

[@LoveParkConnection]

Thank you for this topic. Very informative.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Thank you sweetheart 🥰

[@YogaBlissDance]

We LOVE YOU! Blessings and health to hubby! Rest is so important- we are an under rested people. I find it hard to believe that someone who can afford Belgium and is working-- can't afford to move back to U.S. I'll be really honest- I'm not currently upper middle class, so this woman you mention, is she thinking "oh I can't afford to buy a house again in U.S.?" Cause that's what I'm guessing. Her Belgium money should set her in good stead in a small city in US.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

She's from an expensive city - (I don't want to say which one because there aren't that many African Americans that I've met in Brussels.) AND - she's probably not as financially literate as she might think she is.

[@Marvs-u1r]

Hello Halisi. Strange not to see Ric at your side. Bet it feels weird lol! Hope its just a hangover and hope you are both healthy and well. The vlog is insightful as always, even though I am not an American. Blessings.

[@DianaVaughanJones]

Hey Halisi! I hope Ric feels better and tell him Happy Born Day! 🎉

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Thank you Diana, I will. 🥰

[@TwanaRCisse]

I went to Belgium and all through Brussels, and it was very cold spiritually. I did not like the food. Everyone was standoffish.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Interesting observation. It's a beautiful city and country but it ain't Portugal. 🇵🇹 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@joyhappens84]

Where can we check out before leaving on Tuesday? We’ve visited Lisbon and Porto and thinking of Cascais but haven’t found a suburban-like feel yet.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Hey Joy, sorry we're behind - we do have an email address listed on our channel. If you're thinking of the US's version of suburbs than you will only find that in places like the Silver Coast and the Algarve. A lot of land and/or big yards and a single family home. Now, down in the beach towns of LIsbon (we did a video on this) you can find single family homes that remind me more of Beverly Hills or La Jolla bigger homes than yards. Europe is old and so they did city planning conservatively - in that there's not a lot of sprawl. The cities are dense.

[@danieldhardman5388]

Good video Halisi 👍🏼👏🏿. As you say, there is discrimination (racism, colorism, etc.) everywhere. So, AAs should feel right at home everywhere, no? I mean, we do come from the most racist country on the planet. This is our New York--if we can make it here (US) we can make it anywhere. Especially if the incidents of discrimination in Portugal are half of what they are in America. It's good to hear you say you and Ric are still enjoying Portugal. ❤

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Hey Daniel - you are absolutely right! It's interesting to me how many AAs don't realize how racist America is. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@danieldhardman5388]

@@OurBlackUtopia blows my mind 🤯 every day just thinking about it.

[@angeladeleon5922]

😊 excellent info.❤

[@kennyroberts2703]

Once you get over the language barrier, the rest is a breeze.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Exactly - and we have technology to help with that.

[@lorrainearagon7810]

May I also suggest Marisela Molina in San Miguel as well, she was a true support!!

[@OurBlackUtopia]

YES YOU MAY M'am 🥰 - look, this is a community effort - we're all in this together and we are all here to help one another! One Love!

[@sandrawithoutborders5631]

This is definitely enlightening. I always laugh when I hear someone saying, “I’m American and I know my rights.” Other nations don’t care about your rights. Besides, you’re delaying everyone else and you just might end up behind bars over stupid stuff.

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Hey Sandra, you're absolutely right! 😃 Thank you so much for watching and for adding to the conversation. 💕

[@carolynyoung5752]

Hi Halisi! I'm 65 and have been following you guys for awhile. I'm at the point where I want to get serious about starting my search for a location abroad. I hear a lot of expats say they sell everything including their home. I'm on the fence about selling vs renting for the income. My extended family is small and one of my 2 adult children lives in the US, the other on is living/working in Italy. My concern is if I would need to return to the US for any reason. What do most expats do about this?

[@LoveParkConnection]

Get well soon Ric

[@OurBlackUtopia]

He's still coughing - and I'm sleeping in the guest bed room 🤫🤐

[@OurBlackUtopia]

🙏🏾

[@berlawberlaw1025]

You are very informative. My question is , knowing all the things you know , would you have moved abroad as a single black woman?

[@OurBlackUtopia]

In a heartbeat! Everything is figure-out-able if you've planned well financially and left room for mistakes that may cost a few pennies. We saved $40k for our process of getting residency in Mexico and Portugal + the scouting trips and move... We've left ourselves in a position to change our minds and that makes all of the difference in the world.

[@anaclohessy402]

Boa noite , as melhoras para o Rick and happy Birthday Not in context, just voted , fingers crossed

[@livinglifemyway6511]

Hello!

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Hey there Living Life My way - Thank you for tuning in 🥳

[@sistadeity5432]

I’m not getting your notifications 😢

[@OurBlackUtopia]

Oh no, I've heard rumor that YT doesn't always send out 100% of the folks who've asked for notification. 🤬. I'm trying to find a texting service that's affordable - so that we can send our own notifications.

[@teddydavis2339]

Does Ric have a hangover? Lol. I hope he recuperates. Halisi thank you for tackling this subject. I lived abroad for many years. There is no place like the US. It isn't perfect, but it's home and I am not looking for the struggle elsewhere. Also black folks do better career wise than anywhere else. Can you name 3 influential black people in Portugal? Racism is everywhere. Even if folks don't want to see it. One thing I have to say is that guns is not the only weapon used to kill. There are knives and other instruments that people use to kill. Not only that, if someone wants to get a gun, believe they can. I know you guys don't want to believe it, but people get killed in Portugal all the time. Don't be fooled. Armed robberies take place everyday in Portugal. You must learn the language so you can understand the news. That's how I get my information. Belgium killed millions of Africans in the Congo and chopped off their hands if they didn't work fast enough. I don't want to be gloom and doom, but you guys romanticize Europe so much. Europe's wealth was built on the forced labor and the trafficking of our people. Of course, Portugal is not different. I hope Ric gets well soon.

[@martacancela7681]

No place is paradise. No place is perfect. But I want to live my life looking at people as PEOPLE, not as skin colours (which, by the way, no one chooses, neither the place you are born, nor your parents and economical status). The only thing you can do is - like Halisi and Ric - find the place that suits you, doing all you can to enable your move. If you live somewhere you don't like, do all you can to move. (In Portugal, many poor brazilians and africans and asians come and do all they can to make it work. It's not good, but it's better than home. And when they can, they move away again. That's life.)

[@OurBlackUtopia]

I know the ills of the colonizers and yet... As I said in the video - for those of us who aren not trying to find a job - we're living our best lives. When you come back to visit you will see how different it is and how we American Black immigrants have formed alliances with the Black indigenous and African immigrants. I have to say, the vast majority of European Portuguese have treated me with dignity and respect, and just as often, kindness. There are some who think the USA is Disneyland and think we're the super rich 😆 😂 This is home until it is not. BTW - I just turned in my ballot 🇺🇸