The Shocking Reasons Black Americans Are Fleeing the U.S. for a Better Life Abroad: Racism and the Cost of Living Are Just the Beginning

More and more Black Americans are leaving the United States for a higher quality of life abroad. Black people are usually not a monolith, so the reasons are different. But the overarching theme for many Black Americans selecting to live abroad is that they’re drained of racism and discrimination of their home country.

While Black people have been doing this over the previous couple of a long time – WEB DuBois, James Baldwin and Josephine Baker, for example – in 2016 the Blaxit movement was hard to miss. A play on words taken from the name Brexit that was given to the United Kingdom’s decision to depart the European Union, Blaxit refers to Black people leaving the United States to start out a life abroad. When leaders in Ghana announced the “Year of Return” campaign for 2019, inviting African descendants to “return” home and reconnect with their roots in the 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas, it inspired more Black Americans to return consider living in places like Ghana.

The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor further motivated Black Americans to depart in 2020. Tired of racism and trying to avoid wasting their lives and the lives of their children, more Black Americans moved to places like Mexico, Costa Rica, Portugal, Ghana, Senegal and Panama – simply to name a few.

Just a few months before the deaths of Floyd and Taylor, 2019 report of the National Academy of Sciences found that black men were 2.5 times more more likely to be killed by police than white men.

Beyond racism, affordability plays a major role in Black Americans’ decision to maneuver abroad.

The average cost in response to the latest Federal Reserve data from January 2024, the cost of a home in the United States is $417,700. That’s almost double the average cost when taking a look at first quarter data from just a decade ago, when in 2014 the average home cost Americans $275,200.

As prices proceed to rise in a volatile market, Black Americans proceed to face mortgage discrimination from banks. Condemning CNN evaluation found that Navy Federal, the largest lending institution in the US, rejected greater than half of its black applicants for conventional mortgages, despite the fact that that they had higher creditworthiness and higher incomes than their white counterparts.

As more Black Americans consider moving abroad, various social media groups are providing resources and advice for singles, couples and families. The Facebook group The Blaxit Tribe – Black Americans who want to depart the U.S. and move abroad has over 37,000 members. The group focuses on aspects people should consider before selecting a home, find housing, job opportunities and more.

Other resources could be found on YouTube where people document their moves abroad, especially on the subject of affordability.

Maame Amoaa Boateng-Kagyah is a Ghanaian real estate agent who posts videos on her YouTube channel showing the different homes people should purchase in Ghana inside their price range, and showing what others who’ve moved from countries like the US have bought.

IN last episode, took people on a tour of Karen King’s house. She moved from Raleigh, North Carolina, and built a four-story house in Asebu, Ghana, for about $70,000.

The mother of 4, grandmother and great-grandmother of almost twenty children explains that after her first visit to Ghana, she moved for spiritual reasons.

“Every day I started to feel more and more stressed about the West leaving me,” King tells Amoaa. “I felt more and more grounded.”

King says after two weeks in Ghana, she began talking about constructing a house. She built the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom house after receiving land from Ghana as part of the “Year of Return” campaign. The campaign encouraged descendants of enslaved Africans to “come home” by reconnecting with the land of their ancestors. The Government of Ghana has also worked with local chiefs to gift over 500 acres of land to individuals who wish to return and put money into Ghana.

King did just that, constructing a home with space for her family and even offering a room on Airbnb.

Her decision resonated widely amongst viewers, who’re also considering moving because of the reasonably priced price.

“My husband is from Croatia and we’re seriously considering retiring there because living in the US has simply turn into too expensive. I’m glad that this concept works for other retirees,” commented one of the people.

“The indisputable fact that this incredibly beautiful house costs about $70,000. dollars, it’s amazing to me! I live in Washington and we won’t buy a solid box for lower than $400,000. dollars,” said one other.

“Great movie! Gorgeous and brave, Karen! A house like that in America would cost half a million dollars around Washington and Maryland, where I live,” said one other. You can pay for this together with your blood, sweat and tears for over 30 years!

In one other video Amoaa shows Three bedroom container house Calvin Daniels built it for $33,000 in Ghana on 38 acres of land.

There’s a superb line between finding a latest home and colonization

Moving abroad comes with its challenges. Costs could also be a barrier. Couple published in r/antiwork subreddit that they spent greater than $25,000 on legal fees, leasing agent fees, flights and accommodations. Many countries require this for individuals who first turn into digital nomads before applying for everlasting residence prove you’ll be able to support yourself for a distant work visa.

Brazil requires you to earn at the least $1,500 monthly or $17,000 in your checking account. In Belize, single people must earn at the least $75,000 per yr, and couples applying jointly must earn $100,000 per yr.

In addition to financial barriers, there may be the possibility of cultural conflict between locals and visitors and the fear that visitors raise the cost of living for locals.

NPR podcast episode touches on this topicexamining how black Americans moving abroad could harm residents by increasing costs.

It is vital for Black Americans to maneuver abroad rigorously. One of the best ways to maneuver abroad is to maneuver to less popular areas to avoid displacing people from their homes in larger cities, where rent prices are inclined to be higher.

It’s also best to support local businesses, employ local people and pay them a living wage as costs proceed to rise.

The Shocking Reasons Black Americans Are Fleeing the U.S. for a Better Life Abroad: Racism and the Cost of Living Are Just the Beginning