Abroad Is Sweet… Until It Isn’t
Abroad is sweet… until it isn’t.
I came across a post from an African living in Canada that stopped me.
On paper, he did everything right. Moved abroad. Collected diplomas. Got permanent residency.
But here is how he actually feels: “The cost of living is so high where I live, and I don’t think I can take it anymore. I feel like I’ve wasted my time here. My former classmates who stayed in Africa are doing way better than me.”
I have felt some version of this myself.
He is tired of subtle and not-so-subtle prejudice, loneliness and not really fitting in, expensive housing and the constant pressure to “make it.”
On top of that, his family back home thinks he is lazy for not making enough money. They keep comparing him to the few Africans who look successful on social media. Even though those people are also struggling behind the scenes, nobody tells that part of the story.
Now he is stuck in the classic diaspora dilemma: stay in a Western country where he feels unsafe, unseen and overworked? Move back to Africa, where he misses home but worries about jobs, pay and politics? Or start over somewhere new — maybe the US, maybe East Africa — and hope it finally feels like home?
In the comments, people suggested everything. Move to Atlanta, Minneapolis or Chicago for the bigger African communities. Move to East Africa with a remote job and live well on a foreign salary. Or just accept that every country has its own mix of racism, bureaucracy and loneliness.
One comment hit me the hardest: “As an expat, most of what you listed is everywhere to some degree.”
So I will ask you directly. If you are an African living abroad, where is home for you right now — the country you live in, the one you left, or one you have not been to yet?
Share your story in the comments. Yours might be exactly what another African in the diaspora needs to hear today.