5 Favorite Countries African Americans Moved To | The 5

african-american international travel is growing at an epic rate the amount that african americans spent on travel grew from 48 billion in 2010 to 63 billion in 2018. and due to the recent civil unrest gentrification and expensive health care many are deciding to make places outside of the us their permanent home being a black expat is nothing new famous black icons like james baldwin and josephine baker did it to escape racism and ended up having blossoming careers overseas so in this episode of the five i want to give you my top five favorite places that blacks are relocating to hi my name is jared and welcome to the five where we share five interesting things in black culture and society in every episode don't forget to subscribe and hit that bell so you can get notified when we release new videos [Music] the countries that we selected for this list are some of the most talked about and loved on the internet we asked black travelers about their favorite countries and went through tons of blogs and videos to bring you this list these countries are not in order as everyone has different preferences and places that they would love to call home let's start with number one panama panama home of the panama canal is the southernmost country in central america it borders costa rica and colombia has a beautiful diverse landscape of high mountains and beautiful beaches and is the only place in the world where you can see the sun rise in the pacific and set on the atlantic it is relatively close to the united states with a flight from houston to panama being just four hours the distance from new york to panama is almost the same as living in new york and visiting relatives in la panama city is the capital city of panama and that is where a majority of expats live it is considered to be the true first world city in central america the city has a lot of the same luxuries and amenities that you might be used to in the united states there is high-speed internet cable tv great cellular data and highways and freeways in great condition everywhere you go they have amazing health care amazing food and with a growing economy panama is a great place to live and do business also don't worry about the exchange rate because they already use the us dollar and most of the locals do speak english almost nowhere in the world has a better climate than panama with the average temperature ranging between 70 and 90 degrees during the day and in the 70s at night and that's year around panama may not be the cheapest country on this list but is still a lot cheaper than living in places like southern california the average cost to live in the capital panama city which many consider to have the fill of miami is just two thousand dollars a month and that's for two people if you want to live outside the city the price can drop in half in the neighboring city of boquete families can rent three bedroom homes for around eight hundred dollars a month as far as extracurricular activities there's literally nothing you can't do in panama they have hiking golf tennis river rafting soccer and even an international film festival so whether you're looking to retire or live that miami lifestyle for cheaper panama might be the right place for you number two mexico as an american when someone mentions mexico most people instantly only picture tijuana a quick vacation trip to cancun or maybe drug cartels and crime but mexico is so so so much more for instance did you know mexico is the most popular destination for north american expats in the world and more are joining them all the time and although there are cartels there just like gangs and cartels in the united states this is something most locals never have to worry about over 1 million people from the us and over a half a million canadians currently reside in mexico just like panama one of the main reason black expats are moving to mexico is the relative distance to the united states you can get to mexico from most u.s international airports in just two hours as far as climate mexico is three times the size of texas so it has something for everyone of course it has the beach lifestyle with white sands heat and humidity but it also has areas that never get too hot or too cold most of the year the cost of living in mexico is much much lower than living in the united states according to international living dot com for a two bedroom home you might pay seven hundred and fifty dollars a month in rent two hundred dollars in property taxes and electricity might only cost twenty five dollars and this is in a good neighborhood the cost of great private health care for a couple is around 300 a month as far as infrastructure the highway system is good most places have high speed internet and you can even find home depot walmart and costco in mexico too a lot of black women even report being able to find their favorite hair products in mexico the main language of course is spanish but in a lot of the bigger cities you can get by by speaking english mexican people are extremely friendly and as far as recreation anything you can do in the states you can pretty much do in mexico for much cheaper of course the lake chapala area just south of guadalajara holds the largest number of u.s and canadian expats in mexico so you might want to start there if you're looking about giving mexico a try number three portugal portugal is a southern european country bordered by spain to the east and the atlantic ocean to the west as far as safety the global peace index rates portugal as the third safest country in the world and many blacks report fillings of zero over racism portugal has a lot of diversity and you will get to see people from all over the world a lot of people from brazil and portuguese speaking african countries started moving there in the 70s so you will not feel out of place portugal is another country that has a really good climate the south experiences mediterranean weather with mild winters and hot summers further north it's a little bit cooler the average temperature for the whole country is around 70 degrees as far as expenses most americans have said it's about a third or even a fourth of how much they would be paying in the states many say it has the lowest cost of living of any western european country rent in lesbian the capital city of portugal is around a thousand dollars a month for a one or two bedroom but in other parts of the country you can find apartments for as low as four hundred dollars you can find properties for sale in lesbian as low as a hundred and fifty thousand dollars you can get private health insurance for as little as 46 dollars per month per person there is also even a tax incentive program for foreigners called the non-habitual tax residence or nhr under this program you can pay reduced taxes or no taxes on income you're bringing into portugal as far as infrastructure education system and healthcare portugal is as advanced as any other country that might be considered advanced the main language is portuguese but many blacks from the us said they got around just fine speaking english number four everyone's favorite costa rica in the states i think everyone has heard about people moving to costa rica costa rica has long been one of the most popular destinations for young entrepreneurs trying to get away from the rat race or older people looking to retire it is relatively close to the u.s with a flight from texas to costa rica being around three hours costa rica like panama is a country that connects north america and south america many americans think it's an island because of its beautiful beaches dense rainforests and wildlife but it's not costa rica has an amazing tropical climate with a mild temperature ranging from the low 70s to the low 90s year around expenses in costa rica is a lot more affordable than the states a three-bedroom home in the central valley where a lot of expats live could be as little as 119 000 to buy and 500 a month to rent you'll pay zero income taxes on foreign earned income if you buy a home in costa rica your annual property taxes will be no more than a hundred dollars to two hundred dollars in most cases and there's no capital gains tax costa rica also has very affordable private health care system that is top notch many americans report paying a third to a fifth of what they would pay in the states and many of the doctors in the private sector even speak english costa rica is a country that is dedicated to peace and safety in 1948 they even got rid of their army and used the budget on education and healthcare instead many blacks say they feel much safer in costa rica than the states as far as infrastructure public transportation is safe and reliable and the internet is fast costa rica is one of the top rated places for retirees year after year and number five ghana last but not least we have ghana and i mean of course i couldn't make a top five list for black expats without mentioning at least one african country ghana is a country in the west of africa just north of the equator known as the gold coast it is estimated by the members of the african american association of ghana that about 5 000 african americans are currently living in the capital city of accra that's a sharp increase from the 1000 a decade ago the temperature in the city of accra where most expats live is amazing if you like warm weather full of sunshine year-round with the average temperature in the 80s and 90s during the day and mid 70s at night they do have a rainy season between may and june so it does get humid during those months now i have to be honest ghana and many other places in africa are very different than it is in the states most people that move there either really love it or they really want to go back home there are many positives to living in ghana and there are plenty of things you will have to get used to if you're used to living in the west ghana is full of amazing beaches and amazing food everything is super fresh and they say you haven't had fruit until you have eaten fruit from ghana everyone in ghana speaks english but the dialect takes some getting used to the cost of living there is much cheaper than it is in the states according to the youtube channel expat life ghana which is a family of four documenting their move from america to ghana a family of four can live very comfortably for thirty thousand dollars a year and that's with sending a kid to private school their budget also includes an after-school private tutor and paying for private health care ghana is also known as a very friendly and respectful place many people say in ghana they are able to establish real relationships when they move there unlike the states you do have to be careful of being taken advantage of financially because you're a foreigner many blacks complain that the locals are trying to overcharge them once they know that they're from america ghana has a much slower pace than in the states which is a good and a bad thing sometimes you will enjoy the slow pace but other times it will be a nightmare when you need to get things done ghana is a fast growing country but the infrastructure has some catching up to do but if you're looking for a place with a slower pace that's affordable and will introduce you to an amazing african culture ghana is a great choice so that's it for our top five list of places for black expats of course this is just five countries and there's a lot more to explore so many people love places like tanzania singapore japan canada new zealand and the list goes on basically the moral of this episode is just because you're born somewhere doesn't mean you're stuck there there's a whole world out there to explore that's it for this episode of the five we'll be back with another episode in black culture and society you

Channel: Black Excellence

Views: 274,626

Rating: 4.9058104 out of 5

Keywords: american expats, black expats, black travelers, black travel, relocating from us, relocating to another country, moving to mexico, moving to portual, moving to ghana, moving to costa rica, moving to panama, blacks living oversees, black excellence, moving out of america, living in ghana, blacks moving to ghana

Id: uTLU_L8Xi9c

Length: 12min 27sec (747 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 27 2021