My Journey to Freedom
My New Life
Hola!
I’m Davia, and I’ve been living in Costa Rica for the past four and a half years.
If you’re frustrated by your home country’s total disregard for you and everyone who looks like you, I’m here to tell you there’s a better way. I’m living proof that there’s a way out––a way to real happiness.
I was just another cog in the American workforce machine before moving to Costa Rica in 2016. Although I’ve always been driven, intellectual, and hungry for success, I couldn’t seem to advance my career no matter how hard I worked. Eventually, I realized that there would never be an opportunity for a promotion at my job, and that it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t have the foundation that my white coworkers had to build their lives and careers on. There was no generational wealth for me to fall back on, and there weren’t any higher-ups putting in a good word for me at the water cooler. I was one of three black people in a department with approximately 100 employees. And no one––not a single person––in upper management looked like me.
I eventually had to face reality and admit to myself that the only way to really see positive change in my life was to remove myself from the machine entirely. So, I decided to move out of the US and narrowed my list of potential new homes down to Costa Rica and 2 other countries. After my first visit to Costa Rica, however, I knew I’d found my forever home. My 5-day trip turned into a 10-day trip, and I could hardly bring myself to leave. While visiting Costa Rica, I was able to wake up to the sun rising over the ocean, lounge around in a hammock, surf, and do yoga with the jungle as my backdrop. But the real highlight of the trip was being able to live as a person of color without fear, anxiety, and all of the pain that comes along with not feeling accepted. Although I loved the lifestyle I got a little taste of during my vacation, I knew the freedom I felt as a person of color in this country was what I would miss most while back in the States.
After returning to the US, I made a 1-year exit plan and eventually moved to Port Viejo, Costa Rica in March 2016 with my twin daughters.
Since moving, the luxuries I enjoyed during my vacation have become everyday reality for my family and me. And perhaps best of all, I’ve created a better future for my children.
My kids have generational wealth to fall back on, they’ll never have to worry about whether or not they’ll make it home after being pulled over, and they won’t have to watch less qualified people get promotion after promotion while they’re automatically disqualified because of their skin color.
So, if you’re desperate to know that there’s a better way for you and your family, I’m here to tell you there is.
I’ve found a great community of black and brown expats in Costa Rica, and I’ve made it my mission to help others to find a place where they belong. Just like I’ve found mine.
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