Southern California woman says her life has changed in 6 months after moving to Ghana and she haven’t looked back.
She doesn’t regret calling Ghana her second home. She has urged people to come and visit Ghana.
In her story, she said; “In 2010, I made a trip to Ghana, W. Africa. It was 6 months that changed my life. For me, it was an important part of piecing together my identity. I swore I’d come back. So in 2013, I made the move from Southern Californa to Ghana, West Africa & I haven’t looked back.
Firstly, my name is Tiffany. Originally from L.A, California and by trade I’m a freelance writer and editor. I’m 35 years old (elder millennial ✌🏾) and I’m a mama to two girls. I live in Ghana with them and my lovely mother.
But overall I’m glad to call Ghana my 2nd home. Even if you wouldn’t live here permanently, I suggest every person of African descent visit Gh for at least a month. You’ll be warmly welcomed, filled with good food, baked in sunshine, & overall very enriched by the experience.
A couple months after coming to Ghana, we had both shed several pounds as we were eating a healthier indigenous diet. My mother also drastically cut down on the number of medications she was taking. It refreshing to see the life come back into her.
Why did I leave the U.S? I had been fascinated by Ghana ever since I found out through my aunt’s ancestry DNA test that we had ancestors from here. And I believe it was my ancestors that were ultimately guiding me to come here from the time I was a teenager.I know this doesn’t cover everything there is to cover, so feel free to ask me any questions. Healthcare, work, junk food, real estate, schools… I don’t have every answer but I’ll do my best. Use hashtag #goGhana so I’ll see your question.
2ndly, I see what y’all are going through back in the U.S. 😩 I’ve been doing my share of petitions & Twitter debating. I just want to say #BLACKLIVESMATTER. It’s an intense time and I’m doing this cause I feel some of you might want to seek refuge for a lil while or longer.
It wasn’t easy because at times I was just totally broke. One time I had gone to make copies of visa applications at Kinko’s and on the way home, I had to beg the bus driver to let me on because I was 80 cents short! It was hard but I was really determined to make it happen.
I was at an age where I really needed a sense of identity, so knowing my ancestry really influenced my sense of self. I’m also a Sagittarius rising so I’d been kind of obsessed with long distance travel most of my life. 😄.
My mother chose to come with me because she needed a break, as she was struggling with the cost of living (live in L.A is expensive…) and also she was just stressed out to the point of being on disability.
How did I afford the move? At the time that I started saving, I had just gotten a couple of lucrative freelance writing jobs, I put almost all the money I was making toward buying plane tickets, visas, my mom’s passport etc.
Water supply is also an issue in many areas. In the U.S I depended on the city water supply to pipe water to every home, but here municipal water is only available in some places. There are ways around this, but it’s just something to be aware of.
The most challenging things I’ve found about Ghana: 1. The country is not fully developed as far as infrastructure goes. So unpaved roads and power outages, and sanitation problems in certain areas can be inconvenient and irritating.
People greet each other in the street and children are polite to a fault. My mother says it’s a lot like growing up in the south (minus the racism of course). Ghanaians overall are notoriously friendly people.
Ghanaians also only have a vague sense of linear time. 😂 This is annoying but there’s e a joke that GMT stands for Ghana Man Time. You just have to accept that you’re gonna have “Omg I’ve been waiting for this man for an hour” moments & he’s texted he’s almost there 3 times.
A lot of people don’t know that Ghana was once home to over 70% of all the slave forts in Africa. So coming here to visit the slave forts can be an extremely emotional and spiritual experience for black people in the diaspora.”
