There are a growing number of Americans moving abroad, and black women are amongst those seeking an international life as an Expat. So, as I get ready to launch my new book, YOU TOO! Can Live Abroad (sign up now! for updates) in a few weeks, I wanted to speak to both women who are currently living abroad, and Future Expats.
Today, I had the opportunity to speak to Future Expat, Cherise Charleswell, who is already a seasoned traveler. However, she still has her sights set on having a life and career outside of the United States. Although, she doesn’t have a firm date of when she’ll actually move abroad, she does have some of her future international travels for 2016 already booked and paid for, she is not playing y’all!
Expecting Great Things!
Name: Cherise Charleswell
Occupation: Clinical Researcher, Diversity Officer, Writer, Segment Producer for Broadcast Radio, Model. Yes, I wear MANY hats.
Counties visiting by the end of 2015: Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Costa Rica.
Already Booked for 2016: Trinidad & Tobago, Thailand,
Turkey, Kosovo, Albania, and Colombia. And, I still feel like I am forgetting to list a few.
Where is home? Home and roots will always be the Virgin Islands. However, I do not feel tied to any particular locale.
Currently resides in? Los Angeles
When did you first obtain your passport? At a young age, I’m not exactly sure when it was first obtained for me.
Have you traveled abroad? If so, where? Yes, I have. I have been to…Mexico, Canada, The Bahamas, Antigua, Anguilla, St Kitts, The Netherlands, The Netherlands Antilles: (St Maarten/St Martin, Aruba), British Virgin Islands, England, Portugal, Greece, Italy, France, and United Arab Emirates.
Why are you interested in living abroad? Living abroad is something that I wanted to do for a very long time. I was unable to accept a study abroad program, being that I had to work my way through college during my undergraduate years. However, I made it a point to befriend any exchange students and all those who had an immigrant background like mine. I just find that people outside of the US seem to be more socially politically aware, and for that reason far more interesting. There is also the state of US politics and the economy. I would like to live in a country that still values education, people, and infrastructure over war and profit. One where mass shootings are not the accepted norm. One where pursuing higher education does not put you in crippling debt. Seriously, I would like to pursue a doctoral degree, but know that I will not put myself in further debt by doing it here in the United States.
Where would you like to live and why? Goodness, if I had the exact answer to this, I would be gone already. I will just say that I am open to all opportunities. I have found something that touches me in every country that I visit, and know that I will be able to make any country “home”.
What do you think will be your biggest adjustment when moving abroad? The biggest adjustment may be not being able to readily obtain some of the food products that I am used to; particularly since I am a vegetarian.
Do you have any fears about living abroad? If, so what are they? No, I do not.
What are three things you miss about America? I am unfortunately still here and have nothing to miss. However, I am sure that when I do emigrate, the things that I will miss are my family and friends; but they will always have an open door to visit me.