Leaving the US for Trinidad and Tobago A Cost of Living Comparison

Some people think that I've downgraded my life because I moved to Trinidad and Tobago, but I like to say that I truly upgraded. The cost of living here is very, very low. Healthcare is free. I can afford to send my children to over eight activities in a way that doesn't break my family's budget. Luxury to me is being able to go to my backyard and pick one of three mango trees and eat fresh mangoes. I take that type of lifestyle over the hustle and bustle of America any day. My name is Chantel Henry. I'm 38 years old and I moved to Trinidad and Tobago 11 years ago.

It's a twin island republic. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean. It's very close to South America. I grew up in Baltimore City. My mother had five children and she was a single mother, but she did the best with what she had. I remember very clearly when I was a child having to visit the local playground and jump over drug needles in order to get to the swing. Those memories never left me and I made a vow to myself that although my mother did the best that she could with what she had, I'm going to do even better because that's what she always told me to do. My children now get to have a full backyard, lots of greenery around them. They get to make nature their classroom. While I'm homeschooling them, opportunities to learn music and dance

and gymnastics in a way that doesn't break my family's budget. $477 a month for eight activities, that would typically be the tuition for one child to participate in a summer camp in America. 13 years ago, I met my husband on his very first trip to America. We had both gone to Vegas to attend a business conference and I laid eyes on him and it was literally love at first sight. I told him that I don't care where Trinidad is on the map, I'll follow you wherever you go. Even though my life in Atlanta was very enviable to some people, I worked for NFL NBA players. I was a college professor, had a very nice apartment in Buckhead, and on the outside I looked like a public success, but on the inside

I felt like a private failure. I was chasing a version of success that was empty. I realized that I wanted to be an international woman because I liked people who weren't just about the materialistic things of the world. I wanted to connect with people who really had culture and a little bit more substance than what I was accustomed to with the Hollywood of things in Atlanta. It's very affordable to eat good and healthy here on the island. So most of these vegetables and fruits are organic, straight from the farm here. They don't tend to throw out the little funny-looking vegetables and create food

waste. Instead, they put it on display for people to buy. They get to pick and choose as they wish. That's part of the reason why food here in Trinidad and Tobago is more affordable because they're not going for the aesthetics. They're going for the value. So as you can see, I'm filling up my hands with all of the groceries that I'll need for the week, and I'll tell you $100 will get me everything that I need. And I'm not talking $100 US. This blue note, $100 TT, is worth $15 just about in the US, and it buys my groceries for the entire week. For me. What? Is this a parrot? When we shop for groceries and we spend $400 a month, I'm talking meat, all the essentials, the carbs, the bread, the

rice, the veggies. I am an entrepreneur. I work full-time as a consultant helping individuals and organizations with their AI transformation and communication strategies. I also wear the title of home school mom and wife. Sheesh. That's why I only had two. They are a handful. My business brings in 120,000 annually on a good year and that's about $10,000 a month. Thank you, sir. I remember stressing out about the gas prices with everything happening in the geopolitical space in America when I was there on vacation. Every day almost I had to go and refuel my car because of the distances I would drive and it was

costing me hundreds of dollars a month. But now that I'm on the island, I can pull up to the local gas station and spend 250 TT fill up my tank. It lasts me weeks. So, I love the gas prices here. It's affordable and it's super convenient. I drive a pickup truck and with insurance and the cost of the truck, it's $400 a month. And she's like, "Girl, how much that cost?" I said, "Trust me, if I was in America, it would be an arm and a leg." But a hairstyle like this to get a relaxer, to get it cut, get it colored, [snorts] you're looking at $1,600 TT which ends up being just about 280 US dollars. But in the states, this same

exact style and cut could easily run you 800 to a thousand dollars. I have a three-bedroom home that we're renovating so it has the potential to go up to six bedrooms. But for our home, for our family of four, we pay $500 a month. We pay $75 a month to have phone and internet. In America, I was spending $150 a month on electricity. Here in Trinidad, I pay $20 a month. Healthcare is free on the island, but there are some seasons where my husband and I decide to get private insurance, and for that, we would spend $165 a month for our family of four. In America, race is always a part of the conversation, whether it's

an over conversation or a covert conversation. I'm always reminded of the color of my skin. It's so freeing to be able to show up as a human being as opposed to putting up a box or a label because of the color of my skin. One of the things that I had to get used to in Trinidad and Tobago is the ever-present of police. You could go to a quick shop, a gas station, and there will be these cops that have huge shotguns when you go and check out for a candy bar. And I'm like, wait, what is this? I've been here for 11 years, and since being here, I can remember at least two times where there was a state of emergency declared, and usually it's crime that is related to drugs or gangs

activity. However, I've not experienced that in my neighborhood, which is a real blessing. Another thing that I had to get used to are shops closing so early. In America, you have 24-hour restaurants, you have 24-hour stores, but here on the island, most things close at 4:00 p.m. My mother always said, "Chantel, if you study hard, if you do good, you will have a good life, and you'll have a better life than you're experiencing right now." And that never left me. You want to build a life that you don't need a vacation from. Here I am in Trinidad and Tobago building a life that looks like a vacation every single day. Not because things are perfect, but I get a chance to build my life of possibilities.

I can't keep up.