Over the past decade, I’ve frequently discussed my experiences as a minority and immigrant in the United States. On November 9, 2016, I wrote the article “Trump Showed Me America’s True Colors.” In it, I explained the difficulties I faced with the immigration process under Trump and how much it shaped my earliest (and negative) experiences as a new US resident.
A year later, I explained why I had gotten rid of all my ostrich friends, i.e., people who were comfortable burying their heads in the sand while the rest of us bore the brunt of their refusal to act. I wasn’t a citizen then and had no say in elections and their outcomes. I was entirely at the mercy of people who couldn’t even agree whether climate change is real.
The Initial Solution
Convinced that maybe being a red state had just badly colored my perception, I bought an RV and took off into the Desert Southwest. I was somewhat correct. My time in the Western United States was among the absolute best years of my life. I worked three days a week, traveled often, and met interesting people.
But just a month into my RV journey, I ran into the Confederacy in Arizona and felt for the first time what it was like to have racist White people try to intimidate me into leaving an area. Not surprisingly, I stood my ground.
When I got to Wyoming, it was no better. My videos on my experiences there attracted so much virtual hate mail from racists that my channel went private after 2022. This one had some of the worst, though YouTube has since removed most of those comments:
American Regression in 2022
That same year, I posed the question here: Is America Regressing? Is It Time to Jump Ship?
At that time, the Supreme Court had just struck down Roe v. Wade. That ruling, among other things, taught me that voting progressives and liberals into the US government provided no protection for women and marginalized people. It was undoubtedly a better alternative than the brazened racism we faced under Trump, but it didn’t stop the movement from growing.
It felt like a lost cause, so I packed my things and returned to Mexico. By October 2022, I highlighted Spain as my likely destination and bought my first ticket. Two years later, I am proud and relieved to say it’s my home. America may have disappointed me yet again, but at least I can watch it unfold from the sidelines this time around.
Ultimately, I have no regrets about moving to the United States or becoming a US citizen. But, the best perk it gave me was the ease of access to other countries.
The 2024 Presidential Elections
Nevertheless, I am a model citizen when it comes to civic duties. Millions of Americans chose to abstain from this election. Meanwhile, I was on the phone with my local elections office and the embassy to ensure my vote was submitted and counted. I voted from 4,566 miles away, but some people couldn’t be bothered to go down the street or drive a few minutes to their polling stations.
The voting demographics and their choices were as telling and unsurprising as always. But the aftermath confirmed what minorities were already terrified of—racists getting their platform back. The election had hardly been won when Black persons across the country of all ages started to receive text messages telling them they had been selected to pick cotton and would be picked up by buses and taken to plantations.
I was on the phone with my mom when my stepbrother got his. He’s a minor—as were many of the many other Black boys and girls who received this text message. I could hear my Dad reading the text aloud in confusion in the background. There was an awkward pause after that.
“What’s going on?” I asked my mom. “What is that? What’s he reading?”
Here’s the text below:
Shortly afterward, she left for work. When she arrived, a Black co-worker showed her his phone. He had also received one. Over the next few days, thousands of reports of Black persons receiving messages like these would surface.
Meanwhile, in Tennessee, a Historically Black College/University built by former slaves burned. The fire department believes arsonists set fire to the building. It went up in flames the night before the US Presidential Elections, devastating a college that was already struggling to re-open its doors.
The college making the news was also a profound reminder of how ingrained racism has been in the United States. These schools only existed because, until the 1960s, Black persons in America could not attend regular colleges. It may sound like a long time ago, but many of us millennials have parents born before the 1960s. Parents who, if White, had the opportunity to attend whatever college they could afford, while their Black classmates could not.
As a reminder, Ruby Bridges is still alive today.
The Journey to Spain
It’s been over a year since I last posted on this blog. I shared that I was taking a break to complete my master’s degree and focus on getting an autoimmune condition under control. I invited you all to join me at Substack, where I continued to post about my travels weekly. Some of you did and cheered me on as I took one step or another closer to my final goal.
A month into my master’s degree (October 2023), I got a Google contractor job and began working full-time in artificial intelligence. Still, I completed my master’s degree in Information Technology Management a year early and finally took the RV back to Georgia after four years of travel. It’s now parked at home, awaiting my next visit.
Shadow and I moved to Barcelona and then Madrid this fall. We have a small but beautiful apartment overlooking an area that sometimes reminds us of life in the Desert Southwest. I started applying for a PhD in AI Ethics at a Spanish university, and a professor approved my initial doctoral research proposal. I spent today working on the more formal proposal to submit by the end of this week.
Sadly, shortly after I arrived in Spain, Google laid off the entire team. As always, they cited the need to cut costs, and no one from Google attended the meeting where 50-plus AI professionals from their external workforce were unexpectedly shown the door.
Soon, we saw our roles floating on the market for $5-$10 less per hour than we had been paid. Most of my co-workers swiftly fled to xAI, which is owned by Elon Musk. I initially considered joining them, but after seeing Elon’s involvement in Trump’s campaign, my “I don’t think so” became an “Absolutely TF not.”
Idealist or not, I have bills to pay, so I considered returning to the United States. However, after seeing the election results, I swiftly changed my mind about that, too. I lost 70% of my income when Google gave us the boot, but I’ll keep doing what freelance work I can find and chip away at my PhD while I look for work. I’ve survived worst before.
A lot of liberals say they woke up oddly at 3 AM the morning before the results with a strange feeling of dread. Even in Spanish time, the same thing happened to me. Spain is six hours ahead of Georgia, so I knew the final election results before my mom did. I waited impatiently for her to wake up so I could call her.
“You know who I feel sorry for most of?” she said. “You young women and girls.”
After a pause, she added, “I miss you, but you were wise to leave. Don’t come home.”
I’ve been mostly absent from here , but have thought of you often! I will find you in Substack. I’m glad you were able to escape. 💕
Hey, Ruth! It’s been so long since I’ve heard from you. Thanks for dropping by. I post on Substack every week even now. Feel free to scan through my old posts to see what I’ve been up to: https://alexischateau.substack.com/
This week’s post is behind a paywall as I usually keep my more private posts less accessible. But I’ll be sharing some info from me and my mom’s trip to Barcelona next week.
Thanks again for signing up!
It’s a bummer to hear about what’s going on in the States right now. Didn’t you get citizenship there a while back? I hope you get some more stable income again soon, and are enjoying yourself in Spain. Welcome back!
Thank you! Yes, I did. That’s why I was able to vote and it did make coming to Spain easier. I’m really hoping for the best for America, but after seeing how the first round under Trump went, it’s hard to feel hopeful. Fingers crossed!🤞🏽
I wish you’d been here in the Obama years, but I envy you being away now.
AI career… very cool. I considered trying to head that way but ultimately decided to stay retired.
I started my immigration process under Obama and had to finish most of it under Trump, so there was definitely a clear difference. Even under Obama though, I watched him be called names, saw claims for his birth certificate, and a lot of other signs of disrespect. It was a clear sign to me that not even ascending to the highest office in the country could spare a Black person from good ole everyday racism in America.
AI was a fun career to be in, and quite literally my dream job. I’m getting an AI ethics PhD, but I’m looking for technical writing roles at wherever they’ll take me. 🙂
My heart aches for my Caribbean brothers and sisters who flee for better opportunities, only to face such vile xenophobes and racists. I’m happy you already fled the USA; I will continue making the best of my Jamaican life and going to countries where people who look like me are welcome. Nice to hear from you, stay safe. Congrats on the Master’s and start of your doctoral studies.
Hi, Rochelle! It’s been a while. What have you been up to over the past year?
Yes, I also feel for those of us who jump from the frying pan into the fire with the United States. It certainly has better economic opportunities, but at what cost? If I was back in the US, I would have been hired already myself. Meta wanted me on their AI team, but only if I was willing to go back to the US so that was an easy no for me lol. I’m pretty happy in Spain. I’m not leaving.
Great! Stand your ground, your happiness + safety matters. I’ve been pretty well! Am in my final year of residency, but managed to visit 3 new countries this year (Colombia, Panama + Canada). I finished most of my home renovations too (bought a fixer upper last year). So, I’m currently daydreaming of a new country for 2025 and saving towards a new car 🙂
I’ve missed your posts. (I don’t have an account on the other platform.) You’re right about the dread. I didn’t sleep for a week and am dismayed and appalled at the election results. One of my girls was in tears, again. The other, to upset to speak.
Are you on bluesky?
I’m glad you are in a safe place.
Hi, Amy! It’s good to hear from you again!
You don’t need a Substack account to subscribe. It’s basically a newsletter, so every week, one just lands in your email inbox. I did just join BlueSky as well though. Here’s the link: https://bsky.app/profile/alexischateau.bsky.social
I’m sorry about the effect the election has had on you. Honestly, if I was there, I don’t know what I would do. Maybe pack up the RV again and return to Mexico or California. I guess the best thing to remember is to vote in your local elections and encourage others to do the same.
Be safe!
I echo your Mom’s sentiments and advise against you going ‘Home’. Things will get worse before they can get better since Trump has allowed the Proud Boys and their ilk to parade themselves openly and practice their violence towards minority groups.Non-Whites will be treated as second class citizens and Heaven Help You if you’re not a Christian.Deportations are threatened even against those who are American citizens so the safety net is being removed. Please stay safe where you are , we must find and seek happiness where we can but safety must be paramount. Huge Hugs.
Thank you, David! You’re absolutely correct. I’ve lived through Trump’s America once before and have no desire to do it again. Let’s also not forget that after allegedly distancing himself from Project 2025, he’s also appointed the authors of the document to key roles in his administration. It’s going to be a dark time for America.
Wow. What a heartbreaking thing for a mother to have to say! But what an awesome mom to put your well-being over her own wants.
Yes, it really was. I’ll certainly return home for holiday visits, but my plan is to continue living in Spain for as long as they’ll have me. So far, the immigration system has treated me a lot better here than the US did.
Welcome back, Alexis. Yes, just like you, I was very disappointed in the most-recent elections, and it goes to show that the US is really not “the land of the free.” Maybe it once was, but not anymore. It’s wild that we can make so much progress only to regress by decades when it comes to women, minorities, and everyone in between. Glad you’re in Spain and away from this mess: I’m in California and at least our governor is trying to make sure none of Trump’s idiotic policies comes our way…we’ll have to see.
Hi, Rebecca! Thanks for the welcome! It’s been ages since we last spoke. My goodness! I’m happy you’re in California. Politically, that’s the safest state to live in. That’s where I would choose as well. New Mexico was also a solid option for me as an RVer. I had a former coworker from the Google contract team who lived in Texas all their life and they moved to Portland right before the elections. They’re non-binary, so I imagine they’re also pretty relieved they left in time.
I’m a little terrified to see who else will crawl out of the shadows and feel empowered once he takes office. Be safe!