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Rita and Willie, both from Alabama, are Black expats in Mérida, Yucatán, each living here with their own family. They did not move together and they are not a couple. This episode of The Hive pairs them because of the road they share, and hosts Eric and Nicole Hatch let the conversation go where it needs to.
The question running through the episode is the one every Black American weighing a move eventually asks: missing home, or building family? Rita and Willie talk about building community in Mérida on purpose, and why intention is what keeps loneliness away.
They also talk about why they chose Mérida: safety, peace, and a different definition of wealth, one that counts happiness and feeling safe. They talk about how changing your environment can change the patterns a family passes down, and about the slower pace, remote work, and cost of living that came with the move.
If you are weighing a move to Mexico and wondering who will be there when you land, what would it mean to have a community that walks with you from day one?
Find Your CommunityRita & Willie
Rita and Willie both come from Alabama, and each moved to Mérida with their family, separately, about a year before this conversation. They are not a couple. They are paired because of the road they share, and both answer the question that sits underneath every move: missing home, or building family?
What they land on is intention. Building family and community on purpose is what turns a new city into home, and both say the freedom on the other side is worth it.