When Brooklyn-born filmmaker Octavia Nicole Clahar boards a flight to Paris in the coming months, she won’t just be chasing opportunity—she’ll be chasing ease. For her, France’s capital represents a reset, a chance to step outside of America’s current political storm.
“I feel a freedom when I’m in Paris that I just don’t feel in New York,” she tells BET. “As a Black American, I’m accepted in a way that feels affirming. But I also know that Black French people face their own challenges. I’m clear-eyed about that.”
Clahar, of Jamaican descent, has spent years nurturing ties to the French capital through travel and artistic communities. A longtime member of the Acting Gym in New York, she dreams of building a similar creative salon in Paris, one where artists can collaborate and rest without the grind that defines American hustle culture. “Paris values rest in a way New York doesn’t,” she explains. “That slower pace is something my spirit needs.”
Escaping U.S. Turmoil
For many Black Americans, Clahar included, the decision to relocate is deeply tied to America’s escalating political climate. Fears around civil rights rollbacks, rising authoritarian rhetoric, and persistent economic inequities have prompted a modern wave of what some call The Blaxit Movement.
Chrishan Wright, founder of Blaxit Global, has counseled scores of Black Americans weighing the same decision. She relocated to Portugal after years of climbing U.S. corporate ladders and finding the reward didn’t match the cost.
“My whole life, I wanted to move abroad,” Wright tells BET. “But it was in 2017, on a trip to New Zealand, that I realized I couldn’t keep living like this. I wanted peace, affordable health care, and a society that respected people of all ages.”
Both Wright and Clahar join nearly 700,000 Black Americans living abroad, a number that has been growing since reported in early 2025.
Portugal, she said, delivered exactly that. “I cut my living expenses by 50 to 60 percent by moving here,” Wright explained. “I have a bigger lifestyle for considerably less. The U.S. made me a high earner, but my life was still expensive. Here, I’m living fully.”
Healthcare and Safety Abroad
One of the biggest draws of Europe is its approach to healthcare. In the United States, Black women face a maternal mortality rate more than three times higher than that of white women—over 50 deaths per 100,000 live births as of 2023. These disparities are worsened by systemic racism in hospitals, high costs of care, and medical “deserts” in Black communities. In cities like Chicago, 73% of Black-majority neighborhoods are more than five miles from a trauma center.
By contrast, both France and Portugal provide universal healthcare, dramatically reducing financial barriers. Routine medical procedures cost a fraction of U.S. prices: in Portugal, for instance, Wright described paying just €40 for tests that had cost her hundreds back home.
Studies also show that French clinicians exhibit less racial bias in patient care compared to their American counterparts, meaning Black patients are less likely to face assumptions about pain tolerance or adherence to treatment.
Safety is another factor. Portugal consistently ranks among the top 10 safest countries in the world, while violent crime in the U.S. continues to rise. Many Black expats describe Portugal as tolerant and welcoming, though they also note the government’s reluctance to track racial data makes it harder to address structural inequities. France, meanwhile, operates under a “color-blind” framework—official documents avoid racial categories altogether. Critics argue this erases the realities of racism, even as discrimination against Black and Muslim residents persists.
A Question of Survival
For Clahar, the urgency is just as much emotional as it is financial. The filmmaker described the weight of America’s political uncertainty as suffocating. “Every time there’s another policy debate, another racial flashpoint, it chips away at your spirit,” she says. “I don’t want to wait until I’m broken to choose myself.”
Wright echoed that urgency, especially for Black women. “The ground is shifting underneath our feet,” she said. “In just three months, 300,000 Black women left the workforce, mostly not by choice. Fear is real, but so is possibility. What happens if it’s better than you could have ever imagined?”
Building Abroad
Clahar is clear that relocating won’t be easy. As an immigrant, she’ll face French bureaucracy, language barriers, and the need to rebuild community from scratch. But she believes her creative vision will carry her. “I want to bring the spirit of the Acting Gym to Paris,” she says. “A space where we nurture each other’s artistry, without the constant pressure of proving ourselves.”
Wright believes that vision is exactly what fuels successful moves abroad. “Your why has to sustain you,” she explains. “Because once the rose-colored glasses come off, you’re still an immigrant navigating a system that wasn’t built for you. But if you’re grounded in purpose, you’ll find your way.”
Reclaiming Joy
For both women, the choice to leave the U.S. is not about abandonment, but reclamation. “We are not the property of the United States,” Wright said firmly. “We deserve to live a life of dignity, freedom, and joy.”
Clahar agreed, adding that her move is about future-building, not escape. “I’m not running away,” she said. “I’m running toward the life I want—one where I can breathe, create, and just be.”