Episode 48 With Michelle Wedderburn Waters

Michelle Wedderburn-Waters, Founder of Afro Expats, Casa Elm and the YouTube Channel host of Michelle For Afro Expats, is a native of Toronto, Canada (of Jamaican descent), and spent her growing up years in Connecticut!  She has four brothers and both of her parents are still living.  She was educated at Central Connecticut State University, where she studied Business Management.  Michelle shared that the values that her family passed down were mainly centered around maintaining family relationships.  She was often the one organizing family events and ensuring that everyone stayed in touch with each other.  Upon researching where to relocate, Michelle and her husband looked at a number of countries as possibilities, especially Italy.  Michelle had by this time travelled numerous times throughout Mexico and, spent time with friends in San Miguel de Allende (SMA).  Michelle's husband was very open to relocating to another country, but was very skeptical about Mexico.  The typical imagery of Mexico being dangerous and one-dimensional came to mind like it does for so many people.  Michelle shared that many times people don't understand just how big the country of Mexico is and how diverse it is.  Michelle convinced her husband to visit, and it was on!  From this new experience in Mexico, Michelle and family answered a casting call for HGTV's House Hunters International.  When describing SMA, Michelle paints a very vibrant and welcoming environment.  She shared that it has a wonderful arts and cultural scene, the food is amazing (there are over 350 restaurants in SMA), and the Mexican people are amazingly friendly and loving  They are also eager to get to know you, and often language exchanges occur as a result of these newly formed friendships..  It is common after having had a conversation with a Mexican in SMA to be quickly invited to their home to partake in a meal and to get to know the rest of the family.  Michelle has been an entrepreneur for the majority of her working life, and when she arrived in SMA, Michelle knew that she would develop some new business ventures.  She noticed that friends and colleagues were always asking her questions about tips on moving abroad, and although Michelle did not see the business potential in these inquiries, her husband pointed out that other people could benefit from her expertise and business acumen. As a result, she created Afro Expats which is a compilation of a well designed website, relocation coaching and a thriving YouTube channel.  Because Michelle is always searching for new vistas, she has continued to develop other businesses centered around SMA.  She now hosts Relocation Tours that give prospective residents of Mexico and San Miguel, specifically a front row view of life in this area.  Some of the offerings on a Relocation Tour include visiting the neighborhoods of SMA, viewing properties with a real estate agent (both rental and those for purchase), day trips to surrounding areas, learning about a variety of medical and health plans, entertainment and the restaurant and arts scene.  By the time the tour is over, many have fallen in love with SMA and begin making plans to exit their home country and move there.  I asked Michelle what is it like being a woman age 50+ still creating, and she emphasized that she like so many in this age cohort are still stoking their creative juices.  LIFE IS NOT OVER!  Older women are ripe for all kinds of new endeavors. If you would like to have a Discovery Call with Michelle about a move to Mexico and San Miguel de Allende especially, she can be at reached casaelm.com; on YouTube as Michelle for Afro Expats; on Facebook as Afro Expats' Lifestyle Community in Mexico on Instagram as Afro_Expats.