Living Abroad as a Black British Nigerian Woman

Introduction

I’ve been blessed to live abroad as a Black British woman in three very different countries. There are many living abroad advantages and disadvantages I can discuss from living abroad as a Black British in three different continents: the UK, where I have grown up in both Swindon and London. Living in Singapore as a student and then more recently in Morocco for work. Each of these countries has reshaped how I see myself. The experiences have gifted me with a deeper sense of independence and transformed me in ways I could never imagine.

Living abroad as a Black British Woman

I was born and raised in the UK, the only home I have ever really known for most of my life. During my undergraduate degree, I spent a semester abroad in Singapore, where I discovered my true passion for travel. Here I travelled the majority of South East Asia, experienced new cultures, stayed in hostels – dear I say it! Made friends for life and more.

Singapore

I remember how determined I was to get there, working hard to secure my British citizenship to obtain my passport (you can read more about it here). Moving abroad wasn’t easy, I had never done it before, and I was going somewhere people like me didn’t really go to. At the time people didn’t get it, but I did it. Looking back, I now realise that semester was more than just a study exchange programme. It marked the beginning of something much bigger, one of my passions for travel and two setting me apart from what I once knew. It pushed me toward the life I’m building now.

Morocco

More recently, I’ve been living and working in Morocco. Being in Morocco sparked my interest in languages like French and Arabic. It also opened my eyes to the Islamic religion in a way I hadn’t experienced before. I have now enjoyed Iftar, fasted during Ramadan and experienced many Moroccan traditions that I could never imagine. Growing up in the UK, I never truly appreciated the power of multilingualism or how people communicate across cultures. Living here has shown me how easy it is to live in a bubble, and more importantly, how transformative it is to step outside of it.

Each country has offered me a new mirror. It has sometimes been vividly clear, other times it has distorted me. And now, as I reflect on these experiences, I want to share what it has meant to navigate the world as someone who is British, Nigerian, Black, and a Woman. Because identity isn’t static. It shifts. It sharpens. And when we let it, it challenges and expands our perspective.

Living Abroad Pros and Cons Morocco vs Singapore vs The UK

Race Feels Different in Every Country

Being Black, British-Nigerian, and a Woman abroad has taught me how local and layered identity really is. Here is how it has differed across the three different countries living abroad as a Black British:

The UK

Growing up in the UK, I always knew what racism looked like. Heck, I experienced it regularly from teachers, classmates, and even in community groups like Brownies. It was often covert, deeply coded, highly microaggressive, and rooted in history. But sometimes, it was blatant.

I remember going to knock on a school friend when I was around 12 or 13. I could clearly see someone was home, but no one answered. The next day, my friend said, “Sorry, my brother didn’t answer the door; he doesn’t like Black people.” I was too young to truly understand what that meant. And while I’ve come to love and embrace my Blackness through the years, with lots of work. I remember moments where I genuinely questioned why I was Black. On many occasions. I mean, it’s not like it was something I had chosen.

As an adult, racism became more subtle but no less painful. Being mistaken for the only other Black woman at work. Being the only Black person in the room or business. Or just being told to change my name because it’s “too hard to pronounce.” These small, repeated experiences carry a heavy weight, reminding you that you’re often just there to tick a box. Or you simply just don’t belong.

Singapore

In Singapore, the experience was very different. It was less so about being Black, and more about being foreign. Here I stood out more. I remember applying for my student visa and being told there was no option for “Black African British” – a category we use in the UK. I had to choose either African or British. There was no such thing as both in Singapore lol. That was my first real wake-up call that identity is interpreted differently around the world.

People stared, I mean, it was 2013. A time people within the Black community where not yet travelling like they are today. Many assumed I was American because globally, Black Britishness is almost invisible. Some would call me Serena Williams. I mean people actually tried to convince me that I actually looked like her LOL! Even friends. It’s a compliment I know. I never felt they were being rude – more ignorant or just simply curious. And travelling around South East Asia only meant people wanted to touch my braids, take photos with me… because to them, I was unfamiliar. Foreign. Visible. The unknown.

Morocco

Morocco was another shift completely. I wasn’t just Black. Here I am, living abroad as a Black British. And often, I am mistaken for being from a Francophone country or even South African. But here, I’m not just a visitor. I am a Black British Diplomat.

For most people, this has been easy to accept. For others, even some back in the UK and much wider, it has often been quite challenging to digest. The questions came and they come fast and hard, often with a hesitant, confused judgemental tone:

• “So… what’s your actual job role?”
• “What does a diplomat even do?”
• “Is there more than one of you, in the country?”
• “Why would you want to live abroad?”
• “Don’t you get lonely?”
• “It’s not normal to want to move from what you know.”

I mean what does ‘normal’ even mean? Please. These questions always amuse me, because they say so much more about the person asking than they do about me. It often shows the level of limitations people have for themselves.

What’s interesting is that in Morocco, I’ve felt more celebrated than anywhere else I’ve ever lived. Welcomed with higher regard. For the first time, I began to understand, on a personal level, what white privilege might feel like: the benefit of the doubt. The elevated perception. The ease of being, simply because I carried “Britishness” with me.

These experiences forced me to confront how race is interpreted through more than just skin colour. It’s shaped by culture, language, class, and geography. Race may be global, but how it’s read is deeply local.

Dual Identity Has Power

I’ve held dual nationality for nearly a decade now. I’m both British and Nigerian by citizenship (and to go even deeper, I come from different ethnic groups, Igbo and Yoruba).

Being both British and Nigerian gives me access to different spaces. My British accent often stands out. However, I see that it opens doors for me, while my Nigerian heritage keeps me grounded, reminding me of the hard work and innovation I have deep within me. But this duality can confuse people too, especially when they realise I visit Nigeria often (and one day hope to live there), that I cook Nigerian food, blast Afrobeats, and yes, I can throw it down in the kitchen. Do you remember #CookingTravelTalks, anyone?

But here’s what I’ve realised today, dual identity isn’t confusion. It’s soft power. It gives you range. It allows you to build trust across borders, to connect with a wider spectrum of people, and to shape-shift without losing who you are. It’s helped me adjust quickly, navigate complex conversations, and speak to multiple audiences at once.

I’m not just someone with two passports (shout out to my dual nationality peeps)! I’m now part of the diaspora community. And that, in itself, is a superpower.

Visibility Comes With Pressure

Living or travelling abroad has reminded me that visibility isn’t always a privilege, sometimes, it can sometimes be a burden. As one of the few Black women in my diplomatic circle, I often felt the pressure to “represent.” To be excellent. And poised. To be unshakable.

But being visible also meant being watched. Monitored. Held to higher, often unfair, standards. I have learnt to protect my peace while carrying the weight of people’s perception. Reminding myself that I belong, not because I was exceptional, but because I am exceptional and deserve to be here. And despite the invasive questions and assumptions made by people who don’t really know me. I know now that just by being here, I have made space for someone else to come after me and feel seen.

Final Reflection of Living Abroad as a Black British Woman

Living and travelling abroad has expanded me in ways I didn’t know I needed. It reminded me that life doesn’t have to follow traditional expectations. That in this life, you’re allowed to choose your own script.

It has stretched my identity, deepened my empathy, and sharpened my voice. I walk into rooms differently now. Not because I’ve figured it all out, but because I’ve seen myself through more than one mirror, in more than one country. Living abroad as a Black British woman allows me to carry all four identities with me now: British, Nigerian, Black, and Woman. These aren’t contradictions, they’re coordinates. They guide me. They are me. Living abroad didn’t give me all the answers. But it gave me better questions. It has given me new prospectives challenged my prospectives. Allowed me to think and taste globally. And that, to me, is power.

This took a lot to write, and I want to thank you for getting this far with me. I hope you enjoyed reading my living abroad advantages and disadvantages and it resonates with just one person even if you have never lived abroad. You could have traveled and sensed or experienced some of what I have discussed.

Have you ever had to rethink who you are because of where you were? I’d love to hear how living, working, or even traveling abroad has shaped your identity, especially if you’ve ever felt “othered” or empowered by it.

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Thank you for reading and speak to you soon.

MBV x