This article is the second in a three-part series exploring the growing movement of African Americans seeking refuge and reconnection in Ghana.

Henrico County native Indee Jordan first visited Ghana in 2006, searching for a place to surround herself with “people who looked like her.” It took years of planning before she and her husband decided to make the West African country their new home. In 2022, they settled into a small resort town in the Eastern Region of Ghana called Atimpoku. Located along the Volta River, about two hours north of the capital city of Accra, she said her family’s new home provides a profound sense of belonging and peace.

“We like the slower pace near the resorts on the water,” Jordan, a Saint Gertrude High School alumna, explained. “My husband chose this place. It’s serene. The people have welcomed us and treated us well.”

Just before their move, after all the years of planning and preparation, the couple found out they were pregnant. They decided to pull the trigger on the move anyway, meaning Jordan would have to seek prenatal care in Ghana.

“The clinics give days and timeframes for prenatal appointments, and I never knew when I’d get seen by the doctor,” Jordan said. “You just have to wait. It could take all day.”

Finances were an essential part of the couple’s planning.

In Richmond, the couple started several small businesses while working as mental health providers. Embracing African culture early on, their businesses included Wavonyagele Shule, an African-centered homeschool cooperative, The Association For Revitalizing the Interests and Concerns of Africans (A.F.R.I.C.A), Products by Africa, mobile merchandise vending and Sankofa Holistic Services, offering holistic wellness and care. Jordan also was a state and Medicaid-certified full-spectrum doula, so she networked with Ghanaian doulas before moving there to facilitate setting up a practice when they arrived.

With business setup costs significantly lower in Ghana, the couple opened a small cafe called the Pine & Ginja Smoothie Cafe, which her husband spent months preparing before the family’s move.

The strong community connections they established while visiting made opening a cafe easier and community members helped them with renovations at no cost.

They also opened a small primary school where her husband teaches, also with the help of the community.

“Ghana can be very expensive if you’re unprepared,” she said. “The cost of living is comparable to the U.S., but the money goes further in outer areas. Our cost of living outside of the city is significantly lower than what it was in the States.”

Jordan and her husband saved for several years before their move, even moving in with her mother to cut expenses. They sold their cars, most of their furniture and eliminated unnecessary spending. They’re renting a home while building a house on land they purchased.

“Looking back, I realize we should have started saving much earlier,” Jordan said. “It’s challenging with a large family like ours.”

Despite the connection with ancestral roots that African Americans seek in Ghana, the cultural divide is quite large. Jordan advises anyone contemplating a move to Ghana to visit several times because she’s met expats who make the move without even visiting the country.

Extensive research and preparation, Jordan believes, have successfully integrated her family into Ghanaian life and culture.

Still, she concedes that basic things she took for granted in the U.S. require more patience in Ghana.

“There were a lot of inconveniences to get used to. All systems are different here, so everything takes more time,” she said. “Paperwork is filed by hand, written in notebooks. It’s antiquated. The schools use canes to discipline students. Mechanics who aren’t trained will insist they can fix your car. You have to be discerning.”

Without big-box stores like Walmart or Target, Jordan warns that shopping is different in Ghana than in the U.S.—something many expats have trouble getting used to.

However, she likes the community building that the open-air markets offer when she shops on Mondays and Thursdays.

“You may have to go to different stores,” she said. “There’s a meat store, and then there’s the lady who sells eggs, for example. You see the same people. It’s a community, and I like that the money goes directly to them and their household.”

Jordan now has dual citizenship. Her path to Ghanaian citizenship was a six-month process, including a recommendation from a Ghanaian-Caribbean organization to bolster her application.

There were background checks, biometrics, trips to Accra for interviews, and a lot of waiting. Her efforts culminated in a historic swearing-in ceremony in November 2024, which was part of the “Beyond the Return” campaign to celebrate the bond between Ghana and its global diaspora.

“It wasn’t such a bad process. I just wasn’t sure about everything the process entailed,” Jordan explained. “The work of earlier cohorts helped make the process a bit smoother because they’ve worked with legislators to improve it.”

Despite the cultural differences and bureaucratic challenges in gaining citizenship, Jordan believes moving to Ghana was the right decision for her family.

“Nothing anyone said would have deterred me from moving to Ghana,” she said. “But if you’re moving with your family, come as a couple first, then bring your children. Interact with other diasporans who live here. Don’t stay at a hotel. Stay with a family. I’ve let people stay with my family for months.”