Dorothy Jean

I’m Dorothy Jean, a former high school teacher from Texas, now living in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. For most of my life, I dreamed of living in another country but never truly believed it would happen. Haiti, in particular, always felt like an idea I could entertain, but not a reality I could achieve. My parents are from Cap-Haïtien, but growing up, we rarely visited. Haiti was a place they came from, but it had little to do with us.

That all changed when my parents reached their fifties and began reflecting on their retirement plans. Suddenly, they realized that their ‘home’ wasn’t where they had spent most of their lives, but in Haiti. Their decision to retire here sparked my own travels to Haiti, as I knew that if my parents were investing in this country, I needed to understand it too.

It wasn’t long before the idea of moving here started to make sense. The transition from teaching in Texas to entrepreneurship in Haiti seemed crazy, especially with the negative reputation Haiti often faces. But it became clear this was a journey I needed to take—one that many believed would not benefit me. Yet, three years later, I’m not just surviving in Haiti; I’m thriving and building a future here. My only prerequisite was being Haitian, and that has made all the difference.