Why I Decided to Leave USA for Colombia. Challenges and Life Decisions



Where do I start? Before the pandemic I was working at the world famous Bellagio Hotel and Casino. I was a Bellman on the late shift. I had an Airbnb business. I was living separate from a wife I would soon divorce. It was her choice to move and my choice to divorce. I was in serving in my church and taking my 2 kids with me. My Dad who was ill, was supposed to move with me that March of 2020.

I am a guy who is use to handling a lot of things but in the process after 10 years of a bad marriage and 25 of bad relationships, I needed more satisfaction in life. To make a long story short, my Dad’s health took a turn for the worst and he died on February 13th, 2020 at 69 years of age. We buried my Dad February 22nd, 2020 in Carthage, Tennessee. I had a trip to meet a girl in Colombia February 27th. I returned March 4th. My divorce took a long time, and because I started a new relationship, my church family was made aware. My ex wanted to reconcile and my faith is one that is serious about marriage and reconciliation but I said, “no”. They kicked me out that week because I was living in adultery, because my divorce didn’t end. I will discuss each part in detail in other blogs. My job laid me off March 19th, 2020.

It never was a decision for me to collect the unemployment our government offered and sit at home to collect a check. I think I collected one unemployment check but I was working Grubhub doing food deliveries a week or 2 after the layoff. I was not able to do Airbnb anymore with the pandemic so I needed another source of income. Mortgage companies were hiring and I had some previous experience so with a few connections I was able to get my foot in the door in June of 2020. During the Pandemic my kids were out of school and we played every day, I cooked and continued life with them and this was normal but now at 44 years old I was wondering when would I have time to enjoy life.
When I went to Colombia at first things were good with the new relationship but the borders closed for 7 months and while I was using my time wisely to learn Spanish and work, it was hard to have a relationship this far away. It was in October before I would visit again. I returned to Colombia and it was not the same. I had found out about online flirting and things, but I loved the country and the experience. I tried to get through it, but eventually this ended as after a divorce you don’t have the patience you once had. My divorce became official October 7th, 2021. 15 months after I filed it. It may have seemed like I jumped from one thing to another, but being in a marriage where the other person was living in an another house for almost 2 years adds to that feeling of being alone.

I would give online dating a chance and it seems like you have many options but the truth is there is few. You go on international sites and if your American your treated as the best thing since bacon. Eventually you are asked about money and you’re a target for the women in need. I decided I didn’t want to date outside the country anymore. I ignored probably 300 messages because they were out of the country, but I spoke to about 5 women. One was in the USA a short flight from Las Vegas. Others lied about location but I spoke to them. Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and Sacramento, CA.

There was one woman I met a week after the others. Her photo didn’t show a lot of skin or body but her eyes were so beautiful. So I wrote her something like, your eyes are so beautiful I had to tell you but I am not interested in Colombia even if you write me back. We had this button we could push if we liked each other and she happened to like my profile too. She said something about Jesus, and I was like, I’m all about that life but I had a bad experience in Colombia and it’s too much travelling, money and time from my job. She writes back and says she has a way to get what she wants through prayer. I was impressed. I had already booked a flight to visit the girl in Sacramento.

After talking to the other girl in Colombia a week it was the day before my flight to Sacramento. I had to make a decision. If I started this relationship in Sacramento the girl in Colombia would probably not want me anymore. I was being honest and told her about the trip. I figured I was a bachelor and would make a decision but it came down to who is showing me they follow the same faith as I do. This other in Sacramento seemed bored with a new life in Sacramento. What did I know of her secrets? Eventually when I decided to cancel the flight to Sacramento the girl tells me I married this guy to come live in the USA but I’m not happy but he got me here so if I leave I will need to pay 10k. She wanted help. I was a pawn in the game. Thank God I cancelled the ticket. I ended up booking another flight, but to Colombia where I landed May 2nd, 2021.

At the time of my trip in Colombia I was working remote for a mortgage company. I had good internet service and was able to handle my job without problems. I was able to fly back and forth without issue with my job. I didn’t read the rules about remote work as far as working out of the country. I didn’t want to find out if it was illegal because I found the love of my life. We got engaged during my first trip. I know it was fast but you’ll have to listen to my reasons in other blogs. The 2nd trip we got married. That happened June 26th 2021 with the notary and June 27th, 2021 with the church. I am still going back and forth to Las Vegas but things took a turn when in June I disciplined my kids for being ungrateful. Meaning I took them home to their mom’s house earlier than normal. They chose they would start spending more time with their mom.
I decided it would be my time to make sure my marriage worked. I began spending more time in Colombia with my new wife while working remote. Eventually it was a problem when I returned to Las Vegas to see the kids as the ex was controlling when I could see them. My now 17-year-old decided not to speak much and the ex went to court while I was out of the country and got child support and full custody by saying I hadn’t seen the kids in 4 months. I sent evidence to the court that she was fighting my visits and also showed that I had seen my son who is 11 years old within 2 months. I stayed in touch with the kids who still weren’t very receptive. I understand divorce hurts kids and my parents did it also while I was young. The timing seems like a curse but with technology my efforts continued.

During this time, I applied for immigration to return to USA with my wife and was in the process since September of 2021. Still to this date I have no real information but it was March when I got the call from human resources. “We did an audit and it shows you are working from Colombia”. I knew this was possible but after 10 months I was hoping it wasn’t a problem. I had been contacted one time before by the security department, and they cleared me. Maybe it was because I told them I would return in 2 weeks to the USA but my job was not threatened. This time the option was get back in the USA in 2 weeks or your fired. I spoke with my manager who I had some kind of confidence and hr called again saying after I spoke to him I can resign because it didn’t sound like I would return. The only problem was I had a vacation planned to Panama City. I was told 2 weeks. So I fought and they gave me the extra time to decide. In the end I was fired.

It was a tough decision to make but I had a little money when I sold the house but while I write this I have another trip to Las Vegas to see my son graduate. So we did the trip to Panama City and have created this YouTube channel called, “The Spenglish Life”. I’m not sure who will want to see it. It seems like not too many people are interested in my story as the engagement is horrible. It’s about the family in Colombia as we wait for immigration and to reunite with my youngest in Las Vegas. My other is turning 18 and graduating so I am only returning to the USA for my 11-year-old. The court has given me another setback. I tried to get him to visit Colombia for the summer and the judge said, “No, maybe next year. You can have 2 weeks in Las Vegas”.

That’s all for now but stay tuned for updates on my Las Vegas stories, Colombia, relationships, work life and my return to the USA with my family. I am going to try to write as often as people seem interested. I am open to criticism, advice, conversation website but only if it is in love, as my response will be the same. Take care and God Bless.

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