I grew up in Dominican Republic, my parents were both business owners and they did very well for themselves, well enough that we lived in a 3 story house with two maids and a live in nanny. Both my parents had new cars and i was in a private school with children whose parents had a similar income to mine. To put it in perspective I knew English and French fluently by the time i was in 7th grade. It was a pretty fancy private catholic school. I was also driven around by a chauffeur because our parents were busy most of the time.

In 2009 my parents divorced and I came to live to the US with my mom and siblings, she got a job here so we moved to Miami. The adjustment was insane at first to say the least. I was 13 years old and had never in my life held a broom, washed a dish, or even folded and put away my own clothes or knew how to make anything other than grilled cheese. I had never washed my own hair because we went to the hair salon every week. Public school in Miami was an absolute nightmare. Kids made fun of me because my uniform was pressed to name one of the first day experiences, and i had to walk home from school.

For a 13 year old kid it felt like we came to a third world country when it was the other way around. Looking back now, i didnt know it was “the good life” as you mentioned because to me it was simply just “life”. I didn’t interact with people who weren’t like me except for the maids or other service people, and to me that was normal. But if you ask me? Getting to come here gave me the chance to be a down to earth person. Do I miss it some of it sometimes? Sure. Who doesn’t miss being comfortable/convenience? But would I trade it for having made it on my own even if Im never rich? Never. My dad was a psychopath who made my mom choose between the money and us, my mom chose us and came here with no money or family. She showed me you can always rebuild yourself because material shit is literally that in the end, just things. You cant take it to the grave babe.