I’m Latino but from the US, as is my family. The only real problem is that people expect me to speak better Spanish than I do. Otherwise if I keep my mouth shut, I can blend in. I think they can tell I’m a foreigner though but more or less its easier to fit in. Admittedly because they know I’m from the USA I feel I get a lot of privilege that locals don’t get. For example the police are less likely to hassle you. That’s about it.

Dating is like 10x easier, way more matches and in person interaction success. I found making friends much harder since I underestimated the cultural difference between the native born locals and I. I could make friends with other DNs or travelers, but hard to form connections with many of them coming and going.

I was able to travel around the weekends for hikes, mountains, beaches, etc. I was able to spend time with my extended family that I have not seen for years. Good experience, in the end I missed my friends and the amenities back home.

Full disclosure: I’m stereotypical gringo from the USA, but I haven’t lived in the USA for roughly 10 years. I met my Ecuadorian wife in Kenya a few years back. We did long distance for while, now we’re married, and we moved to Ecuador a bit ago. She lived in the USA for about four years so I can only report on her experience. Since moving back, she has a lot less tolerance for inefficiency. She gets frustrated with having to do anything with the government. She also adopted a US American approach to time. She always wants to show up “on time” and I’m the one who has to hold us back so we’re not there two hours before everyone else. She loves her country (as do I!), but she definitely plays the comparison game and gets frustrated.

I also have a buddy who was born here in Ecuador. Moved to the US when he was 15. He visited throughout his time in the US, but only recently returned full-time. He’s loving it. He “fits in” but he says he gets a lot of questions about where he’s from as he uses his Spanish a little differently than someone who grew up here their whole life.

Born in Colombia, spent 28 years in Canada, I moved back to set up a base in Colombia at 34 with my husband and kid. Like you, I spent summers here with family.

It has been a learning experience. It hasn’t been as easy I thought it would be. My family and I basically live parallel lives and occasionally meet up (and we live in the same city, pretty typical). Though I grew up in a Colombian household Spanish isn’t my first language, it’s English, so despite having advanced to fluent language skills the accent gives me away every time. I’m seen and treated as a foreigner or gringa every where, which I can sometimes use to my advantage. The city that I live in is also one of the the most classist, elitist cities I’ve ever experienced from a local population so that’s been rattling, even though I’m also in their so-called “high society” it’s absolutely mental though. I don’t spent all day discussing who my interior designers are, I’m doing shit they don’t relate to, like walking everywhere, building a company, going to the gym 5 days a week. Like, shit, some jardín moms are brutal dude. One flat out asked me why I have an accent 😂 I was like “¿en que idioma mamí? 🥴” it’s just a elitism I’ve never experienced before and it’s next level because I am integrating into the local scene as opposed to the nomad/immigrant scene.

Anyway, other than my personal struggles making good local friends here, LatAm is an unbelievable place to raise a family. We’re so happy we’re here!

Latinos that dont speak spanish well wtf

There will be a cultural shock at first.

Source: my teens were in the US and when I returned to Colombia there were things that were just culturally different and the first few months were pretty much getting my self to familiarize them