Real-life Struggles
There is a popular saying; “you do not know the value of what you have until it’s gone.” This is exactly how I feel moving out to North America and having to do basic to complex tasks by myself. The ease at which I would usually ask a relative to fix a broken chair or take a drive down to the salon to get my four hours braids taken out all now seems like a luxury. Out here, you either “do it yourself” (DIY) or get someone “to do it for you” (DIFM) at an exorbitant price, sometimes huge enough to cost you an arm and a leg, especially when you’re still in the habit of converting prices to your local currency.
To Be or Not to Be?
I learned quite early to do basic stuff like taking out my braids, getting my hair washed, conditioned, and treated and even twisting out my natural hair. What I still struggle with to date is getting cornrows done. I must have missed out on the opportunity when God was dishing out self-care DIY skills from creation. Asides from basic hair care and by basic, I am strictly limiting these to standard “wash and go” I struggle with getting somewhat menial tasks done by myself.
When I first started living alone and in a city outside of where my family resided back home, I would get people to fix as little as light bulbs, to power on my generator when there’s an electricity outage, wash my car and sometimes do basic shopping from the local markets. The ease of getting these things done for you just made life livable. I didn’t necessarily have to pay for these DIFM’s as some were either done out of goodwill or for lack of a better word, as a favor.
Decisions, Decisions
I started house hunting out here, and I was determined to only find furnished spaces as the thought of having to install a bed or a dining set was just draining. It gave me so much anxiety as I could remember the last time I struggled to put together a self-install shoe rack. The pieces just kept falling apart and I was more stressed out at the end of the entire process. Back home, it costs less than $20 (USD) of carpentry labor for an entire day, to have a couch set, kitchen and bedroom set installed for you if I had to pay for installation outside of the purchase price, but out here, it would cost you between $20 – $30 per hour to hire a carpenter.
Act of Survival
People have had to develop their skills rather quickly. It is not enough to have a white-collar job, you must also develop plumbing, carpentry, mechanical, and electrical skills if you plan to make savings on basic household and vehicle maintenance. The other day, I turned into my own “Man-Pedi” consultant after my nail installation had chipped at the edges. Back home, I wouldn’t have had second thoughts driving to a salon to get my nails properly done at an affordable price (PS; I know the term “affordable” can be relative).
If you live outside of your country of origin where labor in your estimation could cost you an arm and a leg, how have you been able to deal with getting things done? Oh, and even if paying for labor wasn’t a problem, are you team DIY or team DIFM?
Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section.
Cheers!
10 Comments
Team DIFM by choice but now i’ve been forced to DIY since i moved to Canada.I’ve unclogged drains, relaxed my hair, assembled a table (which eventually fell apart btw)….anyway i’m enjoying the process , who knows what i’ll be doing DIYing next 🙂
I can totally relate Uju 😂 The horror of assembling furniture is so real for me. It’s probably one of the hardest realities for me since I moved…
Definitely team DIFM!!! Works like a charm in Nigeria.
Totally agree. You do not even have to pay for DIFM most of the time when you have family and friends around you 😊
😂😂😂😂…… I encouraged you to learn some of these skills b4 leaving ……But Mayfair wouldn’t let you. 🤣🤣
Anyway; you already know I’m the queen of DIY
I wish learning DIY was that easy for me, looks like I missed the gene on creation day. Lol!
Team DIY having lived abroad for a while, I can actually assemble anything as long as it has a manual. I also had to learn to cornrow my hair myself even though it’s still no perfect but it’s manageable.
Living abroad helps you learn a certain level of independence and you actually adapt really quickly. For cornrows, no matter how hard I try, it keeps coming off looking like an entangled mess. But we keep pushing. lol!
My dear, my anxiety on hair day is always off the charts. Constantly stuck between relaxing my hair or cutting it but somehow, I have managed to trudge along. It takes some adjusting but I know for a fact that you’ll be fine❤️
It sure does take some adjustment! Thanks for sharing your thoughts 😊