I Built a Home with Love… Now I Have to Walk Away

A couple of months ago, I made a wild, emotional decision: I packed up everything and moved to Mexico with my little family. I hadn’t seen my relatives in over 16 years, but I left California behind because financially, I was struggling. I was overwhelmed, tired, and then I got the heartbreaking news that my 90-year-old grandma was extremely sick. We thought we were going to lose her.

At that point, I felt like I had nothing left in the U.S. The material things didn’t matter anymore. I just wanted to be with family. I wanted my kids to meet their great-grandmother before it was too late.

So we came to Mexico with nothing. We started from scratch. My auntie blessed us with a bed and mattress to get us started, and my parents had built a small room for us to stay in, which I was deeply grateful for.

As time went on, we started trying to rebuild our life slowly, piece by piece. I asked if I could clean out an old trash-filled area and turn it into a livable space. They said yes. We built it with our own money and labor. I had hopes, a vision, a plan to one day add a second story with a bedroom for our babies.

This was never meant to be our forever home. From the start, the plan was to stay here for a couple of years, get back on our feet, and eventually move out and tear it down to start fresh as a family. That was the agreement. I never expected to settle here permanently. I just wanted a safe place to rebuild for a while.

But now that we’ve nearly finished construction, I’ve been told we’re not allowed to build the second story. That it’s no longer ours. That the area we cleaned, rebuilt, and invested everything into… is being taken back by my family.

And to be honest… after everything that’s happened, I don’t even feel safe here anymore. It’s always one thing or another: arguments, confusion, and broken promises over and over. I feel like I’m walking on eggshells in a place that was supposed to bring me healing and peace. I can’t live like this, especially with my babies. I’m mentally and emotionally drained.

I love my family, and I know not everyone would’ve even let me build on their land, but I wish I had known from the beginning that this wasn’t secure. I would’ve saved up and bought land of our own instead of investing into something that might never belong to us.

So now, I just want peace. I want to walk away without anger, leave the structure I built as a gift to them, and start again somewhere I can truly call home. (But just to be clear… when I say “structure,” I mean only the bare cement: no flooring, no painted walls, no finishing touches that I put my love and effort into. I don’t want to leave behind all the beauty I created.)

This GoFundMe is being created because so many people have encouraged me to. I’m hoping to raise enough to either rent another space or eventually buy my own small property somewhere I can give my children stability, safety, and peace. I’m not expecting anything… but anything helps.

Even if you can’t donate, just sharing this means everything.

Thank you for listening to my story.

– Leslie (aka @itslyset on TikTok)