Oh yeah. I believe you should 1: go where you are happiest, and 2: go where you're appreciated. It doesn't matter if that's Missouri or Medellin.

I don't understand why people find the need to try and rip someone for seeking out happiness. Or why they think women in other countries aren't capable of handling themselves ("a white woman savior complex" is what one Colombian woman told me).

Also, I generally find the people that write these kinds of essays have almost never actually gone to the countries they are writing about (or talked to the people they are writing about).

I'm happy that guy you talked to has been able to find some happiness. Especially after his wife passed. Good for him.