Belize help me!

vallyfarm · #1 01/03/12, 01:11 PM

Thinking of a possible move. The cold weather seems to be setting off my sciatic in BOTH legs now. Anyone have any info on Belize? Was watching House Hunters International And saw they spoke English as their official language. Grew up a farmboy, so the ocean front condo isn't for me. Probably inland and on a hill with some land. But I'd need to be able to see a "real" doctor and get meds refilled. How is the gang/drug/security issue

down there? How do they feel about us "Gringos"?

How about the standard/cost of living? I don't need/want a mansion,

just a comfortable 800-1000 sq ft house would be more than enough. Mike

postroad · #2 01/03/12, 01:15 PM

It is expensive to live in Belize. Most everyone does understand English. It is nice on the coast. The interior roads are rough.

Mexico would be much cheaper.

nappy · #3 01/03/12, 01:29 PM

We always talk about moving to Belize because of English being spoken there and the warmer climate. However, I'd be more concerned about my personal safety in Central America these days. I could be wrong but the unrest in Mexico could spill over into neighboring countries.

pancho · #4 01/03/12, 01:42 PM

I visited there when it was British Hondorus.
Great place to live.
We could spend 11 months there and 1 month back in the states.
This was because of their citizenship requirements. They may have changed since then.

foxtrapper · #5 01/03/12, 01:44 PM

http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-li...elmopan_23.cfm
http://www.belizefirst.com/cost.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belize

TheMartianChick · #6 01/03/12, 01:46 PM

If you do consider Mexico, I'd recommend San Miguel De Allende. Many Americans live there quite comfortably on rather modest incomes.

oz in SC V2.0 · #7 01/03/12, 02:02 PM

When I looked around online down that way,what struck me was how much flatter Belize was than other areas.

It did seem much cheaper but then not as pretty.

If you can deal with learning the language,look at Ecuador-amazing what canbe bought there and how cheap it is.

Paquebot · #8 01/03/12, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oz in SC V2.0

When I looked around online down that way,what struck me was how much flatter Belize was than other areas.

It did seem much cheaper but then not as pretty.

If you can deal with learning the language,look at Ecuador-amazing what canbe bought there and how cheap it is.

Indeed, much of Belize is one huge salt marsh, especially around Belize City. My biggest surprise was not seeing lush gardens around there. Whole area gets flushed out with salt water every so many years. That's why they moved the capitol from BC to Belmopan. Hurricane Hattie virtually wiped it out in 1961. (An uncle spent 6 months helping to rebuild the city.) I was there for 2 wonderful weeks in January 1996 and saw just about all that there was to see in that time. Other than around Belmopan, didn't see a lot of suitable land which wasn't already being used for either rainforest or housing. What little fertile farmland there is was already being extensively worked, much of it by Mennonites. Some have likened Belize as being one big national park and that's just about it. From atop one of the pyramids near Benque Viejo, one can see lush forests for miles. But when looking west, the forest stops and only scrub land can be seen beyond that. That's Guatemala!

Martin

ryanthomas · #9 01/03/12, 02:31 PM

Belize is beautiful and relatively safe, but can be expensive. I did some of my medical training there. There are a few American standard medical schools, so your medical needs should not be a concern. Check out San Ignacio. It's about as far from the coast as you can get in Belize, but there are quite a few expats living there and it's a wonderful area.

ETA: I second the Ecuador selection if you don't mind learning Spanish. Cotacachi is gorgeous and fairly cheap!

Buffy in Dallas · #10 01/03/12, 02:36 PM

I was also looking at Belize but apparently they are now having more problems with crime and it is surrounded by other south american countries that are not safe. If you move there make sure you have kidnapping insurance.

I'm now looking at New Zealand.

Here is a site that ranks countries.

http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

CesumPec · #11 01/03/12, 02:42 PM

My wife has been to Belize a few times, me once. You can live like a Belizian (?) on the cheap, especially further inland away from the touristy areas. But to live like an American, eat, use energy, etc, it gets very expensive.

One of the less than fun things about life in the tropics is the bugs which never go out of season. Belize has the bot fly. The bot fly infests cattle mostly, but people as well. Botfly eggs on mosquitoes get deposited under the skin. The bot larva then grows and the site will resemble a large pimple and be quite tender to the touch. After it has reached a size something similar to a fat meal worm, the bot larva eats its way out of the host leaving a small bloody, painful hole.

Here's a link to see botfly removal but you don't want to watch it.

Billie in MO · #12 01/03/12, 02:49 PM

My ex sis-in-law just came back from there a couple of days ago. They were looking at maybe living there. She said the food was really bland and not good. She had heard that from others but wasn't sure about it but it was true. There is a large Mennonite community there and they provide about 80% of the food to the country. The main reason they decided against living there, though, is that you can not work there, at all. So you would need an outside retirement income of some kind.

Big Dave · #13 01/03/12, 08:12 PM

Think GUAM? English spoken 70-80 degrees all year long. No political unrest. HMMM maybe I will go.

TedH71 · #14 01/03/12, 09:54 PM

Guam has severe problems with poisonous brown snakes which have infested the island to the point they have dogs trained to detect them before they even try to climb on to planes...not a place I would want to live.

kbshorts · #15 01/04/12, 06:37 AM

Visit first, Belize isn't for everyone. Spend some time there and really experience it. I visit quite often and really enjoy time spent there. Check out www.steppingstonesbelize.com. Sue is a member here and has lots of info on her web site. She has just purchased a small farm and is going to get an organic homestead started. I hear there is some crime there but I have never had any issues and feel much safer there than in a lot of places in the states.

KB

mountainlaurel · #16 01/04/12, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CesumPec

My wife has been to Belize a few times, me once. You can live like a Belizian (?) on the cheap, especially further inland away from the touristy areas. But to live like an American, eat, use energy, etc, it gets very expensive.

One of the less than fun things about life in the tropics is the bugs which never go out of season. Belize has the bot fly. The bot fly infests cattle mostly, but people as well. Botfly eggs on mosquitoes get deposited under the skin. The bot larva then grows and the site will resemble a large pimple and be quite tender to the touch. After it has reached a size something similar to a fat meal worm, the bot larva eats its way out of the host leaving a small bloody, painful hole.

Here's a link to see botfly removal but you don't want to watch it. http://vimeo.com/4974886

This is very true. My son in law was raised in Belize during his younger years, his parents are Beachy Amish missionaries. He got a bot fly in his head. He didn't know it until it hatched and the larvae was wiggling around in his head.
He also learned the local language, Creole while there. So he spoke PA Dutch with his parents, English to visitors and Creole to the native visitors.
But we have the bot fly here also. My dh had to pick them out of the neighbors rabbits who were really badly infected.

oregon woodsmok · #17 01/04/12, 04:22 PM

House Hunters International would not be my first preferred source of information.

If you are really interested, find the expat community for Belize on-line and join. Listen to what the people who are actually living there are talking about and what problems they are having.

One thing to be very careful about is how they tax any income you have. Are they just going to tax the income you earn inside their borders, or are they going to tax ALL your income, no matter where you earn it? How difficult is it to get a residency? I'd hate to invest in real estate with just a tourist visa that could be easily canceled.

emdeengee · #18 01/04/12, 05:10 PM

You can research a lot and get a lot of opinions but there is nothing as valuable as personal experience. If you are serious about a move you should visit first.

TedH71 · #19 01/04/12, 05:46 PM

My brother has considered Belize for retirement. Also have a friend who is a native Belizean who immigrated here so she could get an education since Belize didn't have good schools for deaf children. She still has relatives living there and says it's a safe country to live in.

Lizza · #20 01/04/12, 11:13 PM

My sister lived for a year in Costa Rica, I didn't get a chance to visit her. There is a large ex-pat community down there and only knowing English wasn't too much of a problem. I have heard that Panama is English speaking and also nice but no knowledge on that.

My sister lived on the Nicoya Peninsula, in Montezuma. They have excellent medical services but if you are older/sick they won't necessarily cover you (they have Universal medical care) but my sister was able to go to the clinics for very little money. When my nephew was ill they sent an ambulance with a doctor and took care of him at the house (the roads are very serious problems there) and I think it was like $200 total for everything.