First time visit to Belize

[Barry Hardgrave]

Ann, my wife and I are very interested in retiring in Belize, but have never been there and are planning a vacation sometime in 2016. What is the best way to explore the country and try and figure out where we want to live. Is it possible to get in touch with some of the expats that are already there to get their insights about living there. We have been looking to do this for over a year now and are very excited about the prospects of living in Belize. I’m sure I’ll have a lot more questions, but this is a good start. Thank you,
Barry and Diane Hardgrave

[DAVID L.]

Barry and Diane,

My wife, Lynn, and I have visited Belize last year and this year. We started in the south, then up to the northern islands and finally to Corozal. We just closed on a house in Consejo (north of Corozal and just south of Mexico). We went the mortgage route to preserve funds until our current state-side house sells. I think we will be moving permanently in the Jan, 2016, timeframe. (My wife thinks we are moving this afternoon. Somewhere in between those two dates probably lies the truth.) We would be happy to speak with you and provide our view point. Let us know your contact information so we can connect.

David and Lynn

[Barry Hardgrave]

Thank you David for your quick response. You can email me anytime at barryhardgrave@msn.com or dianehardgrave@msn.com. We have some friends that are building a house on Mayo beach in Placencia, so it will be very helpful to know people in different regions of Belize. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks again, Barry and Diane Hardgrave

[DAVID L.]

Just sent you an email with our contact information.

[COUNTRY EXPERT ANN KUFFNER]

Barry,

The easiest way to reach me is at the belize@internationalliving.com e-mail address. Actually, I plan to head to Corozal within the next few months to do research. But that will most likely be before the end of the year. I will be talking to a variety of expats who have lived in Corozal for a while, to gather info. If you are living there before year end, do let me know.

[MARTIN &KRISTINA L.]

This is pretty much us too we are coming to Belize in about 2 weeks and really hoping to meet expats from Canada, we are not looking at buying right now but looking for the area we would like to in the near future
Kristina and Martin Leigh

[DAVID L.]

Martin/Barry,

Lynn and I will be in Consejo (6 miles north of Corozal) from Nov 8 until Nov 22. We are traveling through Cancun and busing it to Chetumal with a driver waiting for us in Chetumal. We have never done it this way before but it saves several hundred dollars. So, it is worth a try. More to the point, every Wednesday evening (early), a group of Canadians/Americans meet at the Millennium in Consejo for a bite, a beer, and talk. It is NOT fine dining but it is fun. This is where we first learned about the Cancun/Chetumal connection. If this fits your itinerary, let us know and we will coordinate. David and Lynn

[COUNTRY EXPERT ANN KUFFNER]

David,

I will actually be coming to Corozal during the time you are there, to do research for a future International Living article about Corozal. I would very much like to attend the Wednesday night expat get together at the Millennium in Consejo. I have not been to Consejo Shores yet, so it’s on my list of places to visit and check out. Can you provide me with more details. It would be great to meet those expats who have been living there for a while. I’ll be looking for a few expats to write stories about, who have lived in the Corozal area for a while.

Let’s communicate directly, if you don’t mind sending me your e-mail. You can reach me at Belize@Internationalliving.com. I’d appreciate hearing your feedback after you visit Corozal, as a visitor.

[COUNTRY EXPERT ANN KUFFNER]

Barry,

I just realized that I had not answered your original question, since many others responded already…

The first thing to do is take some time to review the detailed information on this website. I put together several sample itineraries of how to travel in the country to get a feel for various areas. There are three, I think, each focused on what you can accomplish in a given period of time. So that’s the first place to start. I am in the process of updating the Belize Manual. When it is completed all of the data on this website will be updated. And be sure to read the Belize Insider monthly e-mails, which are on site. I cover topics that are not up to date in the Manual yet, but that are important. Some of those topics are fun, but some are meaty, such as the banking, health, and rental topics that are really important to people considering moving to Belize.

Ask yourself with you want, in terms of lifestyle, and what you can afford. Most expats head directly to the cayes, or Placencia, for he beautiful water and gorgeous beaches. But you most likely spend between $2000-$3000US/month if you live in these areas. Corozal is on a bay and it is a sleepy town that is not touristic at all. There is a nice expat community, from what I’ve heard. And you can live on less than $2000US/month there. Many expats live on Social Security in Corozal and San Ignacio. San Ignacio is in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, a several hour drive from the sea.

Take the time to read the sections that explain each region, the lifestyle there, and the costs. You will get a feel for which seems to be a fit for you. When you visit, you will get a gut level feel about each area. By the time you visit all of the main expat areas, you’ll be able to choose which seems the best for you, or if Belize is not your cup of tea. The next step is to rent for at least a month in your favorite region to see if you still like it after actually living there, vs. just vacationing.

[DAVID L.]

Hi Ann and any others that are interested,

Many expats meet at the Millennium every Wednesday evening from around to 5pm to usually about 7pm or so. Food, beer and talk. The times we have attended, there have been both US and Canadian expats (about 20 or so – just depends who’s in town). Lynn and I will be there both Wednesday Nov 11 and 18. If you are in Corozal, take the Consejo Village Road (4th Ave extension about 7 miles. Millennium will be on the left.

[COUNTRY EXPERT ANN KUFFNER]

David,

Thanks for the update. I have also been in contact with another expat who lives in Consejo. She has offered to set up a special get together, for me at the Millennium to meet local expats who are willing to talk to me about their experiences living in the area.

I will be in Corozal most likely from November 14-November 19th. So possibly we will meet during that time. I have a friend who has lived there for years who’s helping me set up a series of meetings. I am looking forward to the Art in the Park on the 14th, and the sailing regatta on Sunday, the meeting at the Millennium, and the Women’s Forum meeting. But I’ll be viewing real estate in the area, and weather permitting, will travel to some villages outside of Corozal,to see if more expats are moving further out of town.

[DAVID L.]

Ann, Sounds like you have it covered. Let us know when you’ll be at the Millennium so we can meet. We have had quite an experience – traveling north and south of Belize, finding a house, setting up an off-shore account and securing a Belizean mortgage.

David and Lynn

[COUNTRY EXPERT ANN KUFFNER]

David and Lynn,

If all goes as planned, Karen Wilkenson will organize a get together for Monday, the 16th, and invite interested expats. My goal will be to meet a variety of people.

But do contact me directly, at Belize@internationalliving.com, so that we can connect and communicate in detail about your experiences. I’d love to hear your story. At the Millennium I’ll be pretty much meet as many people as I can, so will talk briefly with each person or couple, to get a sense of a variety of experiences and who is wiling to participate in a future article. But I’d like to hear about your recent experiences, especially since you are in the process of moving to Corozal. With the current banking challenges related to the BofA derisking, I’d really like to hear about your experience securing a mortgage in Belize and if you have had any problems transferring funds to Belize. Since you did set up an offshore account, I assume you opted for the QRP residency option.

[Harvey Kidman]

Dear Friends, Happy Thanks Giving to all of you. At present, I live and work in Kabul, Afghanistan as a Project Manager for the largest in Country Vocational, Technical and Medical School here with about 18,500 + students. We teach a large variety of classes from vocational; beginning plumbing, carpentry, welding, steel work, carpentry, masonry (concrete) (Belize City the new concrete streets), Interior design (painting, ragging, etc.). It was my pleasure to open and build CTTC International, Champion Technical Training Center, in Belize City. Much of our time is focused on bringing Health & Safety Codes, CQM, Construction Quality Management, Technical Classes for the betterment of communities across the globe. Because my work requires frequent Air trips, Belize City was the only logical departure and living point. Over dozens of trips, over more than 10 years and 11 months of FT living in Belize, it is a very nice country for retirement. For anyone looking for Part Time / full time work in the education field there are many opportunities. Feel free to contact me at harvey.kidman@cttc-af.org for any specific education questions. Should there be any interests in working /starting an ESL entity in Belize (work from home), I would be especially interested in meeting. My 2016 location, will be in Dubai to open a new International ESL School for the Arabic community.

[STEVEN S.]

My wife and I also shall be visiting Belize for the 1st time in just over 1 week and are seriously looking to relocate there in the near future. We shall be staying on Ambergris but also a overnight trip to Placencia as well. Looking for property on the water only.

[Author]

Posts