Newbies, beginning the search . . .

[MIKE ANDRESEN]

To All,
My husband & I plan to tour Belize as a possible retirement location in the next couple of months; we are looking for a location that has an established Expat community, weather to be a little drier, good internet, we do not need to live on the beach but would like to be close by to ride a bike or golf cart to the beach or take a bus. We would rent at first then buy & hope to find a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo/house less than $150,000. We also will be retiring with 2 cats. So far, Corozal seems like it might be a fit.
Any feedback & recommendations on towns, realtors, meet up with expats, etc. to look at while we are there?
We are new to International Living, so I’m still finding more info. Thanks for any assistance.
Laura MA

[COUNTRY EXPERT ANN KUFFNER]

Hi Laura,

Since you want to live near the sea your primary choices where expats live are Corozal, Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, and Placencia. Of those areas, Corozal has the least expensive homes and rent. There are more homes than condos in Corozal and the prices are lower than in the other towns above. It is no longer easy to find a 2 bedroom, 2 bath place in the cayes, or Placencia in your price range. Keep in mind that Corozal is on a bay, so it doesn’t have beaches, per se.

You can rent fairly easily in Corozal or Ambergris Caye. Many expats are choosing to rent long-term, vs. buy, as it is less expensive that way and gives you more flexibility. It will be a bit harder to find a rental that allows pets, but not impossible. It’s pretty easy to bring your cats into Belize.

Note that in Corozal people usually own a car. On the cayes we use golf carts or bikes and aren’t allowed to have a car.

Corozal, Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker are in the north area of Belize, where it rains less. We get about 60-70 inches of rain per year. It’s double that amount in the southern area of Belize.

The internet is decent in the areas I mentioned above. Belize Telemedia Limited is the primary phone company. They will install a DSL line in the towns and you can choose the speed that you want. You pay more for higher speeds. WE spend $100/month for a high speed DSL line and it works quite well. SMART is another phone company in Belize. The sell MiFi tokens that allow you to buy GB for a 90 day period. The advantage is that you can use the MiFi token anywhere in the country. I have found it to work wherever I traveled so far. It will work on up to five devices, such as computers, IPads, and IPhones. So it’s a really flexible way to have internet coverage throughout Belize.

Check the sections on the Belize Insider website for each town of interest to you. You’ll find a lot of info on the topics you asked about, including the contact info for the realtors I interviewed while updating the Belize Manual this year. (The content from the Belize Insider book is all included on the Belize Insider website.) Go through the Rolodex on this site to find names of additional realtors, as well as info for Forums you can join to communicate with expats who already live in BElize.

I am the only International Living Correspondent in Belize. So IL doesn’t have a representative in each town, for you to contact. But there are many on line Forums here in Belize, where people share info.

Much of what you are looking for is on the Belize Insider website. You will find cost estimates for the regions, places to stay, restaurants to try out, and Forums to join. Many of the local expat groups communicate on regional Facebook pages, as well. So as you join various Forums, keep an eye out for Facebook groups you may want to join, to interact directly with expats already living in Belize. Once you get to know them on line they will offer to meet you when you move to their area.

[MIKE ANDRESEN]

Thanks so much Ann, I’m still in the information collecting stage & greatly appreciate your input.
For any others, my $150,000 price range on a house/condo is in US dollars.
Anyone out there planning on a trip in early spring to Belize to check out? Maybe we can make it a team?
Thanks again, Laura

[VICKIE C LONG]

We have not retired to Belize yet but we have bought a condo on Ambergris Caye. I went first to Belize in May, 2013 on a Chill Weekend. The people were wonderful because I have Multiple Sclerosis and the plane ride was too much. But, I was on the Island and could see a lot. The Carribean was azure, the sand was white, and I fell in love. But, to make it fair, I sent my husband on a tour that left from Belize City to Corazal – he left in a van and he said the ride was “very bumpy’, they boarded a small boat and sailed down the river which had jungle on both sides to Mayan ruins, had lunch prepared by Mennonites, got back into a van, and ended up in Corazal. We had initially looked at Orchid Bay in the Corazal region but when he returned home, he told me that the jungle was right there which I did not like. So, in January, 2014, we both went to Ambergris Caye, Belize, and my husband fell in love with that, too. That was our experience! The jungle was too close for comfort!

Vickie C. Long
Florence, KY, USA

[COUNTRY EXPERT ANN KUFFNER]

Good insights, Vicki.The town of Corozal, where most expats live, is very different from Orchid Bay. Orchid Bay is quite far from Corozal. It’s a great property for tourists to visit, as a resort. But it’s too far from town to easily live there. From what I’ve heard, during the winter the road from Orchid Bay to Corozal becomes impassible. That would make it difficult to go to town for supplies, other than on a boat. In the wet season, that’s not a fun trip…

Corozal has a pretty active expat community and there are a lot of social events and volunteer groups there. It’s much less expensive to live there than on the cayes. So for expats living on their Social Security paychecks, even if they prefer the cayes, their pocketbook dictates that Corozal is most likely a better fit.

When considering where to buy, it really helps to come a few days early and take a look at a variety of properties before attending a Chill Weekend, so that you can compare the prices and offerings with comparable properties in the region. The sales people who lead Chill Weekends seldom show or mention any other properties other than those they are selling at their development. Their goal is to keep their visitors captive and show them a very good time so that they won’t wander off and hear about better deals in the area. For those who are coming to invest in a fantastic deal (such as some of the ones Pathfinders writes about), and have already done their homework, it makes sense. But for expats who want to actually live in a community in Belize full-time, it is best to first get a broad perspective of what’s available in the area of interest before committing to buy a home. That way they can learn, before the Chill Weekend, which neighborhoods are safest, have the most potential for property appreciation, which HOAs have a strong track record and are reasonably priced, etc.

[DAVID L.]

Laura and Mike,
I didn’t get your message about visiting Consejo (Corozal) until yesterday. I hope you are having a great trip. We took the same path (Placencia, Ambergris Caye and Corozal) a year ago March. We found Placencia a little to far away from things and the sand flies were not a bonus. Ambergris Caye was very nice but a little too built up for us especially near the airport. We found Corozal much more to our liking. It was very close to Mexico for great shopping (just a day trip), It is on the bay instead of ocean which helps protect it from extreme weather, and the home prices are very reasonable. We have settled (as well as anyone can) on Consejo Shores. CS is an established community of 40 years. It has all the infrastructure already in place and a large expat community (US and Canadian). Houses on the water are about $300,000 and one lot off about $175,000. Naturally prices can vary depending on pool, rooms, lot size, etc. It also has a 9-hole golf course. We are headed back for 2 weeks the first of June, probably to buy a house we have been looking at. our realtor (Karen Wilkinson at winbelize@gmail.com) has been a great asset with information and guidance. If you email her just drop our names, David and Lynn Lawson. I think it will help!

BTW, this will be our 22nd move including one to Iran (of all places – whole different story attached to that one!).

Good luck. Let’s stay in touch since it seems we are in the same moving stage as you.

David and Lynn

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