Thinking About Retiring or Relocating to Belize?

If you are thinking about retiring or relocating to Belize, you may want to check out two new sites that I have added to my blog, Wealth Ships' Expat Relocation Consulting and Red Roof Management-Belize. Sharon Hiebing, an American expat who moved to Belize is now helping others follow their dream. You will find both these sites under my "All About Taking Belize" section. Through her expat relocation consulting, Sharon will help you with all phases of relocating to Belize. 

Sharon also has Red Roof Management in Belize. If you are looking for a property to rent (long or short term), property  management, caretaker and house sitter services in the Cayo District, Western Belize, you will definitely want to talk to Sharon. 

You can email Sharon at sharonhiebing@gmail.com.

Where to live in Belize? Corozal

Corozal is a popular spot for expats and is the Northern most town in Belize which means you would be extremely close to the town of Chetumal, Mexico.  Chetumal, Mexico offers medical services and more options for shopping which in include an American like mall and Sam's Warehouse shopping. 

The Corozal district is 718 square files in area.  Spanish is spoken more widely then English here, although you should easily be able to get by in English at least in Corozal Town.

Corozal town area offers low cost housing whether you are renting or buying, a sizable expat community and a pleasant location on the Bay of Chetumal, sometimes referred to as Corozal Bay.  There are few sand flies and pesky bugs in most areas.  Corozal has a pleasant sub-tropical climate with lower rainfall then southern Belize.  It is generally considered to be safe and friendly.  You have easy access by car, bus, water taxi and air to Ambergris Caye, other areas of Belize and the Yucatan.

Planning Your Fact Finding Trip to Belize

There is really only one way to know for sure if Belize is right for you and that would be to make plans to visit Belize.  If you have never been to the country before, I would recommend an initial fact finding trip. Go to Belize to see for yourself what it is like there, eat and drink like a local.

Our initial trip to Belize was for vacation and it was many years ago, so last year we booked a flight to Belize to go on a fact finding trip, with the idea of retiring in Belize.  Months before we left, I read several books on Belize (see Taking Belize blogs recommended reads) and anything on the Internet that I could find related to retiring abroad.  We only had a week, so I made a list of things that we definitely wanted to check out while we were there.  Belize is a small country but a week is really not enough time to see everything, so you may need to make several trips to Belize.

On our first trip to Belize we flew back and forth from the island to the mainland in small puddle jumper planes, but in September we chose to take the water taxi's.  We took a water taxi to Chetumal, Mexico to check out the shopping available there. We also made visits to many of the island grocery stores on Ambergris Caye.

English is widely spoken throughout Belize, so it is easy to travel independently in Belize.  We found the Internet was available in most areas of Belize, so if you needed to make a quick reservation, it was no problem.

Where to Live in Belize? San Pedro, Ambergris Caye

Ambergris Caye, Belize

We have been to Belize several times and have stayed on both the mainland and on the islands.  Belize was not our first choice of where to retire, it was originally Key West, Florida.  But I was just never sold on the idea of retiring to Key West and we had never really considered the option that we could move to another country and retire.

Last year we starting reading and looking into Belize and after making another trip to Belize, this time just staying mainly on the island of Ambergris Caye in the town of San Pedro, Bill and I decided Belize is where we wanted to be.  We felt like Belize had the best of everything to offer, it has the islands, jungles, Mayan ruins, they spoke English, easy access to the US and we could afford to live there.  We thought, what more could we ask for?

Ambergris Caye is Belize's largest island in the Cayes and is the most popular destination in Belize, for expats and tourist.  It has the largest expat community with a resort island atmosphere.  Belize has the second largest coral reef system in the world.  The reef lies 1/2 mile east of the Ambergris Caye shoreline and runs the entire 25 miles length of the island.  This has made San Pedro Town the dive and water sports capital of Belize and Central America.  The Great Blue Hole, Turneffe Islands, Shark Ray Alley, Hol Chan, Marine Reserve, Mexico Rocks, and Lighthouse Reef are only a short boat ride away. 

San Pedro reminds you of the Caribbean of 30 or 40 years ago, before the boom of international travel.  There are just three main north-south streets which are lined with wood houses and shops painted in bright tropical colors.  Most people get around town on foot, bike or golf cart.

Ambergris Caye has the sun and heat of the tropics, but is cooled by the trade winds off the Caribbean Sea.  Temperatures range from about 75-95 degrees during the day year round.  The rainy season is May to February, with most of the rain following in the late afternoon and evening.  Southern Belize may get up to 140 inches of rain a year, Ambergris Caye only gets about 40 inches per year.  The water temperature stays pretty much around 82 degrees year round.

Other post you may be interested in:
Where to Live in Belize?  Caye Caulker
Where to Live in Belize?  San Ignacio

Where to Live in Belize? Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker is Ambergris Caye's "Little Sister" Island.  It is a small limestone coral island off of the coast of Belize in the Caribbean Sea.  It is approximately 5 miles long running north to south and less than 1 mile running east to west.  The town on the island is known as Caye Caulker Village. 

Caye Caulker is located approximately 20 miles north northeast of Belize City.  You can get to the island by high-speed water taxi, or small plane.  It has become a popular destination for backpackers and tourist. 

Unlike Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker has fewer cars than San Pedro.  Everyone mostly gets around town on foot, but you can rent bikes and golf carts on the island. 

Caulker has much less beachfront and doesn't really compare to the beaches on Ambergris Caye.  Beaches of white coral sand that easily reflects the sunlight and causes mild sunburns, so you should always wear plenty of sunscreen.  You can even get a sunburn sitting in the shade. 

Caye Caulker remains a budget friendly island with a laid back atmosphere.  Water sports such as boating, fishing and diving are very popular off the island. 

Caye Caulker is much like the tourist businesses of San Pedro, but just fewer of them.  There is over 30 small hotels, a few casual bars, dive shops and small grocery stores.

Picking up Your Entire Life and Moving it Across the Sea - Part I

Bill and I have moved 8 different times in the last 26 years.  Once we moved 3 times in 18 months.  I would say we have the hang of it when it comes to moving.  But retiring and moving to a foreign country is not an easy thing to do, especially when you know that you cannot take all of your current personal things with you.  You think, "WOW" that should be so much easier with less things to move.  But taking a trip down memory lane and purging these memories is not always an easy thing to do. 

But now that the holidays have past and the most special of holidays the Superbowl, we decided to start doing some cleaning out this weekend and we started in the attic.  It is pretty overwhelming going through 26 years of papers and personal things that belonged to your children, siblings, parents and grand parents.  What do you do with all of these things?  Who do you give it to?  Who wants it?  What do you throw away?  What do we take with us to Belize?  Anyone have a bulldozer we can borrow?

We started with cleaning out one corner of the attic, which held many boxes with years of tax returns and these are our least sentimental items.  I thought I should shred all of our tax information and bank statements before I trashed them, so I pulled out our handy dandy shredder and let it rip.  It says right on the top of  the shredder 6 pages max, but don't believe everything you read, that was not true and it over heated many times.  So I would have to wait and let the shredder cool down and then I would start again.  7 extra large trash bags later and many hours, we were done.

Before

After, wow it looks pretty empty there in that space.

Oops, looks like we missed one box stuck back there in the back, oh well back to the shredder.

Where to Live in Belize? Belmopan

Belmopan is situated between Belize City and San Ignacio and with only a population of about 8,100+ makes it the smallest capital in the world.  Belmopan became the capital of Belize in 1970 after the devastation of the former capital, Belize City, by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. 

Next to the Plaza in Market Square is where most the activity takes place with vendors selling tropical fruits, tamales and Mennonite watermelons. 

Across the street from Market Square is the bus terminal.  If you plan on staying for more than 30 days in Belmopan, you can renew your passport at the immigration office which is directly across the street from the market.

The climate in Belmopan can be described as sub-tropical with trade winds that sometime blow across the city.  The temperature in the coastal districts of Belmopan stay around 10 to 35.6 degrees Celsius.  The average annual temperature of Belmopan is 79 degrees Fahrenheit.  The annual rainfall varies from 50 to 180 inches and the dry season generally starts from about the month of February and continues up until the month of May.

Things to do in Belmopan:
Belize Zoo - Houses over 100 animals indigenous to Belize
Cave Exploring
Heris Nature Walk and Trails
Inland Blue Hole
Guanacaste Park

Where to Live in Belize? Placencia

Placencia has some of the best beaches on the mainland and a growing expat community.  16 miles of  beaches located on a peninsula with the Caribbean Sea on one side and lagoon on the backside, about 120 miles south of Belize City..  You can snorkel here but for the best  snorkeling you will have to take a boat out to the reef or to one of the small offshore cayes, a 10 to 20 mile boat ride.

Land on the peninsula is low-lying and flat.  You can see the Mayan Mountains to the west. The average temperature in sub-tropical Placencia is 80 degrees Fahrenheit and the average humidity is 83%.  Generally the dry season and the most popular time to visit is January through May.  June, July, October and November are typically the rainiest months.  Rainstorms are usually short, but very powerful.

Most foreign residents choose Placencia for its low stress attitude.   The atmosphere is laid-back and focuses mainly on fishing, boating and other activities on the water.

Where to Live in Belize? Orange Walk

The Orange Walk District, with an area of 1790 square miles is located beside the New River and between Corozal and Belize City on the Northern Highway and is the second largest district of Belize.  The name Orange Walk comes from the orange groves in the area.  There is a formal plaza and the town hall is called Palacio Municipal. 

The strong Spanish influence here is unmistakable.  Old fashionsed totilla factories, mission churches and Spanish-styled homes are everywhere.  There are approximately 16,000 people living in Orange Walk District.  The main source of income before the 19th century was mahogany logging, which has now been replaced with sugar can fields lining the Northern Highway.

Although the Orange Walk District has no coast because it is locked inland, it has the remains of two forts, Mundy and Cairns that were the scene of battles between earlier Mayan inhabitants of the district and settlers. It offers some of the most natural  areas of Belize, with excellent birding and wildlife viewing.

Sights and Recreation in the Area:
1.  Banquitas House of Culture-exhibit of history, culture and industry of Orange Walk.
2.  New River and New River Lagoon-chance to see Morelet's Crocodiles and iguanas.
3.  Honey Camp Lagoon-white sandy beaches and coconut trees.

Other posts you may be interested in:
Where to Live in Belize?  Placencia
Where to Live in Belize? Belmopan