Why Buy in Belize? Why Ambergris Caye? Read on.......

Hi Shiela, thanks for the comment and questions. Here is some great info on Belize and why we are seeing so many from the U.S. coming down to buy property here. Some are buying vacation homes, others are looking to relocate and still other are moving at least some money down here to diversify....in other words they are scared of whats happening in the U.S. right now with the economy and national debt. I'm hosting a live Webinar on August 9th that will cover a lot of this info. You can register on my homepage at www.remaxbz.com   Hope to see you there!

Why Choose Belize?

Over the years, author Lan Sluder, has interviewed, talked with or heard from via e-mail, hundreds of people who have moved to Belize or who plan to do so.  He asked them this question: “Why did you choose Belize?” He has gotten many answers to that question, but these are the most common:

“I like speaking English.” You don’t have to learn a new language to live in Belize, because English is the official language. You don’t have to struggle with grammar and syntax in an unfamiliar tongue. While Spanish and several other languages are widely spoken in Belize, and many Belizeans are bi- or trilingual, everything from street signs and newspapers to official government documents are in English. From your first day in Belize, you can shop, dine, chat and gossip without having to thumb through a dictionary or cast about for the right verb ending.

“I love the warm climate.” It never frosts or snows in Belize. The climate ranges from sub-tropical to tropical, similar to that of South Florida. As long as you’re comfortable with warm to hot temperatures, perhaps tempered by cooling breezes from the sea, you’ll like Belize weather. As a bonus, you’ll never have to pay for heating oil again.

“I feel welcome here.” Belize is not a Never-Never Land where everyone loves everybody in perfect harmony, but the fact is, by and large, Belizeans are as friendly a bunch of people as you’ll ever find. Belizeans take people one at a time. Whether you’re black, white, brown or green, short, fat, ugly or beautiful, rich or poor, you’ll find acceptance in Belize.  Your neighbors will say hello to you on the street, check on you if you’re sick and share a joke with you over a Belikin at the bar. And they may try to hit you up for a loan. For the most part, Belizeans genuinely like Americans (and Canadians and Europeans). At the official level, the Belize government welcomes retirees and others, especially if they bring some resources to the country. The Qualified Retired Persons Incentive Program is administered not by a bureaucratic immigration department but by the Belize Tourist Board, and they often provide approvals within a few weeks.

“I enjoy the lifestyle here, doing things outdoors and on the water.” Belize offers relatively little in the way of cultural activities — museums, art galleries, the arts. But it makes up for it with a wealth of options for those who love the outdoors. You can garden year-round. The saltwater fishing is some of the best in the world. Boating, diving, swimming and snorkeling can be as close as your back yard. For the more adventurous, there are caves and ancient ruins to explore, rivers to canoe and mountains to hike.

“I can live better here for less money than where I came from.” Belize is not the cheapest place to live, and in some areas of Belize an American lifestyle will cost U.S. prices or higher. Overall, however, expats in Belize say they can live larger than back home, enjoying some luxuries such as a housekeeper or meals out. Investment income, pensions and Social Security checks seem to stretch a little farther in Belize.  While some items such as gasoline, imported foods and electricity cost more in Belize, other things including medical care, housing, insurance and household help are significantly cheaper in Belize than in the U.S., Canada or Western Europe.

“I like living on Belize time.” Like many sub-tropical and tropical countries, Belize offers a slower way of life than the frenetic pace of life in many more developed countries. If you don’t get it done today, there’s always tomorrow. Slow down. Be cool. Don’t make your blood boil. “I’ll be here at 7:30 Monday morning” really means, “I’ll try to get there early Monday but if I decide to go fishing I’ll be there sometime Tuesday.” Not everyone can adjust to this way of living, but for those who do it has a lot of appeal.

“I feel healthier here.” Belize does not have the high-tech, state-of-the-art medical care available in the U.S. or even in countries like Costa Rica or Panama. But the Belizean lifestyle can be very healthful. You eat fresh fruit and unprocessed food. You walk more and ride less. You stay outside in the clean, unpolluted air rather than being cooped up in a climate-controlled box all day.  You go home for lunch or take a nap at mid-day. In Belize’s balmy climate, your

arthritis and other aches and pains seem to fade away. Many people who move to Belize start feeling better within a few weeks. Quite a few lose weight. Blood pressure levels go down. Of course, you can also live an unhealthy life in Belize — watching cable TV all day, drinking all night and eating fried foods and lardy beans and rice.

“I like the people of Belize.” If you’re a people person, you can’t help liking Belizeans. Belizeans come in every shape, background and color, but nearly all are open and friendly. They love to have fun, and there’s always an excuse for a party or a celebration. Expats in Belize are also an interesting bunch, usually with an independent streak and sometimes downright eccentric.

“There’s always something to do or see here.” If you’re bored in Belize, it’s your own fault. Belize is a natural wonder. You could spend the rest of your life just learning about the flora and fauna of the country. Belize is home to thousands of species of trees and flowers, hundreds of kinds of birds and butterflies. The culture of Belize is wide and deep. The history of the Maya in Belize goes back thousands of years. Garifuna came to Belize in the early 1800s; Hispanics have trickled in over the past several hundred years; Mennonites came here in the 1950s. Every group in Belize has a fascinating history to explore. When you tire of intellectual pursuits, you can take trips to the enchanting corners of the country, to the high hills of the Mountain Pine Ridge, to the endless caves of the Chiquibul wilderness, to the lush rainforest of Toledo, to the many islands in the Caribbean Sea and to the 190-mile long Belize Barrier Reef.

“I thought I could never afford to live on the beach … but I can in Belize.” If

you’ve seen the prices for beachfront lots in Florida, South Carolina, Massachusetts or California – often hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars – you know that oceanfront living in the U.S. is out of the question for most people. In Belize, beachfront lots aren’t as cheap as they used to be, or as cheap as they still are in places like Nicaragua or Panama, but you can still buy a buildable lot on the Caribbean for a very affordable price.

“I appreciate the fact that Belize has a stable, democratic government.” You don’t have to worry about a coup in Belize. Politics in Belize is highly personal and can be rough and tumble, even dirty, but Belizeans take their democracy seriously. The voter turnout in the last national election was almost 80%. Along with Costa Rica, Belize has the most stable political system in the region.

“I’m glad I escaped from America’s consumer society.” In Belize, you won’t find Starbucks, McDonald’s or Wal-Mart. Global franchise businesses are almost unknown.  That can be frustrating when you’re trying to find a cheap home appliance or a quick meal, but on the plus side you don’t need to spend your life accumulating stuff.

“I like the wide open spaces of Belize.” With only 266,000 people in an area the size of the state of Massachusetts (population: 6,400,000), Belize is one of the least densely populated countries in the Western Hemisphere. Outside the cities and towns, you can often drive for miles without seeing another human being. In that regard, Belize is like a little, subtropical Alaska. Or like Florida 50 or 60 years ago.

“I don’t have to worry about losing my property here.” Property rights are protected in Belize through the traditions of English Common Law. In some countries, if you leave your house or land unoccupied, squatters can move in, and it’s almost impossible to get them out. Legal documents may be written in a language you don’t understand. Powerful local interests can take your property through tricky legal — or illegal — means. In many parts of Latin America and Europe, the legal system is Civil Law based in some cases on the Napoleonic Code, very different from the system in the United States. But Belize shares with America, Canada and the United Kingdom a legal system based on English Common Law. In Belize, private property is respected and protected. Foreigners can own property virtually anywhere in Belize, with exactly the same rights and protections as exist for Belizeans. The Belize legal system isn’t perfect, and lawyers in Belize are almost as costly as those in the U.S., but it’s a far better system than, for example, in Mexico or Honduras.

“The U.S. dollar is accepted everywhere in Belize.” Belize has its own currency, the Belize dollar, so technically the American greenback is not the official monetary unit of the country. As a practical matter, though, the U.S. dollar is accepted anywhere and everywhere in Belize, and the Belize dollar has been pegged for decades at the rate of 2 Belize to 1 U.S. dollar. Anything of substantial value, such as real estate, is priced in U.S. dollars. This means that prices in Belize are more stable for American dollar holders than they would be if the Belizean currency floated against the dollar. It also means that in periods such as 2003 when the value of the U.S. dollar declined sharply against the Euro, yen, D-mark and many other hard currencies, prices in Belize remained about the same as always for Americans. (Conversely, of course, during periods of appreciation of the value of the U.S. dollar, prices in Belize do not become cheaper for U.S. dollar holders.)

Hi Teri,

Thanks for your comment....Coming from Las Vegas or Phoenix you'll connect through Dallas or Houston. Continental flies through Hoston and American Airlines goes through Dallas. From either of those hubs it's a two hour flight to the international airport in Ladyville, Belize (airport code is BZE).

Other hubs are Miami, Atlanta and Charlotte.

When you get off the plane you'll go through immigration and customs and then after collecting your bags will proceed to the Tropic Air counter to check in for your flight to San Pedro. (NOTE: Ambergris Caye is an island about 40 miles from the mainland. San Pedro is the only town on Ambergris Caye).

You can pre-book this flight by going to www.tropicair.com   or you can just check in when you get here. The flights are scheduled every hour on the X:40. So, for example if you landed here at 2:45pm I would book yourself on the 3:40pm. Even though you'd be scheduled to leave for San Pedro on the 3:40 flight over, in reality they load and send several planes over to the island as soon as people have their bags and are checked in.

The flight is only 15 minutes long and once you're away from the mainland the water turns beautiful shades of blue and turquoise. Try to sit on the right hand side of the plane if you can (there are no assigned seats) or ask the pilot if you can sit in the co-pilot seat.They will let you if you ask. From the right side of the plane you'll be able to see dozens of islands and the barrier reef. It's an awesome introduction to Belize.

Hope this helps...and hope to see you on island soon. My wife and visited 10 years ago and fell in love immediately. We've been in Belize ever since.

Hi Teri, thanks for the great questions!

Let me respond here in detail.....First, Ambergris Caye is a coral atoll and its pretty flat. The average height is 3-6 feet above water. But with the reef out our front door and the shallow waters surrounding the island its not as scary as it seems. Even in huge storms we don't have much wave action on our beaches.

So, you can build "higher up" like going 2-3 stories and get great views but you won't find any lots high up like on a hillside like you would in Roatan or other volcanic Caribbean islands. If you want to be guaranteed great ocean views stick to lots that are ocean front or 2nd or 3rd row lots. Having a nice big pool here and a jacuzzi is not a problem at all. In fact I have both in my Zen Villa house.

The water pressure is very good. We have city water that comes from deep water wells and is purified by reverse osmosis. If you go a mile or so north of south of town then you rely on large rain water cisterns which are built into the foundations of your home or you can go with a well. Both are good options and both work just fine.

Same thing goes for septic. In San Pedro Town you have access to town sewer but as you get just a little ways away from town you need to go with an engineered / contained septic system. Again this is very standard here and works well.

There aren't many large resorts here like there are in Playa or Cancun. The government has gratefully limited the number of floors we can build here so most resort are smaller 3 story condo/hotels. Our largest resort is probably Grand Caribe and it has approximately 72 condos in total. www.grandcaribebelize.com

The hydroponic green house idea is fantastic! No one is providing produce grown right here. There are a few very nice shops like Healthy Belize who are supplying good tasting organic produce grown on the mainland but no one is doing any growing of any kind here. It all has to come by barge from the mainland. And you know how travel and shipping affects fresh fruits and vegetables. Plus it adds to the price.

We have a ton of great restaurants who would buy everything you can grow and you'd have a big residential following as well.

Hope this was helpful, and hope to see you down here soon.

Dennis Kay II
RE/MAX Island Real Estate

P.S. - If you have the time please attend my webinar next Tuesday. It's going to cover a lot of really good info. Very educational!

P.S.S. - I just love this picture.