Hello from Ladonia, Texas USA

Hello Thomas.

Welcome to Expat.com

What kind of advice are you looking for?

Do not hesitate to ask questions. Members could definitely help you.

Thank you,
Aurélie

HGTV is re-running the San Ignacio episode of House Hunters International today at 7 pm eastern, which might be interesting to you: hgtv.com/house-hunters-international/retiring-to-belize/index.html

Thanks, I watched it. It seems like they were getting the "Rich Gringo Expat" price judging by what I am seeing on home prices from my own research.  I still enjoyed watching it though.

CaribeGal wrote:

HGTV is re-running the San Ignacio episode of House Hunters International today at 7 pm eastern, which might be interesting to you: hgtv.com/house-hunters-international/retiring-to-belize/index.html

AurélieZ wrote:

Hello Thomas.

Welcome to Expat.com

What kind of advice are you looking for?

Do not hesitate to ask questions. Members could definitely help you.

Thank you,
Aurélie

While I plan on renting until we have been there for 6 months or better I am curious about several things.

1. Realistic cost for land

2. Cost for things such as a septic tank and some of the miscellaneous items that are above the actual cost of construction of a house.

3. Cost of a housekeeper, gardener etc.

4. The exact dollar amount that needs to be transferred into a Belize bank to obtain QRP status.  Do we need to maintain that balance in Belize forever or just during the application process?  I plan on banking in Belize, but I am also thinking that the money that will be used for land, building, etc could be part of the balance we use to obtain QRP status to begin with.

I am certain if we build and pay cash we should have no problem surviving on the income we have coming in, which we could not consider doing at theis point in the U.S.

I am also considering just renting forever so I have the ability to be a bit intrepid should I so choose.  I am sure I will have many more questions in the future!  We plan on spending about a week in the Cayo district, and another week exploring the rest of the country.

Hi Tomead. Land costs vary greatly depending on area and size - you'd do well to meet with a realtor while you're here, and they can answer all your associated building cost questions as well - private message me and I can refer you to some good ones here in Cayo.

I own Red Roof Property Management here in Cayo as well, and we have both short and long term rentals, so if you're looking for a place to stay during your research trip, check out our vacation rentals.

Housekeepers & gardeners usually charge about $40-50 bze a day.

QRP applicants must prove they have a income stream of $2000 a  month for as long as they are in the program. There is no requirement that the money be transferred to a Belize bank.

I think your budget of $1700 usd for a family of three is a little tight, especially if you factor in internet costs. I also provide Expat Relocation Consulting - a one month session with me may prove beneficial for you. Thanks!

Sharon Hiebing

Sharon,

Thank you.  I am very surprised to hear that $1700USD would be tight!  Here in the small U.S. town we live in I believe we could get by on that money, even after factoring in about $225.00/mo for taxes and insurance.  Perhaps the reading I do through International Living and Kathleen Peddicord have me looking through rose colored glasses.  I often hear numbers like $600.00USD a month tossed around, and figured that if a home was bought and paid for that a budget of nearly 3 times that number would be comfortable.  I will definately come down to get my feet on teh ground and get a feel for things, but may have to consider either looking towrds S.E. Asia or perhaps just staing in th U.S. for a few extra years.

Tomead,

A lot of this won't quite "fit" with what you plan to do, but I did want to point out my blog posting from a few days ago in which I detail a typical monthly budget for us on Ambergris Caye.  We own our condo outright so don't have rent expenses, so this would be similar if you built and owned a home outright.  Ambergris Caye/San Pedro is more expensive than inland; however, we don't have children.  Keep in mind, though, this post details our "bare bones" budget with very few extras.  If we travel that month or have a lot of entertainment expenses, we might spend quite a bit more than what I show in this post:

BeBelize Blog - How much does it cost to live in San Pedro, Belize?

I hope this helps!

Tomead, Emily's blog is spot on! I believe it is more realistic than what IL and Ms. Peddicord portray.

When I said $1700 was tight, one reason was because you said you would be renting. In Emily's budget, her HOA fee of $300 usd could be a rent you could find here in San Ignacio (your target area from what you've said). For that, you could get a very simple, no frills 2 bedroom, 1 bath unfurnished home.

However, it won't include internet or cable tv costs. Also, in San Ignacio, while you can certainly do without a vehicle, since it's much more spread out than the island, most of us do have at least one car. My fuel costs for personal errands per month are about $170 usd.

I spend about $2000 usd a month for two people. I'm not saying you couldn't live on the $1700 you have budgeted, it will just be pretty tight for three people. Just depends how many concessions you're willing to make and some of the different variables Emily outlines in her blog.

Wealthships wrote:

I spend about $2000 usd a month for two people. I'm not saying you couldn't live on the $1700 you have budgeted, it will just be pretty tight for three people. Just depends how many concessions you're willing to make and some of the different variables Emily outlines in her blog.

Yes, and in your very first post, tomead, you mentioned wanting "some left over for a rainy day".  You're not going to have much, if any left over after paying your day-to-day expenses, given everything we've already mentioned. 

Sharon and I are not trying to be wet blankets, just realistic.  Some of the magazines have extreme rose-colored glasses on when they give budgets to live in particular areas.  If you are willing to live in a shack without electricity, sure, you could probably live on $600/mo, but not many folks are interested in living that way.  And as Sharon mentioned, it would be a bit more challenging to live car-free in San Ignacio as we are able to do in San Pedro, and gas is very expensive in Belize.

I think the fact that the QRP requires a documented income stream of $2000 USD per month is an indication that the government here thinks that that much is required for most expats to live comfortably in the country. 

Emily

Thank you both so much!  This is what I am wanting to hear, reality and not a sales pitch.  This information will help me make a lot of decisions, and hopefully they will be educated ones that I don't regret.  My initial plans were to leave behind 4 rental homes which would have generated a net of about $1730usd a month after maintenance, taxes, insurance, etc..  Each of my tennants has asked at one point or another if I would sell and owner finance, this would put my monthly income well above the $2,000.00 mark for 20 years with ease, and it may be a better alternative.

My plan for renting is just to have my feet on the ground and scout for just the right property. If we sell all but 1 car, the extra furnishings we dont need, and other useless stuff we have collected there is easily enough cash from that alone to buy a lot and build a nicely upgraded Mennonite style home from sombody like Linda Vista.  My research is digging up homesites from 5-10K.  We have money in the bank for a rainy day, but I would like to see it slowly grow, and not continually shrink.

I live a pretty "Low Maintenance" life, I could care less about Television except maybe an occassional DVD.  Internet is pretty important, and coming from the frequent 100+ degree weather of Texas I would be happy just having the bedroom air conditioned.  I don't want to live like a pauper just to get by, but my chosen lifestyle now is well below what many western expat's have ever lived.

During the peak of my career making 100K+ a year I lived comfortably in a $35,000 2/1 wood frame home while putting my money into real estate (some were REALLY bad ideas), but live in that same modest home to this day.  So hopefully keeping within a modest budget and not seeking a lavish lifestyle I can move somewhere and relax a bit.

Are there any areas in Belize I am overlooking that offer SAFE and inexpensive living?  I am more interested in scenic views and history than I am in the beach, so that should make things more flexible.

Thanks again, Thomas

I also forgot to mention that my son will most likely remain in the states for college, and this is something that has been planned for and not part of our budget.  Aside from visiting he will not be much of a burden on the planned budget.

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for being so open-minded about what both Sharon and I had to say.  You sound like the type of person who could do quite well in Belize.  Internet can be expensive here, but if you don't require cable TV, you can save some that way. 

I'll defer to Sharon on other areas in Belize that you might consider.  I tend to think that San Ignacio and the surrounding area in the Cayo District is one of the best fits for someone who doesn't care about being at the beach, and the cost of living is certainly more reasonable there, but there may be other places you could consider that I haven't been.

One nice thing; Belize is a very small country, so you should be able to check out as much of it as interests you in a reconnaissance trip!

Good luck to you,
Emily

If the wifi hotspots are as common as I hear, I might be able to do without internet.  a little time on yahoo messenger chatting with family and friends, and occassional messenging to China with suppliers should suffice.  I have a businesss that I will be turning over to a friend and transitioning from sole owner to silent partner, but will still need to spend a little time online or with emails to negotiate pricing and logistics.

Here is another monthly comparison to go along with Emily's excellent blog post.

A kings life just did a cost comparison between living here 1 month and vacationing for 1 week with a breakdown in US dollars for a family of four living on Ambergris Caye.
http://www.akingslife.com/2012/05/cost- … ur-budget/