Edmontonians interested to try Belize

Hello gerry_edmontonguy.

Welcome to Expat.com!

So as to make it more visible, your post has been moved to the Belize forum.

If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask them.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Hi Gerry,

If you want to be near the beach, I recommend you take a look at Hopkins, Placencia, and Punta Gorda as well.  These are places we have loved visiting.  We live on Ambergris Caye.  We don't see anything appealing about Dangriga, and haven't heard anything about Ladyville. 

We've done a lot of traveling around Belize if you would like to take a look at our BeBelize Blogblog:

There are plenty of Canadians down here -- it's a great escape from the winter even if you don't plan to live here full-time.  A lot of folks seem to do six months on, six months off.  You guess which six months. 

Best wishes,
Emily

Hi Gerry, happy to hear you've discovered Belize and want to see more.  I'm sure you'll enjoy your investigative trip next June.  I see you are not a big fan of he rain, nor am I.  Belize is a very small country but weather from the north to the south varies greatly.
Corozal in the very north of the country gets an average of 50 inches of rain per year.  A few hundred miles to the south in PG they get an average of 250 inches of rain per year.

Since you are heading to Belize in June, you'll get a taste of the rainy season and also get to see land they are showing you at the right time, the rainy season gives you a good idea of the "lay of he land".

Enjoy your trip and hope you find your dream location.

corozal dave wrote:

A few hundred miles to the south in PG they get an average of 250 inches of rain per year.

The statistic I've read is 160" for PG.  Either way, it's a lot.  But as some fine folks we recently visited in PG told us, it doesn't rain that much more often than up north, most still comes at night, but it's just heavier.  All that rain makes for a very lush, green environment.  To me, the farther south you go in Belize, the more beautiful it gets.  But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I realize.

Emily

I appreciate your comments on the rain. If the rain in the south is mainly at night, then that is OK.
Other suggestions I am hearing are: 1) go south or 2) go north, but avoid Belize city and region. I know some people in the PG region.
I haven't ventured into the specific questions yet. Gotta check my CPP and OAS implication with Services Canada when out of country.

What percentage of canadians do the 6 month Belize, 6 month Canada lifestyle?

Being a senior and a "techie" do I become a beach/surf bum and forget my "hands on" trades skills? :-) LOL

Emily, I might choose the wrong 6 months, as I am a guy who chose to go on an Antartica cruise in January 2010 ( and we loved it in Chile and Falkland Islands - just not Argentina!!!!) LOL

Gerry... we have been here about 10 years. I won't go in to details here, but you can check Travers Blog.

Drew, Thank you for your suggestion. Barefoot at the Bar looks beautiful. Placencia is one area we will be checking. Are hurricanes a major concern towards the middle and southern part of Belize?

Hi

We also are from the Edmonton area. We are spending 6 months in Corozal this winter. We love the quiet laid back small town feel of it. There are no 'beautiful beaches' there but it is on a wonderful bay and  you can still swim there. It is 9 miles from the Mexican boarded and there is a water taxi to take you to San Pedro.

We went during the rainy season this summer and it only rained hard about two or three days a week unless a hurricane goes through but because of the bay it is usually downgraded to a tropical storm when it hits land there.

As we work each summer and go away for the winter we do not know about cpp however we have checked into the health care and we know that you have to be 'physically" present in Alberta 183 days a year to retain you AHC it is the same in most provinces. If you are gone more than that you lose it and have to reapply and if you lose it ALL extended health plans will be capped at around 25,000. For short trips away you are still considered 'physically' present.

Hope this helps
Cherie

Hi Edmontonguy, I moved here after spending a day from a cruise. I have been here 6 years now.  I suggest you also do some research on San Ignacio in the Cayo District. Lovely people, hills and mountains and breezes and excitement.  Let me know what you think of our part of Belize.

This system is frustrating. I just get near the end of typing an involved reply, and bam - it gets wiped out by the web gods. It has happened 4 times now in the past 15 minutes. I'll try typing something later.

gerry_edmontonguy wrote:

This system is frustrating. I just get near the end of typing an involved reply, and bam - it gets wiped out by the web gods. It has happened 4 times now in the past 15 minutes. I'll try typing something later.

That is so annoying!  I haven't had that problem on this board, but I know it can happen.  You might want to write your reply in a text file or Word document, then copy/paste it in here so you don't lose it again.  It's such a waste of time to have to re-write and re-type!  Sorry... 

So, here  I go again. This time I am typing it offline and then will cut&paste into a reply window.

We have an interary for our reconaissance mission (some call it a holiday).

Depending how efficient accomodations are, June 18 to July3, 2013.

a) 2 or 3 nights in Ambergris area (just to say we`ve seen the reef).

b) 1 week in San Ignacio (with rented car). We are looking for a 1 week furnished house rental, so feel free to give us suggestions. Mayan ruins are on the agenda for sure.

c)  4 or 5 nights in South Belize - 2 nights in rain forest near PG town and  maybe Placencia.

Since airfare won`t be purchased until January, the schedule is flexible until our accomodations are set.

We will be researching houses - rent and  purchase, land availability, business opportunities, legal answers, local infrastructure rules, etc.

We aren`t rich, but we will have pension plus relized assets from house sale in $CAN  to work with by Feb 2014.

Gerry J

We are also from the Edmonton area.  Done a lot of travelling looking for our winter home and last year when we landed in Belize and flew to Palencia I was in LOVE!  No where else have we encountered such friendly, helpful people.  (Antigua was the worst for the record). The lushness of Belize is gorgeous, the weather was great, even though it rained for two days it was still warm.  We were on Ambergris for a week with a golf cart and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Not a place I would want to live though, but great for fun times.  Have a friend with a condo there for 3 years now and they had to vacate 4 times for weather.  Went up to San Ignacio and my husband was totally turned of by the town.
    We are now wanting to go back and check out Sartenja, Orchid Bay and Consejo Shores.  Reasons are the accessibility to shopping in Mexico, less rain, no sand fleas and community involvement.  I would love to hear anyone's input on Consejo as it seems to me to be the most reasonably priced for what you get, the closest to town without being in town, water access is easy, internet etc. accessible, developed with a sense of community and safe.  We were ready to put a deposit down on OB, but after reading how remote it is I think that changed my mind.
    Thanks for listening!

I live in Corozal Town, Corozal. It is in the North part of the country and is Wonderful! I really wouldn't want to live in Ladyville it is too close to Belize City. Even the locals don't want to go into Belize City.

So our plans are set - 7 days in SI, 3 days in Hopkins, 4 days in Porta Gunda. Tickets purchased and now waiting for winter to fade here.

Just added a side trip the Corozal area to meet some expats at Consejo Shores.

So far we have people to meet in all all locations we are visiting.

Really looking forward to this 2-1/2 week trip.

I was not impressed with that area after driving through either.  Especially when you read the stories on the ladies jail around there. Scary stuff.

Can't wait to hear your report on Consejo shores, after all my reasearch and travelling around Belize I think it might be our settling grounds.

Hi

Please let me know how your visit goes because my husband and I are thinking of moving to Belize in Oct 2013. We have not been yet but have tried Panama and Ecuador. We would prefer english speaking place as these places were nice but language was a big barrier.
We are fellow canadians as well living in Ontario and are very tired of snow right about now. We will be retire by August of this year.
Look forward to hearing from you.

suzanne

Hi Emily

This is all new to me speaking on a blog.
We are going to be in Belize in Oct of this year and will look at the beach areas you suggested.

Thanks for the tip.

suzanne belfry wrote:

Please let me know how your visit goes because my husband and I are thinking of moving to Belize in Oct 2013.

Word of advice:  Visit before you move.  This is true of any country, not just Belize.  Moving is a huge commitment, and if you don't like it, then what?  It's no fun to move multiple times and more difficult to move into and out of other countries than around in your home country. 

You are free to ignore this advice but just thought I'd put it out there.  I am constantly surprised by the number of people who speak of moving down here sight unseen. 

Good luck to you, and I hope you find your perfect place in the sun! 

Emily

P.S.  You are actually communicating on a forum here, not a blog.  It's called "Expat.com" because it advertises blogs from various expats, diaries of sorts, but online.  Blogs are more like online journals that are kept by one person or family.  Sites like these where people chat back and forth are forums. 

Thank you Emily. Yes we are jsut trying it out this winter. Have tried Panama and Ecuador but found language a poblem as our spanish is not so good. We hope to not have this problem in Belize.

suzanne belfry wrote:

Thank you Emily. Yes we are jsut trying it out this winter. Have tried Panama and Ecuador but found language a poblem as our spanish is not so good. We hope to not have this problem in Belize.

You definitely won't have a problem in Belize with language.

Best wishes,
Emily

We bought lots in Placencia we love the town, You can walk anywhere, take a golf cart to the airport..  Tons of restaurants, bars, English is a great thing, you can drink the water out of the tap.. We were there last Spring break for the first time  and going again in a couple of weeks. Our family and my Sister bought 2 lots last June. Our lot is 4th from the Caribbean and hers 5th. It is in small NEW sub division 13 lots with no fees right in town . It is not in a gated community. Buying was easy just like it was here...

Hello from the Capilano Mall area in Edmonton.

As you have probably read, we are going to visit Belize for 18 days starting June 17 with the idea of investigating a relocation in 2014.

a) What size of house are you building, and how much do you expect it to cost.

b) Do you want to meet for a cup of coffee somewhere? I would love to discuss the pros and cons and get your opinions on things.  Gerry J

Regards,  Kate and Gerry Jenkins.

Hi all, we visited Belize on a day trip from Mexico almost 3 years ago now.  Loved it so much we built a house in Royal Colony Estates just outside Corozal.  Same road as to Consejo. The town is small but very friendly and great market. Don't discount northern Belize, we're a water taxi away from the island and there is an airport too

Hi!
i have not heard of Royal Colony Estates.  can you advise if they have a website or anywhere to check out property/facilities there?/
thankyou!
Deanna

Deanna
Royal Colony Estates is located a couple of miles north of Corozal-on the way to Consejo Shores. Currently they have 2 homes, a pool and a front gate built. Here's their website: http://www.royalcolonyestate.4t.com/.

Thankyou for the lead.  I did check it out and think I am going to still purchase a lot in Consejo.  I really like the idea of having the water close

Its gonna be really hot that time of year.....just so ya know

Hello Ladythrouger

cold you give me some advice how much cost a lot in Placencia.
Or in which real estate I can find

Warm greetings from Toronto

There are many pro's and con's to buying and living in Belize. I suggest you all to do your homework throughly prior to making any decisions.

When making a two week trip down to look at area's and property of interest is not enough time. Especially if you do not know the country and you do not know if you want water front or jungle.

My suggestion is use your two weeks to look at the areas of interest and then make a point of a return trip and rent a place there for a month or two. Get to know the people and the village. Just driving through and looking can be a whole lot different than living there.

A few things to consider when looking at where you want to live are the more popular the place usually the more expensive it is. Such as Ambergris and Plancencia are way more expensive to buy and live than Corazol or even San Ignacio. In saying that since San Ignacio is a very popular place for tourists it is not expensive to eat and live there but the costs of purchasing land or a home there is very high compared to other areas.

Things to consider when buying property is if looking at beach front this is low mangrove land and usually will require back filling to bring the land up above sea level. Also, common utilites that you are use to are not available in all areas of the country. In fact there are more areas without utilities. Therefore, you have to consider living on the grid or off the grid. Yes all realators will tell you that utilities are only a short distance away but then consider the cost of bringing it in. The math on that is, about 4000US per mile and each power pole is 150ft apart.

Then you have to decide if you want a concrete home or a wood home. If you choose would do you want to build from the ground up or do you want a mennonite home. The cost for building vary greatly from 50.00US to as much as 200.00US per square foot pending on what you choose local products or imported products.

I would suggest also before buying study the belize real estate listings. There are many real estate companies in Belize.

Here are just a few......

rainforestrealty.net/
ceibarealestatebelize.com/
viviun.com/Real_Estate/
birdwalkrealty.com/
mondinion.com/

Know your prices and don't be fooled by an agent telling you that something won't last at this price because property does not sell all that fast in Belize. This you will learn by following the real estate and you will see how long properties have been on the market. Also, when looking at raw undeveloped land, know what veggitation grows in swamp and what grows in fertile land. Off the top of my head cabbage bark grows in swampy areas and cohune trees grow in fertile land.

Beware....there are Belizean prices and Gringo prices

Learn by people here on the forums who have been there and done that already. Remember Belize is third world and things don't happen too quickly.

Don't be afraid to ask questions

Wendy
Canada/Altun Ha Belize
Wendy

88mimi88
The cost varies quite a bit there. We bought in a small 13 lot development. We have 3 lots between us and the Caribbean 2 of them between us and the sidewalk. We are really close to one of the many grocery stores in Placencia. We are walking distance to everything.. Bars, restaurants, everything..  There are no HOA fees.  We bought one lot and my sister bought the one behind us. The price we thought was really reasonable many probably would not but much cheaper then we would pay for a lot here in  Leduc Alberta.( we got a deal as we bought 2 lots as well)   When we bought we did not use a realtor. We tried..  did not work out.. so we had a trusted friend from Placencia act directly with the owner on our behalf as we were back home.  Saved us a bunch on money as well.. We had seen the lots so we knew where they were located and what they looked like, we even had met the owner of the land while we were there. I would NEVER buy a lot sight unseen. You never know what it is really like until you are actually there.  I searched the web for some names of lawyers in Belize City, and my sister has 2 friends who bought and built there and used this lawyer there so we hired her and were very pleased. She did all the searches and gave us our title.  We have not spent a lot of time there  only 1 month so far, 2 weeks last year and 2 weeks this past March.( Our  youngest is in Gr 12 this year so had to go at Spring break only took him out for 3 days.. .. so Next year we will be spending a lot more time there as we will be building. 

Anyway there is a  couple who have land in another small development by the Atlantic Bank on the Caribbean side of the road. They are bigger then the ones we bought,  so a large lot and I think she is asking $85,000. ish for the ones closer to the road. . Don't forget there is a 5% stamp fee that everyone has to pay on top of the asking price. But there are no Capital gains tax.
It is still walking distance or biking for sure into Placencia. We walked there a few times, it really is not far. There is a new grocery store there as well. Also there are a few homes for sale. There is one right behind Mings grocery store it is a Mennonite built home, smaller lot  and I think they were asking $160-$190'00 ish??  I think they are selling privately.  Sorry I don't remember. There are quite a few , another Mennonite home in Maya Beach for $149,000, A completely re modelled home in Placencia asking $165.000.There are quite a few lots and homes for sale  We did not look at any of the pre built homes as we wanted to build what we wanted.
We also seen quite a few signs on lots that were for sale as well, not sure of the asking price or even how big the lots are.

As for building we looked a a couple of new homes while there last time. One is smaller about 800-900 Sq ft (?) concrete pilings and wood upstairs. They said it cost them $70,000 to build. It is beautiful inside, lots of stone, tile and granite counter tops. 2 bedrooms . The other one is  a up down duplex, again about 800 sq ft each ( I am guessing) and beautifully done  what was done, no kitchen in yet etc but some tiling done, all concrete and he said when all said and done it was going to have cost him about $100.00 to build that. There is also a new one being built on the beach close to the school and one across from John the Baker. Those I have not had a chance to look at  but will for sure. They are both concrete.

One thing for sure is please don't buy sight unseen.. take the time to go down there and see for yourself.. When I was looking I was looking at a development  and they told me to buy quick as they had a  couple of lots left so fire sale price basically..   and it was across the road from the beach and services were close. Well I google  mapped it and it is mangroves in front of where he wanted us to buy so no beach, and when we flew over the place this past March there is still all bush, no roads or services in there..   Another one called me again just after we got home I had not talked to them in almost a year and had told him last time that we had bought already. Anyway he said yea we would have sold you a lot for $$  Yea but it is far far from the beach, and the land is not even developed yet, and  it is in the middle of ahh  no where.. 
Just please do your homework..

If anyone has questions please feel free to PM me I will be glad to try to answer you. But as I said I am by no means an expert  have only spent one month there just that we just went through the buying process. We received our titles last summer.


Ladytrougher

Thank YOU very much for such good comprehensive information.
With many advices and warning.
You are right, everybody have to come and see on their  own eyes, before sign the documents.
I'm doing my homework everyday and ''still is not done''.
I don't know what to do yet and which city I have to choose.

I think is better to come and visit few places and after move    to choosen one

One more time thank you very much and  wish you all the best.