Looking into Belize

Hello TaoLee! Welcome to Expat.com

Thank you for this brief introduction.

Do not hesitate to ask specific questions so that members around can at best help you out.

I also suggest you to browse through the forum threads and sub sections so as to gather useful infos about Belize.

Regards
Kenjee

THX for the hint.

Lots of great organizations in Belize to volunteer with if you want some more options than bridge for socialization.

Thank you.   I believe that the group I will be joining there has some charities already in mind.

I read that you have to have a hard-to-get Work Permit to volunteer in Belize?

For the most part in my experience of volunteers here they are accepted into the community because they are willing to help and make a positive difference. We tried to get a volunteer permit way back at when doing our first volunteer work. We were denied and told by Immigration that we were not taking jobs away from anyone and to keep doing what we were doing. The guy we were dealing with at the time also appreciated the fact that that we were interested and taking action in helping our new community.

Thank you.

My experience is limited to Corozal town.  Internet is slow.  comes and goes but not too frequently.   American goods here are higher due to tariffs.   The major importer of goods is Chinese and brings in low quality Chinese goods.   99% of the grocery stores are Chinese.    If you order on line and have goods shipped in the tariffs and shipping service will more than double the price.   for example I had a wire dog crate ordered and shipped from the US.   Crate cost $50 USD.   when I picked up at my private mail box/shipping service I owed $187 Belize ($93 USD).    So most of us do not ship unless we have to.   Our suitcases are full when we come back from the USA.   The US food products available here are often expired or recalled.   I can usually get certain grocery items in Belize City (2 hr drive) for a bearable price.  Higher than in US but not outrageous.   I am sensitive to perfumes and dyes in Laundry products.   I have been unable to buy All free and clear here or to find a Mexican made product that is not perfumed.  I buy Tide cold water, free and clear which costs $25.75 Belize for 50 ounces or 26 loads.

It is very hot and humid here.   Over 90 degrees daily and humidity of 70% or more, all day and all night every day except for a few days in December.    Most north Americans want A/C in their bedrooms.   Some of us who are heat intolerant will air condition most of the time.   My electric bill is $6-700 per month, most months.   

Property can be purchased inexpensively, if you avoid realtors and gringo enclaves.   A way to do this is to come, rent for 6-12 months, while determining if you wish to stay, & you can meet some people and look around for yourself and find good value for your investment.   

Domestic help is inexpensive.   I pay $5-7 an hour for 4 hours twice a week and she is a good woman.  Her English is minimal, My Spanish is minimal, so I use an internet translating service and then she and I go over it together.  this works OK, not 100%.   

People will tell you that Goods are easily available in Mexico.   they are.   Most food products(fresh fruit & vegetables, meat and dairy) can not be brought back over the border.   If you have a Belizean who will go and buy for you, who has a cousin working at the border, this can be affordable.   If you buy things there yourself, the tarrifs are prohibitive.

There are many medical missionary groups who come here from time to time.  . Most of us ex-pats will find a way to help a few kids with school fees.    It is my opinion that the Belizeans need education more than more religion.  The religious control most of the schools.   Most of us have rescued a few dogs or cats, as they are treated poorly here.   

Medical care for non life threatening needs is OK.   Trauma care is not so good.    I use a Belizean DR who was trained in the USA.   If they are trained in Belize or Cuba, I would avoid.  My husband is an MD, DC and I am a DVM who worked in human medicine all my professional career, so we are highly informed consumers & providers for each other.   Medications can be purchased OTC, I use a man who imports from Guatemala where he can get anything for a price.   A Fentanyl patch is $90.   Birth control pills are less than $20.  a single Tums is 10cents.

If you are a user of Facebook, there is very useful daily information available at Corozal Living, Belize Expats, Belize ex-pats no holds barred.   the ongoing discussions are informative.   Also can go to the web and get daily email news from Patrick Jones, Que Pasa Corozal, Love.FM radio etc.    These are real day to day life, and not just someone trying to sell you a dream.   I am enjoying many of the expats I meet, as by definition an expat is an adventurer.  I also enjoy Belizeans for the most part.   By virtue of my blond hair I am panhandled a lot.   I rarely give.  I use my charity $ for the kids education.    The culture here is apathetic towards corruption and thieving.   Gun laws are strict and enforced.   The  alcohol induced domestic violence often includes machetes.

If you want long term accommodations similar to US, then you will pay US prices.  These are available in Ambergris Caye and Placencia.  Other areas are less expensive and less sophisticated.   There are some gorgeous resorts inland, such as Mahogany Hall.......   

The legal language of Belize is English.  The language spoken over the dinner table in most Belizean homes is creole or Spanish.   Most Belizeans appear to read and write at the 3rd grade level.

People who are considering living outside the USA are investigating a small city in Mexico on the Carribean, Mahalal (I may have misspelled).   Because of the tourist trade much English is spoken there. 

Bon Chance.........

This is the most helpful information I have seen so far.  I used to speak French when I lived there.  I did work and live in China -I hope they speak mainland Mandarin not Cantonese.   Do you know?

Thank you.  I will spend some time absorbing your text.

In all due respects I must ask kristinanadreau why you decided to move to Corozal?  It does appear that you are not pleased with life here.  IMHO, what difference does it make what language people speak in their own home around their dinner table?  Whether that be Spanish, Creole, an Asian dialect, an Indian dialect, Maya or whatever.  Of course American goods will be higher here than in the US....they are all imported goods, and the buying power is much less than big grocery chains in the US.  There are many ways to get goods ordered online from the US ( Amazon, E-bay ie.) and shipped into Corozal that are reasonably priced.  However, I have found that  "private mail box/shipping service" tend to be much more costly.  Other options may be slower....it depends on how much of a rush one is in for whatever ordered. This is a valid statement " It is very hot and humid here" however, the following is NOT a true statement "Over 90 degrees daily and humidity of 70% or more, all day and all night every day except for a few days in December. "

And this statement could very well be said about the US...."The culture here is apathetic towards corruption and thieving".

There is nowhere in the world that is perfect nor free of corruption, poverty, illiteracy, begging. 

To all those who are thinking about moving to Belize....come with your eyes and ears open....don't rush into anything, explore the country and decide where and what is best for you.  But be prepared....this is NOT the US, Canada, the UK or wherever else one is moving from.  This is Belize.  Not perfect !!!

Thank you for your comment.

To bznorte      I do not owe you  a reason or justification for my continued presence in Belize.     I can reasonably choose to remain in Belize, and not be oblivious to the issues or difficulties here as well as enjoying many aspects.   All living situations have  benefits and risks/costs.  There are promoters with a personal financial interest in bring more ex-pats to Belize.   There are also persons who do not wish for more No. Americans to relocate here.

I do not promote of put down Belize as a retirement destination.   I am not trying to sell property.   I have no financial interest in people retiring here or not.    I only provide information, as I perceived and experienced it.   

Perceived difficulties and perceived benefits are going to vary among individuals.    for example, People who are not heat intolerant will not have problems with the temps.  People who are heat intolerant will need to find ways to be comfortable, such as A/C which is costly in Belize.      My temperature ranges are correct for all who live more than 100 feet from the Sea in Corozal.  For people who are able and willing to pay $125000 USD for a water front lot, plus the cost of the house, will have cooler temperatures, by about 5-8 degrees plus a constant breeze.    The sea breeze here is lovely.   Inland locations will experience the temps I posted.

My comment about languages makes a point that most social discourse among Belizeans is not in English.  For those who wish to assimilate to the degree possible, we need to learn a bit of Spanish or Creole. 

Most, of the Chinese in Corozal came from Taiwan, some from mainland China.   Not Hong Kong.   Tao Lee may be better able to discern which dialect is primary here.

The issue of protection of person and property is of interest to people who are relocating from North America.   and the statistics are NOT comparable to that of the US or Canada.  While there is no country free of "poverty, begging, corruption, etc", there are places in the Carribean (& US & Canada) where the incidence is less.   I lived in California.    Beverly Hills is not the same as Compton!!!.    Rural Winnipeg is different than urban Toronto.    San Pedro is not Corozal or Belize City.