Belize, Ecuador, or Panama—Questions about Belize

We are looking for REAL information about the possibility of retiring in Belize. We now live in the USA just outside a town of 25,000 people, counting part of the university population. Very livable, quiet, and nice, and surrounded by mountains. We are looking into Ecuador, Panama, and Belize as possibilities. We are looking into beach towns we've heard about (but know little about the reality of these places) such as Coronado, San Carlos, San Pedro, Placencia , Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker, San Ignacio but want to know if there are other beach towns with good climate (not too hot, humid, buggy, or huricaines) a hospital/GOOD healthcare, and close to an airport. We are also looking for safety, vitality, quiet, plenty of inexpensive cafés/restaurants/coffee houses that serve espresso, high speed Internet, good retirement packages, etc.

We would be looking to rent a furnished apartment or condo with high speed Internet, hot water for showers and washing machine, drinkable water (can be alternatives we are willing to live with though), peace and quiet, beautiful views of the beach (and mountains?), good weather (see above), enough places to eat or go to so that there are enough good places to go that we don't get bored with the same places over and over and might as well be home instead when they get to be boring.

So, we would like to know if there actually are furnished apartment rentals fairly available, what draws people to Belize over Ecuador or Panama—what good, bad, or ugly aspects? We anticipate slower resolutions to everyday life experiences such as banking, electricity, Internet, tech support, being without a car if possible, and whether the savings of living there for 4-6 months at a time (or full time) would still offset the roughly $3,000 airfare for each back and forth visit to the US to see family.
Also, is English truly the language spoken in Belize?

Could you tell us more about exactly what drew you to Belize and let us know when/where expats meet so we can meet and ask our questions once we've been there, how to find a reliable rental realtor or contact who helps with this, how to avoid being misled or ripped off, etc. Did you consider other countries such as Ecuado, Panama, or Mexico (which we hear is laden with crime and expensive)?

We live in very rural mountains now, a 20-minute car ride to town, even for groceries. There is nothing where we live but some other houses that are quite far apart, so we have a great deal of privacy. We would love to have the beauty and quiet, PLUS good food and scenery, good weather, and new sights and people, and a bit of privacy. We are mostly homebodies and amuse ourselves at home. We are not consumers or shoppers, but do so like our Netflix capabilities to watch excellent TV series. Also we are not nightlife people or bar hoppers. What is the weather like year round in mountain towns or beach towns? If there a reason to choose one over the other in regards to weather, humidity, storms, insects, safe food, etc.?

We would like to know the closest airport and hospital. Which gets to the question of beach towns. My husband and I both grew up near the beach but usually prefer the mountains. Can you recommend beach towns that have more than two restaurants, but a village type of setting with more to do? Also, weather, insects, crime, and other considerations are questions we ponder. Are mountail towns nearby with better living conditions than the beach towns? If there is anything else you could tell us about the reality of living in Belize in general, we would really appreciate it. We want to make sure we are not off in fantasyland. We are looking for Paris, Switzerland or Aspen at one-quarter of the price. Is this what we will find in Belize, or is this just how Belize is represented by people selling things? Are there bugs or other menaces we should know about? Crime? Healthcare? Language issues?

We are thinking of visiting in May/June and aren't sure how long to stay, since we've come to realize that we only want a beautiful mountain town or beach area that has the amenities we want, without poor weather, crime or lack of health care. Would we really need a car? Just how far is a good place to live from an airport, and which airport/s is/are there?, hospital, or places to find furnishings and grocery stores? Are there specific “neighborhoods” to look at that are quieter, newer, more modern conveniences with up to date plumbing/electricity, but still in walking distance of cafes and coffee houses? Can one get good espresso or just plain coffee? What things are surprises as far as costs or differences in what you expected? Are the significant downsides to moving there permanently versus half of the year? Is there a good travel route for exploring even the places we are thinking of visiting?  Where do we fly into to begin our exploration? We thought we should use our exploratory trip as a vacation also and see other areas Belize or neighboring countries of Ecuador or Panama once we have spent the airfare to get to Ecuador and/or Panama and Belize. We now live just outside a town of 25,000 people, counting part of the university population. Very livable, quiet, and nice, and surrounded by mountains.

We would be looking to rent a furnished apartment or condo with high speed Internet, hot water for showers and washing machine, drinkable water (can be alternatives we are willing to live with though), peace and quiet, beautiful views of the mountains (or beach), good weather, enough places to eat or go to so that there are enough good places to go that we don't get bored with the same places over and over and might as well be home instead when they get to be boring.

So, we would like to know if there actually are furnished apartment rentals fairly available, how much they cost, what drew you to where you are in Belize—what good, bad, or ugly aspects? We anticipate slower resolutions to everyday life experiences such as banking, electricity, Internet, tech support, being without a car, and whether the savings of living there for 4-6 months at a time (or full time) would still offset the roughly $3,000 airfare for each back and forth visit to the US to see family.

Could you tell us more about exactly what drew you to where you live and let us know when/where expats meet so we can meet and ask our questions once we've been there, how to find a reliable rental realtor or contact who helps with this, how to avoid being misled or ripped off, etc.

We like the sound of prices for almost anything there. Are there issues about tainted food or water? We also want to make sure we get hot water, and have reliable Internet service and reasonable phone or Skype ability. We are mostly homebodies and amuse ourselves. We are not consumers or shoppers, but do so like our Netflix capabilities to watch excellent TV series. Also we are NOT nightlife people or bar hoppers. Grocery stores or open air markets are needed.

My husband and I both grew up near the beach but usually prefer the mountains. Have you been to Salinas or other beach towns that have more than two restaurants, but a village type of setting with more to do? Please list any beach towns and if there are weather issues, storms, bugs, humidity, etc.

We are thinking of visiting in May/June and aren't sure how long to stay. Are there specific “neighborhoods” to look at that are quieter, newer, more modern conveniences with up to date plumbing/electricity, but still in walking distance of cafes and coffee houses? Can one get good espresso or just plain coffee? What things are surprises as far as costs or differences in what you expected? Is it better for just a couple of weeks to stay in a “hotel”? If so, is there a nice quiet one that is near enough the beach to walk to safely? Can one walk in the dark?

Since we live in the western US in the Rocky Mountains, so travel is expensive,. We will be going to Florida first to visit family, then on to Quito to explore Ecuador, then Panama. Any inexpensive routes or airlines that you know of for getting to Belize directly from the US West? It's a long haul, but hopefully worth it. My husband may have another year left teaching at the university before we would be able to do even a partial year in abroad if we feel comfortable there. Since we have to go to Florida anyway, we thought this would be a good time to explore Ecuador, Panama, and Belize.. So, you can see, there are many issues to consider, as most of you well know. Also, we have winter at least 7 months of the year, like the snow, but could see that perpetual spring could be very nice as we age (we are in our mid 60s) as far as walking and even having a garden or flower pots! However, where we live now is truly beautiful, so I should say the bottom line for us is that we are looking for the same quality/beauty of life at a quarter of the price and without third world problems. Also, summers are warm and dry, with cool nights. If retiring to Belize is more hype than reality, you would be saving us a great deal of heart ache and money by letting us know now. The other issue is that we have children living all over the US who soon will have families. Are we going to spend most of what we save living in Belize buying airfares back to the states to visit family?

Since we plan to visit in May/June, we would like to meet some people who did what we are thinking of doing by retiring abroad.

We thank any of you in advance who take the time to answer our questions. Also, let us know if we should consider somewhere else altogether! We are looking for good, clean, safe, affordable living in a beautiful place.

Nancy and Gary