Wanting to move to Belize

1/ Forget about a job until you have your residency.  Then it will still be difficult and the pay is very low.  But you never know what will come up.
2/ Banks are banks, so pretty much the same.  The main banks are, Belize Bank, Atlantic Bank and Scotia Bank (Canadian)  All of them take ATM cards for withdrawals and deposits. All accounts at these banks will be in Belize dollars, not USD.
3/ The housing market depends on "location"!!  Lots of homes for sale as well as land.  Homes can be had very cheap or expensive, naturally the waterfront properties are the most expensive.  Land is for sale every where, jungle land from $1000.00 BZD per acre to waterfront at from $100,000.00 USD and up, depending on location.
4/ Cost of living depends on how you want to live and where you want to live.  Living in a touristy place like San Pedro will be at least 50% more than living in Corozal.  I know of couples that live a simple life in Belize on less than $800.00 USD/month and I'm sure many live even cheaper.
5 /You will not be able to get a mortgage on a house in Belize as new arrivals, no jobs, no history in Belize and what kind of assets will you have?  Then again the interest rates in Belize are very high compared to Canada or the USA, you'd be looking at somewhere around 10% interest if you could get a loan.
6/ You must stay in the country for 1 year to get your residency.  Once you have this I believe it is 3 years later you can apply for citizenship.  Dual Citizenship is no issue.
7/ Transportation, yes there is, but it is not public, but an array private buses.  They go everywhere and are very cheap.  Walking distance is dependent, on where you live.  If you live close to the town or village you decide to live then go ahead and walk.  Bicycles are the main mode of transportation.  Cars and gas are very expensive for the average person in Belize.
8/ Shops, hate to keep saying it, but again it depends on where you live.  A small village will have limited selection, Belize City at Brodie's, you can get pretty much anything you need, but not always what you want.  Anything made in Belize is usually very reasonably priced, imported goods, expensive.
We live in the North of Belize close to the Mexican boarder, so we head off to Chetumal where you can get absolutely anything you need and want. They have all the usual stores, including Sam's club, Home Depot as well as all the fast food you dream of, getting it back into Belize is a whole other story.

Hope I answer a few of your questions.  Once you have visited Belize and traveled around, you'll be in a position to ask better questions and get more exact answers.

Good answers by Dave with just a couple of corrections:

You have to be a permanent resident for five years (not three) before applying for citizenship.  You can get a temporary work permit BEFORE applying for residency, but I am not sure what the requirements are as we didn't do this.  I know people do, though.

Thanks for correcting me :-)

Hi, are you still considering moving to Belize?  I live in Tennessee and my husband is Belizean.  I work with his sister -who is in Cayo, Belize- in helping people relocate or travel or just about anything they need when it comes to Belize.  I would be happy to help you in any way that I can  

Let me know if you still have unanswered questions or need to a little help when you touch the ground there.  Thanks and good luck!

kmarlette, Corozal Dave said it all best.

I would advise you before making any decisions on moving to Belize is to plan on going down and living for one year. Find a place and rent for the year. Use the year to adventure and explore all areas of Belize. Learn the culture and the ways of the land. This way you will get a feel for where you like and the areas you can afford to live.

Do not burn any bridges in your home country during this time as this will give you somewhere to return to if you decide you do not like Belize.

Belize is not for everyone. Remember this is a developing country where many roads are not paved, many areas are not on the grid and rely on solor for power and water catchments for water. Store are scarce with limited selection.

Not to discourage you but there are many things that you may not like. Such as the rainy season, the high heat in the dry season, the bugs and sand flees in some areas to name a few.

If you are looking to live as close to the life style of Canada or the US I would suggest to you to look at San Ignacio, Corozal or the Cayes.

With the questions you have asked I would say you have much to learn about Belize and much research to do before making any life changing decisions.

Don't look at Belize through Rose Colored Glasses and as if you are vacation but rather through the eyes and mind set of could you live there and live with the culture and life styles.

This is just in IMHO. We are still learning after 5 yrs since we bought our place. Many expats arrive in Belize and are not street smart to the country and it's ways. Find themselves being taken advantage of. There is what we call the Belizean price and the Gringo price.

HI mebelize, my husband & I have been living IN Belize, for almost a year, now. We LOVE it! We live out of San Ignacio a ways, so we use the bus... I have a Question: How in the world can you get some items, that we have collected, since being here, shipped to the US? I contacted a LOT of companies & they either DON'T ship out of the country, or ship only appliances, cars... those larger things. The post office seems to be our only hope, that this point. Thanks, jettz

There is a Mail Boxes Etc. in San Pedro. Have you spoken to them? There may be one nearer you or they may have a stop in Belize City to get out of the country.

I agree with doglady, even though you may have to take a bit of a journey to get there.  Hopefully Belize will be able to offer some better options soon.

I am a freight forwarder in the US and need the names of some moving companies in belize who can receive goods from the us and clear customs as well as deliver?  the company I used to use is no longer in business.  Please reply if you have any suggestions as I have two shippers with goods to move there.

I too am planning to move to Belize. I'm giving myself a year to settle things here in Texas and get rid of "things" that I've accumulated over the years. I'm thinking I will rent for at least a year before I make my final decision of where to settle. From my research I'm leaning heavily on San Pedro. My question is: what about buying a boat in Belize?