5 good reasons for living in Belize

1. English-speaking country
2. Most locals are friendly, welcoming, and helpful
3. Warm weather year-round
4. Gorgeous tropical flora and fauna
5. Barrier reef for excellent snorkeling, diving, and protecting the coastline from the worst ravages of storms

in no particular order

- English speaking made it easy to move/adjust here
- Weather year round. In December I get cold enough to wear my wetsuit to the pool and a polar fleece hat sometimes, that is as cold a place as I want to live.
- Friendly people and great food
- Nat Geo moments all the time
- Life changing experience

What - I can only pick five???  Also in no particular order:

1.  Low cost of living
2.  Ease of immigration and obtaining eventual residency
3.  Ease of starting a business and making income (other countries make this much harder!!)
4.  I can wear shorts and a tank top pretty much 365 days a year!
5.  Fresh, pesticide free fruits and vegetables; hormone free meat; free range eggs; locally produced dairy (cheese, milk, ice cream, sour cream, yogurt, etc.).
Bonus #6. Slow low stress way of life

1. Much, much less government interference
2. Easy, laid back lifestyle
3. Incredible reefs, ocean, caves and mountains
4. English speaking and friendly
5. Much more freedom than the U.S.

1. Please
2. Stop
3. Posting
4. On this
5. We can't move there yet and you are making me cry

Hello joemac.

Maybe you can share with us 5 good reasons for moving/living in Belize.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Tropical weather
easy ,relaxing life style
fresh produce
friendly people
putting creativity and survival instincts to test

Love all the posts.  Its sounds like paradise!  We have heard nothing but good things about the country.  We will be visiting in November for a week at the Almond Beach Resort and Sleeping Giant Lodge.  Any info on these two places is welcome. 

Thanks!

Our house is up for sale. As soon as it sells we will be there in 45 days. Our reason for moving:

1. Get away from Government interference.
2. Can grow our own organic food year round, and buy from others.
3. When ever we have been there friendly people, and many expats thinking the same as us.
4. Weather, we can do without the snow, and the rainy season makes things grow.
5. We can live much simpler. Get out of the rat race.

I stop only because he said 5. Thanks for all the other posts.

lack of industrial pollution and developement.

For me , personally:Counting Down
# 5 great beach at my place
#4 Friendliness of locals
#3 climate
#2 Excellent business and investment climate
Drum roll please................#1..  Lifestyle

I would love to live in a place like Belize, but have heard too much about very  scary police corruption and drug activities there. Why does that not bother any of you?

We just stay away from that stuff......Been here 10 years and I am still ok.  Love the weather, the prices, the friendly people that want my money.  lol  The beach, the language is a bonus but I do know some Spanish as I go to Mexico some.  Love the ruins, the sink holes, the forest.  Love the Mayan people.  Love there is no building codes in the country, just the city and not many of those.

The police may be lax, but I wouldn't say corruption is a problem unless you invite it. the druggies are like anywhere else, if you are not a participant in that type of behavior, chances are it won't be a problem other than some petty theft caused by addiction, not any worse than in any city in the US, Canada , or the world that is...Been here 10 years , never paid a bribe or done anything other than get my residency in a legal manner. I get along with the local police fine, am friends with one of the countries top cops and he told me that if i ever had a problem with any type of police corruption, call him and he would take immediate action to press charges on any cop that was seeking bribes or disrespecting his badge, and i believe him.

to LoveBelize,,, there are building codes now and CBA (Central Building Authority) is enforcing them in all new construction. You must have an architectural plan that is approved by CBA, and this is not a bad thing, it is something that is bringing the country forward, emerging from third world status.

Thanks for that info, I would like to live there as I said.The whole McAfee thing and a few other incidents made me think that it is the norm. If you could live there for 10 years without incident then maybe I can too. I want to believe that!

There is no building code for wood structures....I hope.  Actually if you want building codes for the good of whoever....Go back to where you came from and stop trying to change Belize to be the U.S. or Canada.

Thanks for the love Love Belize. i am not trying to make changes, take a pill......

Get a life...and stay out of other peoples.

tonymarsico wrote:

to LoveBelize,,, there are building codes now and CBA (Central Building Authority) is enforcing them in all new construction. You must have an architectural plan that is approved by CBA, and this is not a bad thing, it is something that is bringing the country forward, emerging from third world status.

I completely agree with Tony.  Building codes are there for the protection of the home buyer -- to make sure that things are built correctly and safely.  I can't imagine anyone having a problem with them unless they are a builder and hope to be able to cut corners.

I like having building codes, but I also see that this is a slippery slope to the way things are in the 'First World' where everything is controlled. Costs go way up, you can't move without approval. There are way too many horror stories about regulations. So I see both sides of this discussion. One of the reason we are moving to Belize is to get away from Government Interventionism.

You may be surprised just how much gov't intervention there is in Belize. Monthly visits to immigration to renew visitor's permits, car renewal permits( If you have a bond), work permits, import permits on some items and duty on most items which requires time, forms and payments, BAHA permits for pets, building permits, applications for Permanent residence or QRP- then there are regular police road checks, even when no infraction has been committed. No bribes needed or anything like that, the police have always been friendly and polite - but they still stop you.
If you want to set up a business, then it requires more permits and approvals. ie local labour office has to approve your business plan etc, etc
AND no I don't want to change it either- it's fine the way it is.
But if you are coming to Belize to avoid gov't intervention, and that is your primary motivation, you may want to reconsider, as you might end up being very unhappy with your choice.
There are many other reasons to love Belize, but lack of government involvement is not one of them.

I had 5 gallons of primer stolen off my front porch here in Belize.  This type of petty theft is annoying and best cured when I finally got my dog.  I am not concerned for 1 minute about my personal safety.

Regarding the DRUG TRADE, here in Belize that is largely a myth perpetrated by the United States DEA to continue to justify their existence.  Unfortunately, the USA "War on Terror" has spilled into Belize "airport security".  The tiny tin gods with their surly arrogance, staff several check points at the Belize airport. 

I am not one of those

To me, having been in business in the States for 30 years and 10 here. Gov't intervention as everyone is putting it, is still much less than the states for paying my taxes and for sticking their Gov't noses in my business in any wayt.The bottom line is, it is much easier to do my thing here than in the states. My bottom line is better because of it. I am certainly not trying to change anything or Americanize anything. I was just reporting the facts that the Gov't of Belize is trying to impose more building codes as well as raise the standards of subdividing by being sure that access roads are wide and permanent etc. It is not ME trying to change anything or that I miss these things , it is certainly the right of the Gov't of power where i am a guest in their country, to do as they feel they need to do, and if this change that the Gov't of Belize is viewed as moving forward or backwards, it is their right to do as it is their country, and if some folks don't like the way it is developing, perhaps it is not me who should  (quote) Go back to where you came from and stop trying to change Belize to be the U.S. or Canada., perhaps it is those that want to see nothing change, for better or worse, that should seek out a place where they can exist in their ivory tower and let progress or regress, however it is viewed,  stay at bay.

I personally do not have a problem with the Govt of Belize having some travel and immigration laws & asking me to pay monthly etc.  I am a GUEST in Belize and grateful for the opportunity to live here.

My point exactly.

I had one drug dealer living across the street from me.  Did the police bother him?  No......We moved 3 days before two guys got shot in our ditch.  If you pay attention there are drugs everywhere you just stay away from it and get a very big trained dog.  No problem  but it is not a supposed problem it is a problem.