Safety? in 2019??

I have never felt unsafe in Belize, despite the fact that there is violent crime there-like everywhere else. However, for the most part, it seems to be Belizean against Belizean. There have been some murders of American expats in the recent past, though that type of crime is not rampant. It has been 'mistaken identity', or 'unintended victim', or theft-related for the most part.
Like anywhere else - be aware of your surroundings, be careful who you befriend, stay out of bars late at night, stay out of the south side of Belize City, don't flash your wealth/jewelry, and walk away from any type of confontation.
I don't think you should necessarily exclude Belize. It's a beautiful country with lots of opportunity, but you should visit before making any decision. Spend a few weeks there in different areas in different 'seasons' to have a better understanding of the country, and the people. Good luck in your quest.

We did much the same thing last year. Stayed in three places for up to ten days. We chose San Ignacio ultimately to build a cabin for retirement/vacation rental. Seems as safe as most places I have been including Toronto, San Fransisco and Rome. Better than Montego Bay, and Progresso.

Thank you for your input. It's good to know that as a person living there, you feel safe. I was wondering how much all of these crimes affect those of you there - because the population is so small. I don't have an issue with the common sense things (staying out of trouble, not flashing any wealth, ect) it's the mistaken identity, violent thefts and the innocent people getting caught up in the cross hairs of the bad guys that scares me the most. The radom acts.
May I ask how long you've lived there please? Do you consider any area safer than another? (Besides Belize city).
We were considering the Corozal area, but I've just read about too many murders there. It's freaky. Do you think Placencia is safer? Or another area?
Safety is my number one concern (and then the bugs!) :-) I think if we can get over those two things, Belize may be a good fit for us (in our limited view). We were going to come this summer because I want to see the rainy season and what it's like (because I want to see it at its worst).  - in your opinion- what would be the “worst” month.
Thanks again for all you shared.

Hi BCLawerence, thank you as well for your input :-)
Are you living in Belize now? Would you recommend your area, for a farming family? Thank you

Hello EliseLouise,
We are from a farming background in Alberta, like you, and came to Belize looking for a more laid back (and warmer) place to retire. We have settled near Spanish Lookout in the Cayo District (the breadbasket of Belize). We specifically chose this area after checking out all the other districts, because of all the farming and it is so much like the farming areas back in Alberta. We love it here. Also there is a very large Canadian population here.
We stayed a while in the Corozal area. Many people like that area, but to us, it was too busy, crowded and just not peaceful. Also, we found a better selection of fruits and vegetables in the Cayo District. Spanish Lookout has very modern shopping, albeit more like shopping at the general stores in Alberta in the 60s. (They even have a huge John Deere dealership!)  It is half way between two major cities in Cayo District - Belmopan, the Capital of the country, and Santa Elena/San Ignacio thriving twin cities.
We have never felt unsafe in this country. The biggest problem is the media who build up a little bit of crime into something huge. The percentage of crime is based on population and because the population is small it ends up being a large percentage. But that would be like my home town which for years was called the "murder capital of Canada" because 2 people were murdered there! If the media were to analyse cities in Canada and the United States with the same lens they use for Belize, then everyone would be advised to stay away from all our cities as well!
We have friends here who are home-schooling their 8 children and it is working very well for them. (We are retired with no young children, so only have second-hand advice here).
We would love to see more Albertans move to our area - we have a few friends already here from Alberta. The more the merrier!

Elise.

I agree with the few who have already replied about crime here.
A lot of the crime stats are from Belize City area and drug related, gang-on-gang

Yes there has been crime against expats and in every district, but some of these have their own specifics, which I would never get into on a public forum!!

Just as anywhere new, you have to adjust to the local area of choice and use your common sense.


Every area has its own +/-, I personally prefer the north in the district of Corozal and more specifically Consejo area.

Consejo area has lots going for it, very quiet, good value, less rain, close to the water, close to Mexico (shopping), some great communities, including 'Mayan Seaside', 'Wagners Landings', 'Consejo Shores',  & the newest being 'Consejo Landings'.
There is also acreage and small holdings available along the Consejo road


As most will advise, research your requirements and try to dwindle your choice areas down to 3, visit all areas for at least a couple of month before deciding which suits you best,,,, Dont forget the further South you get, is a whole different place in the wet season.

As far as looking for somewhere to buy, if this is in your plan, I would say wait until you are here and ask locally.
You could research areas for cost comparison, but its always wise to have feet on the ground when actually buying.

Good luck
Hit me up if you need more info on the area of Consejo, if I don't know the answer I am sure I know someone who does

Cheers
John

My friends down  thataway told me about this just the other day
“An American national and his wife were at home when 4 masked men entered their home.
The American national and his wife were attacked.The culprits demanded money and jewelry and escaped with an assortment of items.
The total value of the items is estimated at $17,000.”
This was  in Consejo. The man was stabbed in the arm
Let me guess
“ crime is everywhere”
“Be aware of your surroundings”
“ get a dog, build a wall”
Of course the retort from Placencia  is likely to be a personal attack or irrelevant  remarks. Thats pretty standard.
Thing is that Belize is no longer safe for expat relocation.
Glad I got  out when I did.

And that has never happened anywhere else in the whole world, Belize must be uniquely bad. 
Or maybe Susan, who no longer lives in Belize, feels it is important to bolster her  own decision  to leave by making every post she puts on this Belize site pointing out any and all individual crimes she hears about, as though they only happen there.

I live in Belmopan/cayo rural area lots of farming around us and I feel very safe.
We have Two houses  in a compound on 42 acres and we do have  dog, and ground floor doors and windows have attractive iron burglar bars. Our houses were built to fit into the Belize cultural landscape and are moderate and not huge concrete oversized places.
We did have a  large tree stolen about 4 years ago, My son heard chain saws on our land ( noise travels in the jungle)  he went towards the sound with his dog and trusty machete. He found three guys with  Chain saws, and a minder with a gun in a holster cowboy fashion. The large tree was almost down. When my son asked what they were doing. He pretended to believe the story they told, that  they had been duped and paid $100 each for 3 trees in that area ( he later found the other two with spray painted crosses on)  to an american in a bar who claimed they were  on his land, and were told they could  chop the trees.
He calmly explained  that  it was in fact our land and while he was sorry they were cheated, asnit was too late to save this tree they could not  touch any other trees.
He left them to it, going back a few hours later. They had finished the job including taking the tree  roots and left, actually it was left quite tidy. He has never seen any of those  guys again.
Had my son gone in yelling and screaming, waving that Machete maybe I would not have a son.  No one ever came back for more.

This couple were sensible to hand over the valuables.  That seems lot of expensive stuff to keep on hand. Not sure if we could scrape up that amount of valueables  in both our homes, without removing appliances, and probably the local population realize it. We employ  local handy man, used local builders and tradesmen for our needs, and my son is distinctive enough to be quite well known in the town.
I have always wondered why expats want to live in exclusively expat areas.
Get to know your  neighborhood, and meet and work with the local population ,they can often tell you so much about your own property as they know its history. It all makes life safer and happier in any country.

That's fear mongering Susan. This report was just recently issued regarding a community near where I live in Canada. Do you think I should run away from there and warn people not to come to Canada?

"Four people have been arrested in connection to an armed rural home invasion during which two people were assaulted and robbed.
The suspects, two men and two women from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, were arrested Sunday. Charges against them are pending.
Police also recovered the vehicle that was stolen during the break-in.
The robbery was reported to police on May 19 around 7:10 a.m. by two people from a rural home near St. Paul.
The victims told police four people entered the home and one threatened them with a firearm. Both victims suffered minor injuries in the assault.
Cell phones, an ATV and a vehicle were stolen from the property."

Crimes happen in every town and country in the world. Belize is just as safe as anywhere else.

Comparing Belize to Canada is invalid. The homicide rate there 1.7/100k vs Belize at 45/100k. Mexico is 22/100k with Merida at only 2/100k. As for crime resolution in general it is 70% in Canada vs 5% in Belize. In any event I didn't leave Belize because of safety concerns but because Mexico was 1/3 less costly with better amenities and commodities. I also found Belize to be a lazy inefficient culture but that could  be me as a nurse mgr in an ICU for 30y. Of course having seen Belize advanced care services I would advise staying healthy and avoiding major injury

SusanBelize wrote:

Comparing Belize to Canada is invalid.

Dear SusanMexico thanks for bringing up the concept of invalid.

1) Your drive by shooting method of trashing one country while promoting another is totally INVALID for the purpose of this forum.

Expat.com is a collection of forums, each subset represents a different country.  If everyone did as you do, IE simply promote a country by trashing another country then Expat.com would have little value.

2) The glowing statistics promoting Mexico you publish here (often), are fake.
The true body count in Mexico is never put into that countries statistics. The mass murders by the drug and sex trafficking Mexican cartels controlling vast areas of Mexico, are suppressed by the government, therefore the stats are INVALID. The Mexican cartels operate freely and successfully using fear and intimidation. The Mexican government is embarrassed by the true lawlessness and vast power exercised by the cartels so the valid statistics are suppressed.

Thank you Will the Old!

The stats for Los Cabos, Acapulco, and Tijuana are in excess of 100/100k. They are very low for Quintana Roo in general. This kind of  regional  variation in Belize used to centre on BzE with gang-gang drug violence. Not so much now. Home invasions are routine. Expats make good targets, So does the mayor of San Ignacio. 
Home invasions are rare here. My good friend in Leon Nic says they are almost  unheard of there, last one was 2015. .This despite higher poverty than Belize. They have better policing apparently.
Comparisons are useful for expat wannabes. Its an antidote to the rose glassers
Enough drive by for now. I need to go in the pool with a glass of Puligny Montrachet ( dios bendigo a Sams)
Stay well. You don't  want to be in a Belizean ICU.
A la prochaine Will
Best regards
Sue

Wow Thank you so very much for ALL the post contributions. Very, VERY much! I really appreciate it. It DOES help, even the negative ones. I just want reality - good or bad. And It's useful to see all sides and differing opinions. 
I'm sorry for not contributing myself, I have no idea how I missed all these! My email notification must not be working......my apologies for seeming like I dropped the ball.

Bmcraig, thank you! And hello from Alberta!! How cool it was for me to read a post from a fellow Albertan!   :-) 
The area in Alberta that you're from.....in regards to the crime, I understand what you're saying. We live in the same sort of area (who knows, maybe even the same one! Haha. Wetaskiwin?)
My husband and I decided, from all the posters who contributed, (thank you again) that we need to come and see for ourselves. We were crossing it off the list completely but, maybe it's a little premature for that.
In regards to being a fellow Albertan - what is your opinion of the bugs? As you know - we don't have many to speak of here, with none of them being poisonous, so was that a huge adjustment? How often are they a legitimate problem?
Those are pretty much my biggest concerns.....crime and bugs (well. and having to learn another language, which is what makes Belize so attractive) but  If we can get past those barriers I think we'll be okay. All other cultural changes seem to be way less intimidating.
Thanks again

Hi SusanBelize,
Thanks for your contribution to my question. We're considering Mexico as well, but one of my MAJOR hesitations is the fact that nobody in my family knows any spanish at all. How well, in reality, do you think we would get along at first? I'm thinking it would be especially difficult to adjust and get to know any locals which would make the move that much harder. Did you know any Spanish before you moved there?
I was concerned about safety in mexico as well, but I've seen enough about people saying they feel safe, ect, and the crime rate in Merida is indeed, very low. Although that's attractive- How do you feel safety wise about the rest of the country? What about rurally? Do you feel safe driving around? Or even Driving in general? I've read that Mexican people are amazingly friendly but can be quite aggressive drivers. As a Canadian, what are your thoughts on it? Also, are many expats living rurally? Thanks for your thoughts.

EliseLouise wrote:

Wow Thank you so very much for ALL the post contributions. Very, VERY much! I really appreciate it. It DOES help, even the negative ones. I just want reality - good or bad. And It's useful to see all sides and differing opinions. 
.

Dear EliseLouise:
In my experience the folks that adjust long term to the many differences in Belize, come with a serious sense of adventure, and little things such as insects and other critters really thriving in tropical climates are simply brushed off as a fact of life.

From reading the tone of your concerns about a couple of things, and most likely 1,000 other things North Americans take for granted, things that are vastly, different in Belize, I seriously doubt you would be happy in Belize long term.

So yes, do come check it out for a few weeks, I could be wrong.

I have to agree with Will  you need to come to Belize and without preconceived ideas, of how safe or un safe it is gleaned from those who never settled into the place, or basing it on numbers on a chart. Yes bugs are here but also easy to get Insect repellent. Travel to different areas ( all have different levels of bugs) explore and make up your own mind.

GM EliseLouise,
I try not to post here too often as it stresses Will.
Because I lived in Northern Belize learning basic Spanish was easy as the locals don't speak English day to day. Because I know French, Spanish was not hard. You can get by with basic phrases. For complex interactions if needed  there are inexpensive translators available.
I  enjoy the amenities and conveniences of North America and Merida offers that. So do other venues in Mexico. It is very safe here. It is easily 35% less expensive than Belize. This is esp true for fuel and utilities. Non basic medical care in Belize is crap. I did a consulting gig for the Belize nursing council so I tell people to not get very sick or injured there. Merida is on par with Canada/USA.
Bugs are a problem outside the towns and repellants are not effective for some species (doctor flies) and does not mix well with the  sweat that constantly flows. Of course Merida is very hot but AC is more common as electricity is very cheap and more reliable.
My experience with crime in Belize is petty theft. I have so  far had none of that here. But in the two years since I left violent crime has apparently  picked up in Belize
Mexicans are friendly and helpful but not overly intrusive.
Hope this helps
Regards
Sue

EliseLouise-
So this is my take – it just depends on what you are looking for. There are advantages and disadvantages to both areas, and everywhere has crime, including violent crime.  If you want a more “NA lifestyle/experience” then MX is probably a better option. If you are looking for a less developed area with a slower pace, then BZ might be your choice. We chose BZ for a lot of reasons, including the cost and availability of land, a British-based government with English as the official language, less population density, a welcoming and friendly people, more diverse geography and topography, a more laid-back lifestyle, lots of ex-pat communities, and the opportunity to pursue interests like fishing, hiking, kayaking, exploring, and more. Don't make your decision based on other people's comments – find out for yourself.
PS-I have had more issues with bugs in north FL, south AL, than in BZ, and the worst mosquitoes I have ever encountered were in the UP of Michigan.

Hi Louise,

Not being there I totally understand your concerns. But the best advice I can give you is to come, stay for a few months then decide. We did that last year. Had a three year old & I was pregnant. We stayed for 6 months & now we've packed up our life in the U.K. live in the corozal region which is what we settled on. Inbox me any question you might have & am happy to help & if your around will give you our local number for when/if you are in corozal.

With love,

Asli

I would stay away from belize city and corozal. We bought a place on the humming bird highway. North west of dangriga. It seems to be the safest and most beautiful part of the country. Mostly orange grooves and small farms only 20 min from the coast ant 35 min from belmopan the capital it is centrally located in the country. Less tourism less crime.
Michael
Ontario Canada