Despite the fact that Belize was a British colony from 1862 until 1981 and is still an independent member of the British Commonwealth to this day, we Britons know very little about this tropical paradise. Yet Belize can offer retiring Brits a tax-free place to live, and it can give anyone looking for a laid back and affordable life a very good standard of living.
So we have decided to create an A – Z guide to living in Belize, covering the main elements you may wish to know about as you do your research into whether former British Honduras could serve you well as a new destination to live, work or retire to abroad. This guide will cover many of the basic questions you have about everything from Internet access to healthcare, and should serve as a lead in to more detailed research of this really fascinating country.
If you’re looking for a new place to live, where the weather is tropical, the landscape is beautiful, the people are welcoming and the cost of living in low, Belize could tick many of the boxes on your new nation wish list. But if you want to fill in the blanks in terms of your knowledge about this country, read on…
A - Ambergris Caye - according to TripAdviser.com and their latest tourism destination rankings, this hugely popular resort in Belize is the No. 2 Relaxation & Spa Destination in Central and South America; it also warrants a place in their Top 25 Destinations in Central and South America and is in the top 10 for their best Beach & Sun Destinations in Central and South America. In other words, not only is this one of the most beautiful parts of Belize, it is likely to now become even more popular as the international push behind its tourism appeal increases.
C – Currency - the currency in Belize is the Belize dollar and it’s fixed 2 to 1 to the US dollar – although at the border you can sometimes get a slightly more favourable rate of exchange if you’re handing over US dollars. There has been low level rumblings about changing the economy to be US dollar based, but there is currently no appetite for this change. If you enter the country and have US dollars in your pocket, they will be accepted in most business establishments.
D – Drugs - despite the fact that Belize has quite a reputation as being a shipping port for drug transportation throughout the world, drugs are illegal in the nation and anyone breaching the laws face harsh punishment. A lot of the crime in the country is related to the drug trade, so stay well clear of narcotics if you want to avoid danger! Taking a risk for the sake of a quick high is just not worth it.
E – Economy - like most of the rest of the world Belize’s economy has been hit by the global recession, however even before negative external economic factors impacted on this nation, the external debt and budget deficit were high. Last year tourism revenue was down – although Belize was not as badly hit as many Caribbean countries – and this of course is worrying for the ongoing economic path of development. The government is looking at restructuring taxation – for example it has proposed an increase in VAT already, but one should expect to see further measure implemented to get the countries finances back on track.
F – Fuel Prices Belize has the highest petrol prices in the whole of Central America, and the rate of inflation in fuel terms is high. Our latest information from the beginning of this month shows that petrol has hit 5 US dollars a gallon locally.
H – Haggling - read many of our articles and you’ll see we often advocate haggling – especially in this economic day and age! However, in Belize haggling is really reserved for property and the marketplace only. I.e., haggling and bargaining are not the norm elsewhere – that said, I don’t think it ever hurts to ask for a discount, particularly on big ticket items and especially if you’re holidaying in Belize out of season for example! Just don’t haggle to aggressively otherwise you might be thrown out of the shop/hotel/restaurant.
H – Hurricanes - Belize does encounter hurricanes with the season officially running from June to November in that neck of the woods; however, history tells us that the two worst potential months for tropical storms and hurricanes are September and October and that Belize will be hit on average once every two and a half years by a serious hurricane. There is nothing you can do to stop this natural phenomenon, and you really need to think carefully about protecting your property from the potential of a serious storm. Economically a hurricane is a drain on the local economy of course – and insuring against such disasters is expensive.
M – Murder Rate - according to the latest police statistics, in the first two weeks of April there were seven murders in Belize, and according to BelizeFirst.com in 2008 there were more murders in Belize than in Manhattan. In other words, crime is higher in Belize on a proportional scale of population than in nations such as the UK and America. In part this is because of the massive wealth discrepancies that exist. As a potential expatriate thinking about living in Belize it will be important to factor in security when thinking about where you will live and how you will live.
O – Opening Hours - most shops and businesses outside the main tourism haunts are open from 8 – 5 on weekdays with many shops also opening on Saturdays at least for the morning. It’s quite common for places of business to close over the lunch hour and some banks are only open for half a day at the beginning of the week. In tourism centres the businesses stay open to serve demand.
P - Personal Safety - despite the fact that Belize’s Police Commissioner has said that the latest statistics show that crime is falling in Belize, according to people on the ground the local feeling is that they now feel less safe than they did even just one year ago. Personal safety in Belize is a required consideration – whether you’re a tourist or a resident you need to keep your wits about you. The murder rate in Belize is higher than in Manhattan – despite the fact the population in Manhattan in is about 4 times as high! From gun crime to personal robberies, crime is a serious concern, but you can protect yourself and your property from opportunistic crime by taking sensible security measures.
P – Property in Belize - Belize has a wonderful array of properties and the good news is that as a foreign buyer you have rights to own freehold title to most real estate. In terms of what your budget can buy you, it absolutely depends on where you want to live! In the most popular and populated locations from Belize City to San Ignacio from Corozal to Ambergris Caye the property prices are higher – simply because demand is more intense. What’s more, the most popular tourism resorts command high prices too – but in terms of what your money can buy you today, the local newspaper offers up the following examples: - you can buy 20 acres of development land exactly 10 miles from both San Ignacio and Belmopan for USD 225,000, you can buy a partially completed new build home for USD 23,000 near the village of Ontario or you can buy a villa on the beach in Placencia for USD 250,000. So as you can see, there are a whole host of options available to you in Belize depending on what you’re looking for.
R – Retired Persons Incentive Programme - in a bid to encourage ‘wealthy’ migrants to relocate to Belize and bring their affluence and skills to the country, Belize has a retired persons incentive programme in place that allows qualifying individuals and their families to move to live tax-free in Belize and import their household effects and a mode of transport (from a yacht to a plane to a boring old car!) to Belize also tax-free. You have to be in receipt of a healthy monthly income from a pension or qualifying investment and you cannot earn any form of income from Belize, but other than that the criteria for acceptance are very straightforward.
T – Taxation - only income sourced in Belize is taxed as income in Belize – so if you’re moving to live in the country and you earn your income from a business or investments back home, or you have an internet business with your servers and presence and income source outside of the country, you can potentially live 10% income tax-free in Belize. However, there are other taxes you need to bear in mind! VAT (known as GST in Belize) is currently 10% but rising to 12.5%. It’s charged on all the usual items! There is a massive tax on fuel – just like there is in the UK, and alcohol and tobacco products are also taxed. Import duty is charged at between 20 and 80%, personal income tax, (if you have to pay it), ranges from 25 – 45% and corporation tax ranges from 0.75% to 25% depending on the sector you’re in and your turnover. There are property taxes and property transfer taxes too…see P – Property in Belize.
V – VAT - the government has recently announced that they are going to take VAT from 10% and increase it to 12.5% in a bid to ease the budget deficit hole the Belizean economy is struggling with. VAT is called GST in Belize.
W – Weather - the good thing about Belize is that it is frost-free all year round because it’s a mainly subtropical climate – the bad thing is that a subtropical climate brings humidity, the risk of hurricanes, tropical storms, flooding and even forest fires after the long dry season! So, you have to be ready to acclimatise to Belize if you want to get the most from the weather! The country has 2 seasons, the dry season running from December to May with February, March and April the driest months and May the hottest, and the wet season that runs from June to November – and as most of the country is subtropical it can be likened to the climate in Southern Florida in America.
