What’s the ultimate expat experience in your opinion? Is it moving to take up a fast paced job in New York, living a sophisticated city life in Sydney, is it retiring to the rural heart of France, escaping the rat race in Canada’s wilderness or do you perhaps see yourself living the expat life in Belize on Ambergris Caye where well known American expat Lan Sluder describes the lifestyle in his book ‘San Pedro Cool’ as “beyond boredom, a bit before mass discovery and just this side of right.”(*)
In this article we’re going to look at the practical aspects of life on Ambergris Caye in Northern Belize where the beaches are beautiful, the lifestyle is laid back and where an increasing number of North American, British and Western European expatriates are setting their sights and setting up home.
Ambergris Caye and its main town of San Pedro are almost impossible to characterise and categorise in terms of the influences that pervade – sure there are Mexican, Caribbean, Spanish and somehow European influences apparent as well as the odd North American standard and practice, but in reality Ambergris Caye is like nowhere you have ever been before and is therefore such a tantalising draw for so many who have visited once and who now want to return more and more often and even return to reside permanently.
The good news is that if you’re interested in living in Belize, neither the nation nor Ambergris Caye are out of your reach. There are various visa and even tax free retirement approaches that you can consider (see Retire to Belize and Escape Taxation) and really the only restriction you have when it comes to choosing Ambergris over and above anywhere else in this Caribbean country is the car that you drive!
You have to have a special permit from San Pedro town council to bring your car to the island and so many people make do with no car, a golf cart or a bicycle. But, if you can’t live without your car you’ll just have to get a permit. For complete information about your entitlement to move or retire to Belize you should contact your nearest Belize embassy or consulate and when you’re living in Belize, if you require embassy assistance all international representatives with a local presence are located either in Belmopan which is the capital of Belize or in Belize City.
In terms of finding somewhere to live in San Pedro or elsewhere on Ambergris your options are increasing all the time as the island receives strong international interest from property developers who are now putting up apartment blocks, residential complexes and stand alone houses across the island. Alternatively you could consider something a little more traditional and you might even want to rent for a while and find your feet in your new country.
Rental properties are fairly easy to come by out of season and what’s more, hotels and guesthouses are far more likely to offer you preferential rates when you move to Belize out of season. You can then spend the amount of time you need to get established and determine which part of the island best suits you and your family. Even during the rainy season from July to November the weather generally isn’t so extreme and after a heavy downpour the sun will come back out and allow you to carry on exploring Ambergris.
Once you’re living in Belize you can open a local bank account and get a local cell or mobile phone sim so that you’re not paying international rates on all phone calls and your ATM charges are vastly reduced for local transactions. Other ways that you can save money and quickly get into the real way of life include shopping at street vendors for your fruit and veg and buying your beer by the case from the main distributor – but be warned…if you’re moving to Ambergris Caye for a cheap cost of living you might be in for a nasty surprise.
The vast majority of goods have to be imported and so this fact coupled with taxation and handling fees means that food and beverages in supermarkets, stores and at restaurants and cafes can be as expensive or up to doubly as expensive as US prices. You can shop around a little locally, but there is a limit on the discretion in prices dictated by the close proximity of all shops to each other!
And finally, on Ambergris Caye you can find pretty much anything and everything from a small hospital to a specialist wine shop, from internet cafes to someone who’ll rent you a golf cart by the hour…this is a special place, a small place and not a place where you should move if you want a fast paced, first world lifestyle but somewhere that could be perfect for you if you’re seeking a stunning location with friendly people and an exceptionally decent standard of living in a tax free tropical paradise.
*Lan Sluder’s books about living in Belize are available from his website.
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