Why Independents, Freethinkers May Fall in Love with Belize

Editor’s Note: This story appeared on Live and Invest Overseas.

For me and Belize, it was love at first sight.

From the morning I arrived in Belize City, almost 40 years ago, I got off the plane and entered the runway, threw my bag over my shoulder, pulled on my sunglasses, and walked across the tarmac to the one-room international airport, I was blown away.

It wasn’t something I could put my finger on. Just a feeling. Like falling in love. You know when it hits.

Belize City can be described as the Calcutta of the Caribbean. That description is inappropriate, but it does not refer to Belize but to Belize City and it does not refer to the heart and soul of this country but to other parts of the city where, unfortunately, its international airport is located.

Belize’s Raw, Natural Beauty

As I was captivated by the experience of being in Belize, even I, being young and ignorant, realized that Belize City was not a fun place. This hasn’t changed in the decades since, but it didn’t matter to me then and it doesn’t matter now.

What won me over on that first visit was the raw, natural beauty of the place, the simple, sweet charm of life here, and the tenacity of the Belizean people. I connected immediately.

On that first visit, I met a number of expats from Belize that I had developed friendships with that I treasure. Visit after visit, in the years that followed, helped me to get to know this country founded by pirates, for suppliers, where independence and free thinking are more important than anything else.

These are the qualities that I value the most. Instinctively, when I set my feet on the ground for the first time in this country, I knew that Belize and I were made for each other.

Belize is the strangest place I know. The streets of Belize City are built around a circular system (thanks to its British colonies), but the shops around it sell rice, beans and tortillas by hand.

Everyone you meet speaks English (the official language of the country), but this contradicts their stories of origin.

The Land of Freedom Seekers

The 400,000 people living in Belize today are descendants of immigrants from Britain, yes, but also from the surrounding countries of Central America.

You have Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, and Nicaraguans mixing with today’s generations of Maya who originally inhabited the land, bandits who came later, Mennonite farmers who first arrived on the scene in the 20th century, the British who ruled until 1981, and more.

Belize is a country of people who want freedom. The bandits came to sell to the bandits without being seen. Mennonites came from Germany and the Netherlands to become Mennonites without anyone bothering them. The British came to be able to bank privately.

And people from surrounding countries who have sought Belize in recent decades have crossed the country’s borders in search of safety.

Today, now, a new generation of freedom seekers are finding their way to these shores: Us.

Belize is a nation of independent thinkers and doers, a country where you make your own way and where, while you’re doing it, no one stands in the way of your efforts.

Including the government of Belize. This is a poor country. The government does not have enough money to deal with any real problem. And, if they tried, Belizeans wouldn’t allow it.

Here the focus is on local government – dealing with crime problems in certain areas of Belize City or trying to stop the Guatemalan banditos who are always roaming Belize looking for a few nice horses to steal.

Check Your Concerns at the Border

When you arrive in Belize, get off the plane, and go to the one-room arrival hall of the airport, you still have the feeling today, just like I did 40 years ago when I first touched down in Belize, of leaving the rest of the world behind.

Belize and its people operate according to their own laws and mind their own business. The problems, uncertainties, and worries that seem to consume Stateside and elsewhere in the world disappear here. You are dealing with a land that remains a frontier, underdeveloped and with great power.

Belize is something else – one of the world’s most accessible options for establishing an overseas residence. Don’t just show up.

Where the Heck is Belize?

Belize has been attracting migrants from the UK, United States and Canada for decades. However, many would have trouble identifying the country on a map and many people think it is an island.

It is not, of course, although it includes several Caribbean islands beyond Belize City. Shops at the airport sell t-shirts that ask, “Where the H#&% is Belize?”

The good news is that the country is close to the United States and accessible.

Belize is easy to get to, and, once you’re here, it’s easy to get around and do whatever you want to do. The country is united and the language is English.

The Many Faces of Little Belize

Don’t be fooled by its size. You can get from one end of Belize to the other in half a day by car or half an hour by plane. The country’s domestic air travel system is its most advanced infrastructure.

Despite this, Belize has many faces.

Belize City

First is Belize City – poor, underdeveloped, and, in some parts, unsafe. I have no problem with the place. Beneath the glitter, I see a charm that has faded. Or maybe I’m projecting one. Either way, I enjoy passing by, but I know that, for many, the best part of visiting Belize City is leaving Belize City.

Caribbean Seas

Belize is perhaps best known and loved for its Caribbean islands, especially Ambergris Caye, the largest and most developed, boasting both long beaches of soft, white sand and an aging and growing community of expats and expats. This is the best of the Caribbean.

The long coastline of Belize is marked by two points of particular interest. South of Belize City is Placencia; to the north is Corozal.

Placencia has grown in recent years to become the continent’s most designated beach town, catering to tourists and now sporting the array of attractions that come with it. Corozal boasts easy access to Chetumal, across the Gulf of Mexico, which can be a huge advantage in the event of a medical emergency. On the other hand, day by day, you may feel distant here. Maybe that’s a plus for you… maybe a minus.

The northern coast around Corozal sees about 50 inches of rain per year. The south coast, Placencia and south, can see three times that. Maybe that bothers you… maybe it doesn’t.

Cayo

Inland is the Cayo Region, a very different region where life does not revolve around the sea but the river. For some, river views are no substitute for ocean vistas; others love them.

In other words, each region of Belize has its pluses and minuses. Life on an island is always more expensive than life on the mainland, which means that Ambergris is the most expensive lifestyle in the country. It is very expensive and highly developed and unlocks.

Cayo offers the opportunity to enjoy a healthy, fulfilling, laid-back, and abundant lifestyle, thanks to the abundance of fertile land, water, and year-round sunshine. Cayo is also Belize’s most affordable lifestyle destination.

Infrastructure

The British left a large legal, educational, and governmental foundation in Belize but not much in the way of natural infrastructure.

Huge investments have been made in recent years to improve the country’s roads and bridges. However, to put things into perspective for you, Belize has only a few highways.

The most important artery in the country is the Western Highway, which connects Belize City (the largest city), Belmopan (the capital), and San Ignacio (the largest city in Cayo).

Not only road infrastructure but general infrastructure is limited in Belize. This is a small country where infrastructure is most kindly described as “developing.”

No infrastructure, limited resources and resources, and low market demand (meaning limited product supply) can be interpreted as negative. However, in Belize, especially Cayo, these things are a big part of the appeal. Once you arrive in Cayo, you don’t have to worry about the lack of infrastructure.

You don’t mind that the culture is more focused on conservation than shopping. You don’t mind … or, if you do, you’re not happy.

If you are looking for a lifestyle supported by the distractions and distractions of a big city, Cayo is probably not for you and probably not anywhere else in Belize.

I fell in love with Belize over 30 years ago and it has become one of the most important relationships of my life.

I know Belize well, better than anyone else you will ever meet. I know the real Belize … and I love her as she is.