Peaceful, Sun-Drenched Eco-Escape
As the only English-speaking country in Central America, Belize has been attracting expats in the know from the U.K., the United States, and Canada for decades…
Unassuming little Belize is one of the top live and invest overseas options in the world today, offering safe haven for you and your money. Banking and financial services are important parts of Belize’s economy, but they’re not as important as tourism…
An Eco Wonderland
It’s also home to the second-longest barrier reef in the world… its coasts are some of the world’s best for snorkeling and scuba diving…
And these waters are a fisherman’s paradise. Maybe you saw Matt Lauer’s NBC “Today Show” special that highlighted the beauty and significance of Belize’s reef system.
This country is a peaceful, eco-tourist retreat, home to more than 540 species of birds, 4,000 species of flowering plants, and 700 species of trees. Nearly 40% of Belize is protected as parkland and nature preserves.
Belize is home to the world’s biggest concentration of Mayan sites. Two of the most spectacular are Lamanaii, the largest continually occupied city in the Maya world, and ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal), to the west, in the Cayo District. To reach it, you travel through a forest and then swim through a cave…
Belize is rain forest tours, horseback riding in the mountains, hikes to the 1,000 Foot Falls (one of the largest in Central America), and pristine rivers cascading into shallow pools perfect for an afternoon swim…
A Friendly Safe Haven
A country of but 300,000 people, most of them farmers and fisherman, and home to a large community of Mennonites, Belize is one of the safest places I’ve ever spent time.
I’m not alone in this opinion. “Open Road” travel guide says this country is “Peaceful and non-meddlesome, blissfully unimportant… Belize rarely merits attention in any foreign newspaper.”
Belize is full of warm, wonderful people. As Correspondent Phil Hahn, who divides his time between Belize and the States, explains, “I’ve felt at home in Belize since my first visit in 2003, and, since then, I’ve worked to make it my second home. I return monthly. When I took my family with me on one of my early visits so they could see what I was so excited about, my children said, ‘Dad, you have more friends here than you do at home.’ They’re right.
“These friends I’ve made in Belize have come from all over the world, and all have fascinating stories. Some are adventurers, others educators or entrepreneurs, some salt-of-the-earth folks looking to make new lives.”
Most people you meet in Belize have two common characteristics. They are hospitable, and they are fiercely independent. The average Belizean—including those who’ve adopted this country as their homeland—would choose to live in a humble home and off the land and sea rather than be beholding to someone. This country operates according to an old-school mentality that many of the world’s more developed nations seem to have forgotten.
Consider Sue, for example. She’s the proprietress of Amigo’s, a popular Belizean watering hole, who came to the country in the early 1980s. She was dating a guy at the time who had decided to check out the opportunities in Costa Rica. He and his dad were at the Miami airport waiting for the flight.
After several drinks, they realized they’d missed their plane. So they went to the ticket counter and told the agent to book them on the next flight headed south. A couple of hours later they were in Belize. Shortly after that, Sue was starting her first business in her new country (a sand, gravel, and concrete company). She has been an independent businesswoman ever since. After the concrete business, Sue ventured into agriculture, then into the restaurant/hotel supply business, then, in 2004, she built Amigo’s.
Another expat in this country, Rev. Macarena Rose, who moved to Belize in 2004, describes coming to this country from Florida as “a lateral move.”
With its English language, common law tradition, private property rights, and abundant natural attractions, it’s easy to see why expats feel so at home here.
The Good And Simple Life
Belize is little-known. This country has kept its head down. No one pays it any attention, and Belize is keen to keep it that way.
In the context of the current global climate of woes and worries, Belize stands out.
This is where the world comes to escape.
Belize has attracted the attention of Baby Boomers, who have been making their way to this country in growing numbers. Walk down the street on Ambergris Caye, for example, and you hear the music of the Boomers all around—the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin…
These folks had a great time in the 1960s… then they got serious about living their lives, raising their children, and building something for themselves and their families.
Meantime, today, the world they worked so hard to create for themselves seems under attack from all sides.
They… you… me… we’re all trying to reclaim our footing.
In this context, Belize looks seriously appealing.
Bottom line, Belize has what a lot of people in North America are looking for right now. This little country with a long Caribbean coast may be off the global radar, but you might do well to put it center of yours.
Belize is the simple life defined… rustic is an understatement in some cases.
With all but four highways… no chain stores or franchises… no shopping malls…iffy Wi-Fi… and perhaps the ultimate in laidback attitude…
Belize isn’t for everyone.
Is Belize for you?
There’s only one way to find out. Come see the country for yourself.
Kat Kalashian
Editor, LIOS Confidential
