I quit my job and moved to Belize – Part II

Why did you move to Belize?  I partly answered this in Part I, but I didn’t explain why we chose Belize.

You’ve gone on vacation and not wanted to leave, right? Aaron and I were looking for a place like that where we could actually picture a life after the novelty of beautiful beaches and perfect weather wore off (maybe that doesn’t ever wear off…..).  We knew we wanted the ocean, a tropical climate, and somewhere off the beaten path.  We also knew we would be restricted somewhat by immigration.  We are from Canada, the friendliest nation in the world, but not every country will easily accept us just on a smile and good looks.  Some wanted you to prove you had a bazillion in the bank to support yourself.  Some needed detailed business plans to show how you would contribute to their economy, etc.  After two years of passive research, we made the short list which consisted of Belize and Costa Rica.  We booked a 10 day vacation to the island of Ambergris Caye off the North Eastern coast of Belize in a town called San Pedro.

A few years ago there were no paved roads on the island.  Just sand roads.  That was ok because the main mode of transportation is golf cart.  (There are some paved roads and cobblestone streets now).  Needless to say we had a blast exploring this tiny island in a golf cart.  The food was delicious, the scenery was stunning and the people were incredibly friendly.  It seemed to have everything you could need readily available.  The national language is English and everyone speaks it along with a couple others (Spanish and Kriol).  It was hard to stop ourselves from ordering “una cerveza, por favor” and just ask for a beer!  English as the primary language was a huge perk on the list of ‘pros’ for beautiful Belize.  We loved it so much we never did go to Costa Rica.  We immediately found a piece of beach front land and bought it.  That was September of 2016.  We had land and we had a 5 to 10 year plan to make the move.

So, why and how are we in Belize less than two years later?  Stay tuned for Part III…

“Get busy living or get busy dying” — Raine (and Shawshank Redemption, obviously)