You’ve thought about it, you’ve visited and now you’re ready to start a life in Belize. Maybe it’s full time or maybe it’s part time but either way it’s some of the time. I remember when I ultimately made the decision to move to Belize and when it started to sink in. I was full of feelings of excitement, apprehension and fear. Hopefully you are a little more prepared than I was but either way I suspect the feelings are the same – moving to a new country is a big deal.
At this point you have most likely decided whether you want to rent or own a place in Belize and have looked around at your options during your visit[s]. You have decided how to get your belonging to Belize and possibly you know if you want to come in the country on the QRP, a worker’s permit, on a temporary tourist stamp or are shooting for residency. You get to Belize – it’s your first week – so what do you do now?
On my very first day in Belize my mom and I found someone to show us around town. The woman we bought our place from is an expat from Canada and she was helpful enough to take us around Corozal to show us where everything is, she also introduced us to other expats she is friends with. We also didn’t have a working vehicle at the time – the one we had needed some repairs before it could be driven – so we walked everywhere and talked to almost everyone we saw. As soon as we told people we were new in town, they wanted to offer advice and help us out. Everyone was incredibly friendly.
Our goal while we were in Belize was to start a bar and grill. We needed a lot of help on this subject – we knew some of the basics from doing research online and from talking to the woman who owned the bar we purchased but we needed to go through all the steps ourselves and the only way we started to get this information was to go around town asking people. I would highly suggest that this be your first step in Belize no matter what your circumstances are. Go around town and start striking up conversation with everyone. Don’t hesitate to ask questions because people are willing to help you out.
Find friends and information
In Corozal there is a group of expats who routinely communicate with each other through an email list and we quickly signed up for this list which sends out postings from other expats about events around town, items for sale and other useful information. Find out if there is anything like this in the town or district you have decided to live in – even if you don’t use it often it is a good idea to be informed about what is going on among the expat community around you. This group of expats in Corozal also set up a monthly luncheon at a restaurant in town (Purple Toucan) that is held on the first Tuesday of every month. The goal of this luncheon is for new people to be introduced and announcements to be made. Find out if there is a gathering such as this in your new town and attend it at least once to introduce yourself to other expats in the community – it is a great source of information if you’re new in town. Networking is the very best thing you can do in your new surroundings – the more people you know and can use as a resource, the better.
Construction
If you have decided to build a home or make renovations on a home you have purchased in Belize then you have a whole other set of issues to attend to and please make sure you are well informed when it comes to this topic. Do your homework about any contractors you decide to hire –read an account from an American woman living in Belize who learned this lesson the hard way here. The best piece of advice I can give you is to be around when construction is going on. Monitor the situation and make sure you are getting what you are paying for. I have many friends in Corozal who were unhappy with a job that was done and typically it was because they did not do their homework and did not monitor the worksite.
Get to know your town
Find out what is going on in the closest town to you. My mom and I did this by walking around town and occasionally hiring a taxi. I suggest walking around rather than driving just because you meet more people this way and ultimately get more information. You will quickly realize that you interact with a lot more people than you are used to on a daily basis. We took taxis to places that were just a little too far to walk or if we were going to be buying supplies and we learned that these taxi drivers can be a great source of information about your new town. Ask your taxi driver as many questions as you can and find out where everything is located – they are a great source of information and typically very friendly.
The bottom line with this post is to get to know your surroundings. Learn everything you can because the people around you will be more than happy to provide you with information and it is a great time to make new friends. Most of the friends my mom and I made in those early days of learning Corozal are still great friends to this day.
I encourage anybody who has had experience moving to Belize to comment and share any information that may be helpful to someone who is just getting ready, or has recently made their move to Belize. Check back tomorrow for Part IV of the moving to Belize blog series: Getting Involved with your Community
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