What would my neighbors be like in Belize?
Macarena Rose - Rainforerst Realty
Your neighbors in Belize are going to be a mix of expats and locals, combined. Of course, this is contingent on where you decide to live. If you decide to live in a predominantly expat community behind gated walls, then that is very different than living amongst the community. My personal choice was to live in Belize with Belizeans, although I have expats around me, too. Your neighbors in Belize are going to be some of the friendliest people you have...
Your neighbors in Belize are going to be a mix of expats and locals, combined. Of course, this is contingent on where you decide to live. If you decide to live in a predominantly expat community behind gated walls, then that is very different than living amongst the community. My personal choice was to live in Belize with Belizeans, although I have expats around me, too. Your neighbors in Belize are going to be some of the friendliest people you have ever met. I personally have left clothes on the line to dry, when it started raining. I came home, and my clothes were off the line and all folded up and placed on my chair. That’s my kind of neighbor.
Posted January 27, 2015
Phil Hahn - Carmelita Gardens
One word to describe Belize is “diversity.” That is diversity in the people, diversity in the terrain, diversity in the flora and in the fauna. Your choice of lifestyle and location will determine who will be your neighbors. Your neighbors can be a bunch of smoking Rastafarians, your neighbors could be cows, your neighbors could be jaguars and howler monkeys, or your neighbors could be a bunch of expats...
One word to describe Belize is “diversity.” That is diversity in the people, diversity in the terrain, diversity in the flora and in the fauna. Your choice of lifestyle and location will determine who will be your neighbors. Your neighbors can be a bunch of smoking Rastafarians, your neighbors could be cows, your neighbors could be jaguars and howler monkeys, or your neighbors could be a bunch of expats who are similar to the people where you came from. Alternatively, you could be in a village with wonderful village families that go back generations together, ingrain yourself in that community and become part of the village.
On one side, you might have a neighbor who has a dirt floor and a hut and maybe on the other side, your neighbor will be someone with a concrete blockhouse, and there could be an expat who lives down the road who might have a fancier house. If you lived on an island, your neighbor could be dolphins. There is just a wonderful diversity of choices that you could make in Belize and decide who you want as neighbors.
(Picking bananas in the Cayo District, Belize, pictured.)
Posted May 20, 2015
John Acott
If you bought a house in the Cayo district in San Ignacio or in Santa Elena, your neighbors would probably be poorer than you, but they would be very friendly. Everybody remarks on how friendly the local Belizeans are. They would make you feel at home, do anything for you, and they would enjoy having you as their neighbor. They wouldn’t, however, have your sort of money and be able to do the types of things you do. If you bought a house in the Cayo district in San Ignacio or in Santa Elena, your neighbors would probably be poorer than you, but they would be very friendly. Everybody remarks on how friendly the local Belizeans are. They would make you feel at home, do anything for you, and they would enjoy having you as their neighbor. They wouldn’t, however, have your sort of money and be able to do the types of things you do. San Ignacio is one of the larger towns in the country of Belize. There are a lot of expats here but they aren’t all living in the same geographic area.
I know a lot of locals here in Belize where I live, in the Cayo district. Sometimes they have a party that is very loud, but that happens only once every 6 months where they party in their home and put on loud music. During Christmas time, there is a lot of fireworks going off. Dogs can be a nuisance sometimes because of their barking but it’s not a big problem. We are used to that. Generally speaking, you can have peaceful enjoyment of your house.
Here in Belize, churches could be an issue. Sometimes you could be living near a noisy church. I have two around where I live that are not noisy, but I’ve known people who live near a noisy church.
It’s about the same in San Pedro (the principle town in Ambergris Caye), I guess, except that your neighbor over there would probably be another American. Any other people living there are going to be in the tourist industry, so they are used to interacting and being around expats.
(Pictured: the tour guides of Pacz Tours, in Belize, who live in San Ignacio, Cayo District, Belize.)
Posted June 11, 2015
Howard Oldham - Tropic Real Estate
Belize is a melting pot. We have people here from every country in the world. We all get a long; we don't have segregation of any kind and for any race. It's like what America used to be. The beautiful thing about Belize is that every local has the right to own a piece of land. There are a very few places like that. In Guatemala, 80% of the land is in the hands of 20% of the people and the poor men can't buy a piece of land over there. But...
Belize is a melting pot. We have people here from every country in the world. We all get a long; we don't have segregation of any kind and for any race. It's like what America used to be. The beautiful thing about Belize is that every local has the right to own a piece of land. There are a very few places like that. In Guatemala, 80% of the land is in the hands of 20% of the people and the poor men can't buy a piece of land over there. But Belize is different. Belize is a cut above. The 3 countries surrounding Belize--Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras-- their wage for an uneducated worker is US $3 a day. In Belize, it's US $10 a day, more than 3 times more. So we have nobody on the street begging. In Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras, there are people everywhere begging. We don't have any beggars in Belize.
Posted July 15, 2015
Saira Mahabir - Century 21 Belize
Your typical neighbors in Belize would depend on where you live. If you are in Placencia, you would have American neighbors and you might not have a local person live next to you because most of the locals live in the small village just before where the peninsula starts.In Corozal, your neighbors could either be British or American.
In Belize City, you could have a Belizean as your neighbor and the same is true in Cayo. But there are a lot of Americans and Europeans...
Your typical neighbors in Belize would depend on where you live. If you are in Placencia, you would have American neighbors and you might not have a local person live next to you because most of the locals live in the small village just before where the peninsula starts.In Corozal, your neighbors could either be British or American.
In Belize City, you could have a Belizean as your neighbor and the same is true in Cayo. But there are a lot of Americans and Europeans living in the Cayo District as well, especially in San Ignacio. We have mixed communities here in Belize. I do not know of any community where only expats live. Even Consejo Shores has a mix of different nationalities.
(Saira Mahabir with expat friends in Punta Gorda, Belize, pictured.)
Posted September 23, 2015