What's retirement in Ambergris Caye like?
Kate Corrigan - Caye International Bank
The retirees love Ambergris Caye. We have a lot of retirees here. So many of my friends are so much older than me that my mom comes here to visit and she asks me, “Do you know any people your own age?” Well, there are lots of people my own age here but there are many retirees, too. We also have snowbirds or people who are sun seekers. They start to arrive in the beginning of November or the end October. I would take my van towards the beach and I would see them there taking a...The retirees love Ambergris Caye. We have a lot of retirees here. So many of my friends are so much older than me that my mom comes here to visit and she asks me, “Do you know any people your own age?” Well, there are lots of people my own age here but there are many retirees, too. We also have snowbirds or people who are sun seekers. They start to arrive in the beginning of November or the end October. I would take my van towards the beach and I would see them there taking a morning walk about to see their friends for some coffee. Some of them come to Ambergris Caye for a month or two each year and some of them come for six months. Usually what happens is that they come for a month or two and they extend for six months and then you start seeing them year round. There are lots of things to get involved with here in Ambergris Caye. There are lots of charitable organizations like the Human Society, which is always looking for volunteers. If you are a doctor or a nurse, there are many opportunities for volunteer work here. For instance, we have the Lion’s Club and they have a posting for dentists at the moment, so if you are retired dentist here on Ambergris Caye and you want to help out with this program, you can approach them. They are offering free dental care for the next two weeks. If you perhaps are a retired nurse or a physician and want to go and volunteer at the Polyclinic, they always welcome more help there.
There are many things to get involved in here. There are art classes every Thursday and I love going there with my daughter. There are many snowbirds or retirees who come to that class. A local artist comes along, takes a picture and we all learn how to paint it. It’s a great social gathering.
There are lots of potlucks and fundraisers here in Ambergris Caye, too. You can be a part of the community as much as you want or you can stay out of it and just enjoy the beauty of the island. You can go cycling on the beach. If you perhaps got yourself a little sailboat or a jet ski as a Qualified Retired Person, you can surely enjoy that here. You can do pretty much anything you want to do. The island is what you make it. If you do not go out to make an effort and be social and meet people, no one will come knocking on your door and introduce themselves and welcome you to the island, but if you walk into a social gathering, which happens a lot here, usually everybody is welcome and people will introduce themselves. You will have a whole host of people who are willing to introduce themselves to you. There is lots going here on Ambergris Caye that for the relaxed, laid- back life of a retiree, the island suits so well.
Ambergris Caye does not, however, cater very well for disabilities, so it is not for retirees who have some medical issues. If you just need regular medication for things like high blood pressure or things like that, you can certainly get care here.
If you retire here on Ambergris Caye, you are still close to your families, especially if you are from the US, because there are a lot of direct flights from the US that go straight into Belize City. Whether you choose to live here on the island or on the mainland, it is very accessible.
Belize is an English-speaking country, so perhaps if you got into an age where you do not really want to learn new tricks, you don’t have to go out and speak another language to get along in life. I know people who come here fluent in Spanish and try to speak to people who are also fluent in Spanish, but they would always answer back in English. It is very easy to understand the terminologies of the locals and to understand how the island works. The way of life here is a bit different, but it is just a bit simpler, which I think very much suits the retiree.
Posted December 2, 2014
Lisa McCorkle Guerrero - DIAMANTÉ
Retirement in Ambergris Caye is pretty much "chillin.” I own a local gym and all my morning clientele in the gym are retired Americans, Canadians, or Europeans. They get up in the morning, go to the gym, and chill out. I know a lot of expat retirees. Pretty much, they just hang out, mostly which each other a lot of the time. They frequent the bars. San Pedro (the main town on Ambergris Caye) is a very small town. For example,...
Retirement in Ambergris Caye is pretty much "chillin.” I own a local gym and all my morning clientele in the gym are retired Americans, Canadians, or Europeans. They get up in the morning, go to the gym, and chill out. I know a lot of expat retirees. Pretty much, they just hang out, mostly which each other a lot of the time. They frequent the bars. San Pedro (the main town on Ambergris Caye) is a very small town. For example, there’s a place called Wine D Vine where on Fridays there is a meet-and-greet type event with wine and cheese. If you go there on Friday afternoon, you would see that probably 95% of the place is packed with expats and retirees. They socialize a lot.
During the day, you can see the expat retirees here on Ambergris Caye buying their groceries. A lot of them have lunch together. I’m sure they have their own cliques – they have poker runs on Saturdays and it’s always full with mostly expats. It’s a bar hopping event that they do in all these different bars at night. They play poker. A lot of them also live way up north and spend most of their time in their private houses.
Overall, they look very happy, especially after a few cocktails.
(A common combination in Ambergris Caye: beer and lobster, pictured.)
Posted September 12, 2015
Matthew Hoy - Pelican Properties
I hear a lot retirees here in Ambergris Caye say, “I am used to doing a lot of things every day and when I got to Ambergris Caye, if I can get one thing done every day, that day was a productive day.” Ambergris Caye has a much slower pace of life. The hustle and bustle issues are not the same as what we are used to in North America. Your days here in Ambergris Caye can be spent getting out on a boat, heading to the reef and spending the entire...
I hear a lot retirees here in Ambergris Caye say, “I am used to doing a lot of things every day and when I got to Ambergris Caye, if I can get one thing done every day, that day was a productive day.” Ambergris Caye has a much slower pace of life. The hustle and bustle issues are not the same as what we are used to in North America. Your days here in Ambergris Caye can be spent getting out on a boat, heading to the reef and spending the entire morning diving, and getting back in the afternoon, getting into another boat, and spending the rest of the afternoon fishing. You could be paddle boarding, biking, and riding around on a golf cart. You could be sitting at a bar listening to live music and just enjoying the beautiful weather that is just always consistent here on Ambergris Caye.
Most of the retirees that I see here in Ambergris Caye always have a smile on their face. You can do whatever you want to do here. You can socialize with other people. There are different tournaments that happen at different restaurants and bars such as a cribbage tournaments, trivia, horseshoes, and many other activities. All these happen all throughout the island of Ambergris Caye. There are constantly new activities and adventures that are presenting themselves.
If you are a dive fan, you can spend the rest of your retirement here. You may not even be able to find all the dive sites here in Belize. The fishing here is other worldly, ranging from fly fishing to deep-sea fishing to even just standing on the edge of your dock with a fishing pole in hand and some bait and spending an afternoon just tossing it in.
(Fishing in Ambergris Caye, Belize, pictured.)
Posted November 19, 2015