What are the best and worst things about living and retiring in Placencia, Belize?

The best thing in Placencia, Belize is living on the beach. I personally like living on the beach because of the different cultures. The people are friendly and open. We have a great community spirit here. I like the fact that we are able to go to the mainland, a 45-minute drive and be back the same day and have a great adventure. I like that we have the cayes and the reefs are very near to us, so you can go and be back the same day. 
 
I would not say “worst,”...

The best thing in Placencia, Belize is living on the beach. I personally like living on the beach because of the different cultures. The people are friendly and open. We have a great community spirit here. I like the fact that we are able to go to the mainland, a 45-minute drive and be back the same day and have a great adventure. I like that we have the cayes and the reefs are very near to us, so you can go and be back the same day. 
 
I would not say “worst,” but there are things that are sort of difficult to do here in Placencia. One example is going back to the middle of the country to purchase stuff because the cost is better over there and it is too expensive here in Placencia. We are still in the process of getting certain things here for sale. We do not have butcher shops here, so we have deliveries. We do not have those things that would be more convenient, but it is nice because if you do not find something in one shop you, have to go to another shop and you get to meet different people. 

I had lived in New York all my life until moving to Florida 12 years ago and I never thought I would have wanted to live anywhere else, but I am building my second home in Placencia. Over the last 10 years, I have come to love Belize.
 
The best thing about retiring in Belize is that it brings back the old America and capitalism. The government has less power and the people have more. The government is very friendly towards people coming to Belize who spend the American dollar....

I had lived in New York all my life until moving to Florida 12 years ago and I never thought I would have wanted to live anywhere else, but I am building my second home in Placencia. Over the last 10 years, I have come to love Belize.
 
The best thing about retiring in Belize is that it brings back the old America and capitalism. The government has less power and the people have more. The government is very friendly towards people coming to Belize who spend the American dollar. This helps the retirees, especially because Belize offers so much. 
 
Some people can join the Belize retirement program at age 45. They are not exactly retired but they also do not have to work. These are the people who do not want to work for someone but want to start their business and do it part time.
 
For the retirees, there is a lot to do in Placencia. There are water sports, snorkeling, scuba diving, boating and fishing. Belize is Top 3 in the world in these activities. Then there’s the eco-natural side. There are mountains, Mayan ruins, and you can go caving, tubing and island hopping. You can keep yourself as busy as you want. Alternatively, you can just sit and read a book and watch the beautiful sunset.
 
Belize is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and Placencia is just beautiful. The people are super friendly. Everyone speaks English. The government is very pro tourism and pro real estate buyers. They make life for retirees much more golden than retirees would have experienced if they retired in the United States.
 
A positive aspect of living and retiring in Placencia that is worth emphasizing is that everyone speaks English, so it makes life for someone wanting to retire in Belize very simple. You don’t need an interpreter. Your documents are in English. The contracts are in English. Real estate transactions are in English. Your retirement program is simple to understand.
 
Another positive to retiring in Belize is that you can buy a lot with the American dollar.  (The Belize dollar is pegged at 2 Belize dollars to one American dollar.) 
 
These are the best things about retiring and living in Placencia. In terms of the worst things about retiring and living in Placencia Is the fact that, even though it is up and coming, Belize is a Third World country. Therefore, things don’t get as done as quickly as one would like, but if you’re retiring, why would you want to be in that kind of rush?
 
Perhaps there are not so many things to do at night but our project is working on that. We are building an amphitheater and we’ll have every type of business known to mankind at the end of the day.
 
Placencia is just a beautiful place to retire. I definitely think there are more positives than negatives and the negatives aren’t truly negatives; it’s just a matter of adjusting.

 

(The upcoming Marina Village, a mix of restaurants and cafés, bars, boutiques, live music venues, condos connected by a promenade along the waterfront of Placencia, Belize, pictured.)

The best thing about living in Placencia is the location. There is a direct flight from Belize to Dallas and numerous other major cites in the US like Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and more with the flight from Dallas to Belize being just 3 hours.  Placencia is a tropical paradise with amazing views. The trade winds cool the entire peninsula. There is great scenery. The jungle is just right up the road within 30 minutes. There are a lot of different activities that you can do.
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The best thing about living in Placencia is the location. There is a direct flight from Belize to Dallas and numerous other major cites in the US like Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and more with the flight from Dallas to Belize being just 3 hours.  Placencia is a tropical paradise with amazing views. The trade winds cool the entire peninsula. There is great scenery. The jungle is just right up the road within 30 minutes. There are a lot of different activities that you can do.
 
I view Placencia as a nice place to recharge and relax. You can make it as fun as you want it to be or as relaxing as you want it to be.  Placencia offers what I think is the best place in Belize to access and enjoy all that Belize has to offer, not only the reef and beach activities but the many inland jungle and rainforest adventures, many of which in area that are almost completely untouched and not commercialized.
 
From a retirement standpoint, what’s best about Placencia is that it is an English-speaking place, it’s safe, taxes are low, and it is a very foreigner-friendly place. There are a lot of Americans, Canadians, and Europeans in Placencia. It’s a very fast growing market.
 
The downside to retiring in Placencia is that everything moves slower. If your air-conditioner breaks in the US, you can have someone to fix it within an hour or two. If that happens to you in Placencia, if you don’t have an on-site maintenance guy, it could take 8 hours before you get someone to fix it for you. The Internet is slower. Cellphone coverage is a bit worse. Those are small things, but in general, those are just small tweaks and things that are improving every day.

 

(Caribbean view home in Placencia, Belize, pictured.)