Don't Think I'll Retire in Belize

I'd heard rumblings that the Central American country of Belize is the new, cheap and fashionable retirement site for Americans. My one day port stop in Belize did not encourage me to pack up and move south.

If you want to get the official PR version of retirement life in Belize, go here. Maybe it's true. Or, if you like, check out the retirement "Villas at Cocoplum."  That's the luxury route. Want to go cheap?  This site claims you can retire in Belize for $450 month. 

The one cool thing about our stop in Belize was that the ship anchored about five miles offshore, then we were ferried into port. The picture above is a pretty accurate representation of this process. Once we arrived in port, my enthusiasm began to fade.

The water in the small bay was filthy. We pulled into the dock and got our pictures taken by the Carnival crew, and quickly discovered that the accessible area extended about four blocks long and one block deep. This area was walled off and heavily patrolled by security guards. Those guards tried to discourage any of the cruise passengers from exiting the walled off area. While the Karaoke Queen looked at jewelry, I walked around and tried to learn something about the place.

All around the walled off area, black guys were waving placards and shouting at the tourists, trying to lure them into escorted trips around the city.

An Australian couple who had walked through the security gates into the surrounding city stopped to talk with me. They were out of breath.

"We tried to walk around a little, but at the end of the block we saw heavily armed troops in armoured vehicles," they told me.

I needed to check my e-mail, so I left the walled off area to walk to a Radisson Hotel that had an internet cafe. Belize is an astonishingly poor country.  The locals were dirty and poorly clothed.  Buildings were rotting and crumbling into the ground.  Every few steps, I was hassled by somebody offering to sell me something or to simply escort me to my destination.

Belize is next door to Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. These countries have experienced savage political violence for decades. Hundreds of thousands of people have been disappeared and executed. A rigid racial caste system rules, with blacks on the bottom, mestizos in the middle and whites and light skinned natives at the top.

The little walled off port had virtually nothing to offer. For the remainder of the cruise, passengers joked with one another about what a shit hole Belize had been. Every time I spoke with another passenger about Belize, he or she mentioned the threatening aura of violence in the port.

Hard to form an opinion about an entire country from such limited experience, but I wasn't sold on Belize as a retirement destination. It's cheap, but that's obviously because the country is so damned poor and desperate.

The Karaoke Queen and I have talked about retiring to the Philippines, or living part of the year there. Filipinos also often live in dire poverty, and political violence is endemic. But, if I lived there, I would live within the protective shell of the Queen's family. I could still move about in Cebu, without being imprisoned in a walled environment.

My little visit didn't encourage me to believe that this would be true in Belize. Looks like American retirees would have to live in total isolation from the locals, behind walls and protected by heavy security. Maybe I'm wrong. Don't know.

Check out the official U.S. State Department advisory about Belize and see if it helps.  The Belize Gringo is a weblog that discusses retirement in Belize.

Comments

[Oswin Blease]

You are definitely wrong brother

[Shouting Thomas]

How so, Oswin?

[Fred]

Shhhh..it is the best kept secret, keep it that way. This is the perfect post to kepp Americans OUT of Belize.

Fred, an American

[Bjorn]

Why would you make such a judgement about Belize based on your tiny experience in a tiny area filled with tourists? It seems a bit short-sighted to me.

[john]

thanks for very good information about belize !
i got many the same opinion from another tourists !

[Detro]

Definitely agreeing with Fred on this one. It is a good post to keep the American's away and Belize the great place it is... I have never heard such a biased opinion.

[g]

my family & i have been living in placencia village sence sept. 2nd 2011. our 10yr old son is in public school. so far we love it . belize city is not ( so we have read & heard ) on the top of anyones list let alone why it is on a cruiseships list ? ( $$$$$$ )
there is talk o placencia village 1 day b'n a " port of call ". this would b an awesome spot 2 " port of call " to. yet the more people stay out of belize , the more we get of it. we r all different & so are the places/people of the world , so choose.

[mindanawman]

Of course you'll see the worst people in any area where obviously rich visitors appear.The think you have millions of dollars in that fat wallet you insist on carrying in your back pocket, where it's easy to snatch. I've lived in a small town in the Philippines, near Cagayan de Oro City for 18 years and it's peaceful and safe; no typhoons, only the tiniest earthquakes, no armed bandits. Just don't walk around shouting and moaning that it isn't like the USA, because it will make life harder.

[Shouting Thomas]

You live in a small town in Mindanao?

Must be beautiful.

I've been to Cebu, but not to Mindanao.

I am thinking of living part of the year in Cebu once I retire.

[AUSA-expat]

Not a good idea to pass judgement on a country by getting off the cruise ship and looking around for a few minutes. Seems on par with the American I ran into who complained that the Starbucks in the Bejing airport wouldn't take US dollars. LOL. By the way I am American but broke the mold years ago - retired in Thailand. Keep watching Fox News and continuing to convince everyone Americans are short sighted and arrogant.

[Shouting Thomas]

You've got the Fox News bug up your ass! And you live in Thailand!

Amazing!

[Larry Mallard]

HA HA you saw a 2 block area.My wife and I lived there for 9 months and it was the best place I have ever lived out of 13 years of going international. You dident like Belize but you were on a Carnival Cruse, give me a break

[BrooklynBlooms]

Yes please get back on that carnival joke of a ship and keep sailing on Gringo...

[Get Real]

I just got back from Belize and after just 3 days I couldn't get out of that shit hole fast enough! Pardon my language but this is just the best way I can describe it.

I have traveled in every Central American country now except Panama. I drove to Costa Rica a few years ago from the States through Mexico naturally. I have also visited Peru and Ecuador along with many countries in Europe; South Africa, and Asia. I always drive and travel as much of the countries I explore.

In Belize I drove from the Intl Airport on the Western Hwy to the Guatemalan border. I drove to the Caracol Mayan ruins on 100 miles of dirt/rock road. I drove the Hummingbird Hwy to Dangriga. I explored the cities of Belmopan, San Ignacio, Dangriga, and Belize City along with several other small towns.

I know that this is a fairly small cross section but I saw enough to get a real good feel for it especially when compared to all the other countries I have visited. This was without a doubt the most 3rd world undesirable country I have visited!

1. Poor, poor, poor and more poor!
2. Shanty after shanty,
3. Crumbling buildings everywhere
4. Garbage heaps, burnt areas
5. Speed bumps galore
6. Scarce lodgings
7. Over priced lodgings
8. Lack of places to eat

Do yourself a favor and pick another country.

[Truth Hurts]

wow is all I can say about this blog, judging an entire country by one short visit to one tiny area???? WOW
it would be like getting to visit 3 blocks of the poor area in Detroit and saying America is a shit hole.....which it is but that's for another post.
So yes tell all your friends that is not a nice place to keep them away, Belize does not need narrow minded fucks like you in it. The people in Belize are wonderful and I would hate for them to be infected by your poison

[Howlin' Steve]

Do you usually get this overwrought?

[belizeman]

To Get Real. So you won't stay. Mission accomplished.

[SPmQQse]

you are correct ...belize is a corrupt and dangerous country.
expats are getting murdered...
tourists are getting murdered.....
locals are getting murdered....
real estate agents are ripping of dreamers....
they are destroying the ecology daily....

after 25 yrs.. i might be leaving ,for a better place..!!!

[worpo]

why would a tourist,retiree,investor,these** days, want to go to the 5th or 6th most dangerous country in the world... a despotic government/dictatorship a country where the ecology is being destroyed every day , to build ugly condos... where crime and poverty is by by design. for foreigners profits .. it's all there in belize.... stabbings ,beatings ,robbery, thieft,break-ins',murder....corrupt banking....all of it. corrupt police.... corrupt politicians...crooked land deals.. phoney preachers.. etc

never believe the hype from the foreign carpetbagger,self-interest, real estate agents....
they lie about...and hide or sugar-coat the facts......to take your money..and put it their bank accounts...while the belizeans get nothing but poverty,,,!!!

my best advice might be...rent ...where you plan to live.....for min. one year...then decide whether you can take ..all the crap , that it takes, to live in..belize...

this video may help you..with reality !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Dq...F21BF&index=39

and read ALL, the belize newspapers archives/crime sections.

feel free to fight against despotism.

[Michael]

Fact: Belize is the biggest armpit in Central America.

Filthy, crime ridden, starving dogs on the street and garbage everywhere. I stayed on ambergris cay at a high end fishing resort for a week and strolled around town daily for a couple hours on a bicycle-it was a decent resort but won't be returning. The filth on the streets was sad and the hungry dogs was way worse. I bought food for the dogs whom were roaming the streets 24x7.

Shocked that a friend of mine is buying an oceanfront vacation home there-he is out of his mind.