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Cotton Tree Cayo :: want to, but scared...

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RasKevin
  7/12/2014 17:59 EST

...Scared of all the crime I keep reading about. Home invasions, rape, murders...

It seems so tranquil and a true paradise but then all of these stories I read of expats and tourists nightmares. Scared if being preyed on... I have 2 babies (2 & 3 now but wouldn't move until they were 5 & 6), boy and girl, and wife.

What are your experiences, suggestions, and opinions?

bobbyveee
  7/13/2014 10:09 EST

Its not a place for US expats as far as i can see. If your reading all kinds of bad stuff about, must say thats new to me , then why would you ever take a young family there. Maybe because its dirt cheap ?
Theres far better places on the mainland than there. Speak to Melissajane

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HappyMoon
  7/13/2014 11:25 EST

I don't know about Cotton Tree, but I do know that San Ignacio/Cayo/Placencia are great family oriented places and very popular with expats. We first moved to Belize from the UK when our son was 8 months old. Our first port of entry was Cancun where splashed all over the pages of the popular press was the fact a baby had been stolen from a hotel room! So I know how you must be feeling. Now my son is 15 and our youngest son, born in Belize is 12 already and we love it here. We have never had any security type problems (meanwhile my sister in the UK has been burgled twice!). Just take the usual precautions you would do at home and look after each other and you will be fine. Choose your location in Belize carefully, decide what feels right for you. Good luck, take the plunge, you only live once!

bobbyveee
  7/13/2014 11:32 EST

Totally agree with what happy moon says, its strange he lives not far from the Cotton Tree and knows nothing about it, seems to be off the radar.
HM are you home schooling or kids at school. I know local schooling doesnt bring kids upto educational standards as required if they decided to work outside Belize?

HappyMoon
  7/13/2014 12:00 EST

I looked into it and found that the local schools in San Ignacio take the Caribbean qualifications which the USA have announced do NOT count as high school graduation. I used that as an indication that they therefore would not be on a par with UK exams either. So when my eldest was 3 years old I started researching alternatives that could be used for my son in Belize and Calvert Home School came up top by MILES. We didn't start this until Grade 5 as younger than that you can improvise yourself. Having completed Grades 5, 6 and 7 we wondered what would happen when he finished Grade 8, which is the final year that Calvert do for home school and nothing from the USA came close to it in quality, in our opinion, plus they were all VERY expensive eg. $9,000 per year! So we decided we would swop to the UK exams and found an excellent home school in Oxford, UK for the next stage, which should have been after my son finished Grade 8 (he hadn't yet even finished Grade 7). We sent off the 2 tests in English and Maths they asked him to complete and he got over 90% in both and they tutors there said skip Grade 8 he's ready NOW! So last year we started him on IGCSE exams, just 4 to see how he got along. We thought we would have to go to UK for the exams but in fact they do these in Florida for the state school system (in some schools). How easy that was for us! We went up there for May in 2013 and he took the exams, achieving 4 Grade A's in the 4 subject he took, and won an award for the highest grade in the whole of the USA for Biology! This year he took a further 6 and we await the results. We are just about to start on A'Levels now! I can honestly say home schooling our children has been one of the bEST things my husband and I have done, and we feel Belize gave us the opportunity to do this. We live remotely and didn't want to leave to drive to and from school every day! Having said all that.the schooling system in Belize is fairly good, disciplined and if you are only here for a period of time, you may choose to send your children there to experience Belize school life, but may want to think about topping it up at home so that when they re-enter the USA school system (for example) they will not be too far behind. With Calvert, homeschooled children test a year ahead of their peer group in both USA and UK.

We were very unsure when we started out too, but as we have now done it can recommend it!

If you want to see more on normal family life in Belize take a look at my Facebook page, look up Happy Moon Valley Farm and you should find it!

bobbyveee
  7/13/2014 12:15 EST

Sounds like your kids really did well from what you chose for them, congrats to your family. We still have a home on the beach in AC , but have it on the market and let out. My kids are in their 30's/40's so education not a problem. We're in St Lucia till next April, then back to USA for the summer, with trips to UK inbetween

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