Belize Expat Forum

ENJOYIT
Joined 2018
Posts: 47

5 years ago

hello CC

5 years ago

if y'all don't mind I'm going to talk about my CC experiences. kinda a long post I know but read on if you like.

My 1st time was for my b'day last month and it was horrible. Daughter and I were on a cruise and I thought even though it was only for a few hours I could get a feel for the Caye. It was horrible to say the least. Very hot, muggy, sticky and just plain unpleasant. It had rained for about 3 days and the streets were full of water, potholes full of water, and even muddy sand. didn't know sand could be muddy, haha. The entire island had a very poor 3rd world country feel and vibe. I told my daughter the only reason I would go back was I had non-refundable air and hotel stuff and it was a "what the Hell decision".

NOW A 180° DEGREE VIEW!!!

I just returned from my 8 day trip and sure I know it was a vacation trip and not a I live here deal. Anyway, the weather was absolutely fabulous and all I can say is the few hours trip was very false positive. The 3rd world feel was gone in the bright sunshine and gentle breeze. What a glorious place.

I've been impressed by y'all about how much more it cost to live on AC or CC that I really took the time grocery shopping and checking other prices. Ok, so a 21 oz coke is $2 in the US, the same on CC $1US. Cookies $3 US, CC $1.95BZ. Breakfast cereal about the same, chicken about the same, hamburger at bit more. I found 1 pharmacy but no doctors, hmm.

Tons of golf carts. I expected to hear a lot of humming but they were all gasoline engined which I found odd. I did see 2 different trucks and a few 4 wheelers which looked like a good idea. They told me their golf carts cost about $12k US + barge transport to CC. 4 wheelers can be had for less than $5k but can't carry 4 people but then again I didn't know 4 people, haha.

local food was fantastic. I got "real English" fish and chips from Ray's and omelets that were unbelievable. the prepared food would be pricy on a day to day way as the pricing for almost everything from the sit down restaurants, sand floors not concrete haha, to the street vendors doing fresh BBQ is about the same for an evening meal in the US but the CC pricing is the same there all day.

Lots and lots of smiles and super friendly locals. no one had a "down" vibe. Even met the local police and their main concern seemed to be tour guides for stuff to do while I was there. The Split was great just to watch the guys diving and doing flips from the platform and the reggae from the DJ's. and that was just the daytime, the night was great fun.

Now to the expats. Very welcoming
it took maybe 10 minutes to meet a new friend that invited me over that evening for having a beer or supper. 5 minutes to get invited to play in the twice weekly Texas Hold'em tournament in the sports bar. I was really blown away by these guys warmth. The downside is I would need to suntan to about a mahogany shade with leathery skin. Of course I would need to lose about 75# and dress like Jimmy Buffet or like a 60 - 70 year old hippy, haha.

All in all, a wonderful experience. Great people, great place to read a good book, great place to vegetate which isn't all bad as I'm not looking for adventure any longer. Did I ever feel rushed? No, the motto is "Go slow" is very well used here. It makes me think that a 3 - 6 month rental would be a good next move.

Other comments are welcome as I do value your opinions.

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