The plan starts coming together

Well, I finally got my ticket for Belize.  I'll be flying early morning on February 19th to Belize City and then catch the Maya Air puddle jumper to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye ($63 one way) where I have three nights free at Banana Beach Resort in return for taking the time to tour the Sapphire Beach Resort on the morning of the 21st.  I will spend the rest of the time nosing around the island and checking out San Pedro, the stores and asking people about living there.  Most folks get around on golf carts, so maybe I'll rent one for a few days.

I doubt my friend will be able to join me, so I'll be on my own; this will be a good test for me -- how will I interact with the locals and others I meet, and will I do as well on my own as I would traveling with Andrea?

On the morning of the 22nd I will take a water taxi to Belize City ($10) and pick up a car for my trek south to Punta Gorda.  Rental cars are bloody expensive!  A '96 Toyota 4Runner is $65 per day, a 2002 4Runner is $78 per day and gas is in the neighborhood of $5.00 per gallon.  From Punta Gorda I will make my way towards Placencia peninsula followed by Dangriga and then Corozal Town and environs.  Since I don't really want to live anywhere but the beach, I won't be going to Belmopan or the Mennonite areas since they are quite a bit inland.

As I've been reading about real estate in Belize it has become apparent that being the first buyer of a home can be an expensive proposition.  The first buyer of a property must pay a 12% transfer tax that is not paid on land that you could then build upon.  So building, which is also supposed to be less expensive than buying new, is the way to go... maybe.  Word is that you need to be on location the whole time to keep the project going and make sure it follows the plan specifications.

More on the trip...

With only eleven weeks before the trip, I have set aside other research to make sure I have my itinerary and reservations set for the trip.  I have enough frequent flier miles for the trip, so I am keeping an eye on rates because if the price is reasonable it may be worth it to just pay for the tickets and save the miles for later.  I also have to make car rental and hotel reservations, and check on the ferry schedule between San Pedro and Belize City.  I am also looking for a decent road map to bring with me as well as study ahead of the trip.

After our stay on Ambergris and taking the ferry to Belize City, I need to make sure there is a car rental at the dock.  From there we will drive south to Punta Gorda and make our way north, staying one night each in Punta Gorda, Placencia and Dangriga.  We will spend the last two nights in the Corozal area checking out Corozal, Consejo, Sarteneja and Cerros. 

There will be a lot of driving, moseying through beach towns, checking out local markets and generally getting impressions of the areas as we go.  Can I live here?  Does it fit the lifestyle I envision?  Is the infrastructure sufficiently advanced for me to live comfortably?  I plan on asking lots of questions of locals regarding utilities, internet speed and costs, local rents and general quality of life questions. 

This is a different approach than my initial facts and figures method.  This time I am starting with the basic question of would I be happy living here and then moving on to the question -- is it practical to live here?  I may find that Belize, in general may be a nice place to visit, but not a great place for me to live full time.  That, after all, is the whole point of my visit.

Dealing with all of these travel plans makes me appreciate all the more Andrea’s head for details.  She would have all this worked out in no time at all, whereas I have to think and rethink through every step to make sure I am getting the most of my time and money.  I wish she could be with me.