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.
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.
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