Anonymous wrote:I dont get people who want to move away from friends and community they spent 18+ years building unless its totally unaffordable. When my kids are grown ill get to garden more, spend more time with the friends i made and enjoy my neighborhood more.
+1 million.
Many of my friends have plans to move, so the community is going to be broken up anyway. They are moving for various reasons: lifestyle, to be closer to family (either for eldercare or to be around grandkids), finances.
+1 It really is different for people who aren't DC area natives. For the rest of us, the transient nature of the area means that the people in the community that you built keep leaving. Almost all of my good friends from my 30 years living in DC have left. We finally left DC for a different part of the country and wish we did it sooner.
Anonymous wrote:I dont get people who want to move away from friends and community they spent 18+ years building unless its totally unaffordable. When my kids are grown ill get to garden more, spend more time with the friends i made and enjoy my neighborhood more.
+1 million.
Many of my friends have plans to move, so the community is going to be broken up anyway. They are moving for various reasons: lifestyle, to be closer to family (either for eldercare or to be around grandkids), finances.
+1 It really is different for people who aren't DC area natives. For the rest of us, the transient nature of the area means that the people in the community that you built keep leaving. Almost all of my good friends from my 30 years living in DC have left. We finally left DC for a different part of the country and wish we did it sooner.
+2
Some of us can not imagine living in one place our entire lives, it is 2023, not 1952!
Anonymous wrote:I dont get people who want to move away from friends and community they spent 18+ years building unless its totally unaffordable. When my kids are grown ill get to garden more, spend more time with the friends i made and enjoy my neighborhood more.
+1 million.
Many of my friends have plans to move, so the community is going to be broken up anyway. They are moving for various reasons: lifestyle, to be closer to family (either for eldercare or to be around grandkids), finances.
+1 It really is different for people who aren't DC area natives. For the rest of us, the transient nature of the area means that the people in the community that you built keep leaving. Almost all of my good friends from my 30 years living in DC have left. We finally left DC for a different part of the country and wish we did it sooner.
+2
Some of us can not imagine living in one place our entire lives, it is 2023, not 1952!
Sad isn't? Roaming the world looking for something that they should be seeking inside themselves.
Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Belize in October. Can't wait. The kids can't wait to visit and we will be back a few times a year for a few weeks each time.
Oooh! Sounds amazing! Tell us more!
We're moving to an island off the coast so not on the mainland. The mainland is cheaper but we fell in love with the island (Ambergris Caye). We're buying a small house on the lagoon side on a canal with a small swimming pool and a nice fenced in lot for under $300K. There are no private cars so you have a golf cart or bike or walk (or boat). There's about 20,000 people on the island altogether at peak season. It's around 82 degrees and usually sunny every day. English is the official language. There's no one day delivery, no chain stores or restaurants, no mass shootings, no commuting. It's a simpler, slower way of life. I've been working online/phone throughout the pandemic so I'll continue to do that. We're also starting a small, simple business that we can at least afford to run/break even on and will probably significantly contribute to our expenses.
Including my portion of my kids' college tuition, health insurance in the US just in case of a catastrophic illness (routine care down there is super cheap), and a reasonable day-to-day existence including travel to/from the US, tickets for the kids, and meals out usually at local, sometimes at tourist restaurants, we can live on under $4,000/month. Easily. Most Belizeans on the island live on under $1,000/month so that would be a very comfortable existence.
We're tired of the violence in the US, the political situation, the orange man possibly coming back, the traffic, the commute, the commercialism, the expense. Belize is absolutely not perfect, but people are happy, it's beautiful, we can work to live and have more time for outdoor activities, we will have a lighter footprint on the earth, and it's really not that much harder to get to than if my kids went to college anywhere from the Midwest to California. Around 8 hours from BWI to the island if you work it right.
I give it 5 years, tops, before you’re back.
Yeah, OK, not too concerned about your opinion. We are well aware of the downsides of our move, but feel the upsides way outweigh them.
In terms of hurricanes, they're not too frequent on Ambergris Caye -- something about the reef being protective. They do evacuate to the mainland occasionally and there is some damage. We're buying a low profile house away from the Caribbean side of the island so we have more protection than we would. My house here had quite a bit of hurricane damage previously so it's not like we are out of danger of that here. Again, we all choose what we are willing to live with and I choose not to go to shopping malls, drive in traffic, deal with the prospect of mass shootings, and the consumerism of American society. To each his own.
I think it's an awesome idea, and ignore the naysayers. People here in DC can be crabs in a bucket, mostly driven by envy and fear that the safe treadmill they've chosen may not be the VERY BEST option in life. Great on you for getting out of here and seeing what else is available. I hope to have the guts to explore that when my kids are a little older.
Disagree. PP is moving for emotional reasons and sounds hysterical. Moving because of school shootings and consumerism? The only reason there isn’t consumerism in Belize is because everyone is too poor and their government and legal system is so incompetent that your average person can’t build any wealth or really accomplish much at all. It’s easy to bash American consumerism but it makes our life very comfortable and it’s what pretty much what every single person on the planet wants. I doubt PP will be giving up his American consumer goods (iphone, TV shows, antibiotics, Tylenol, clothing etc) when he or she moves to his or her second world country.
PP will be back because of bad healthcare, corruption, lack of building codes, crime that actually affects wealthy people, a lack of infrastructure and consumer goods, etc. I could go on.
Speaking of hysterical.... It is obvious you've never lived in a less materially rich place, so your perspective is one of fear and ignorance. The fact that you cannot imagine a world without the things that make your life "very comfortable" says a lot about you, and pretty much makes my point that you have gone all in on the "getting and spending" and have lost perspective on other ways to enjoy life.
And yes, you can have things like Tylenol and antibiotics without also the culture in the DC area of constantly trying to make and spend money to feel important. You act like if you want some basic things you must also stay chained to the tread mill that you've chosen. Maybe you can't imagine another way, but plenty of people do. Lots and lots of people retire to places that are less materially well-off to enjoy a culture not as focused on getting and spending.
I'm the poster moving to Belize and I just want to say thanks! This is exactly our perspective. We know there are some things that might get harder and we are fortunate enough (unlike many Belizeans), to be able to plan for that. We can fly back to the US, use our US health insurance, and get care. We can self-pay in Mexico which we can quickly access via water taxi. As for routine care, I got a UTI when we were there last and it his hard. I walked into a pharmacy and for around $5, in 3 minutes, I was taking my first dose of antibiotics.
I have all the clothes I need for now. I'm a simple girl. I already said I'd be coming back to the US a couple/few times a year to see my kids/family and I fully anticipate I will stock up when I'm here. Again, I'm fortunate that I can do that. The island is a simple place and my shorts and plain t-shirts and summer dresses will suit me just fine.
I'll admit we're cheating. A lot of North American expats who move to Belize move off the grid -- solar, cistern water, septic, and even growing their own food. We will be living in the village with a shop on the corner, public electric and water, and, while we are going to try to use Belizean air conditioning (open windows and doors on all 4 sides to create a breeze), I'm sure that we will be turning on our AC units from time-to-time.
We will also do what many expats do and continue our streaming services. We don't even have regular TV here so I don't see any decrease in availability of entertainment. I'm not sure why you don't realize that my AT&T iPhone works just the same there as it does here. Not even an extra fee. The government upgraded internet services and it's quite good. A little more expensive than here, but since just about everything else is significantly cheaper, it's a wash.
We know what we're giving up. What we're turning away from. We're ready and excited and believe in what we're doing. I don't expect other people to embrace this type of move, but it seems silly to disparage what others are doing without actually knowing the reality of what they're doing. I actually wouldn't have the nerves to move to neighboring countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras specifically because of the concerns about government, law, and corruption, plus crime and I don't speak Spanish. So that would be a huge step too far for me. But I understand why others do it and applaud them for being able to take that step. I've also lived abroad before, way before internet or easy phone calls, etc. so I know what it feels like, but this practically feels like cheating that I can Facetime my kids in the US for free!
That kind of lifestyle is definitely not for me but I checked out your island and I approve your move. Also, I like you, PP, so my DH and I decided to visit you next year. We have no food allergies.
Different poster here. Whatever you're serving pp for dinner will be just fine for me as well.
Belize poster here. You guys are fun. When the time is right, I will come back to this and post where you can find me on the island. Let's have dinner!
Just curious how old you are, Belize poster? It seems like all is well for many retirees in their 50s/60s but the 70s/80s can hit hard. Are you concerned about developing a chronic health issue requiring the care of one or more specialists? Even really healthy adults usually end up needing to be monitored closely for one reason or another as they get into old age. Is your plan to just live it up until that point?
Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Belize in October. Can't wait. The kids can't wait to visit and we will be back a few times a year for a few weeks each time.
Oooh! Sounds amazing! Tell us more!
We're moving to an island off the coast so not on the mainland. The mainland is cheaper but we fell in love with the island (Ambergris Caye). We're buying a small house on the lagoon side on a canal with a small swimming pool and a nice fenced in lot for under $300K. There are no private cars so you have a golf cart or bike or walk (or boat). There's about 20,000 people on the island altogether at peak season. It's around 82 degrees and usually sunny every day. English is the official language. There's no one day delivery, no chain stores or restaurants, no mass shootings, no commuting. It's a simpler, slower way of life. I've been working online/phone throughout the pandemic so I'll continue to do that. We're also starting a small, simple business that we can at least afford to run/break even on and will probably significantly contribute to our expenses.
Including my portion of my kids' college tuition, health insurance in the US just in case of a catastrophic illness (routine care down there is super cheap), and a reasonable day-to-day existence including travel to/from the US, tickets for the kids, and meals out usually at local, sometimes at tourist restaurants, we can live on under $4,000/month. Easily. Most Belizeans on the island live on under $1,000/month so that would be a very comfortable existence.
We're tired of the violence in the US, the political situation, the orange man possibly coming back, the traffic, the commute, the commercialism, the expense. Belize is absolutely not perfect, but people are happy, it's beautiful, we can work to live and have more time for outdoor activities, we will have a lighter footprint on the earth, and it's really not that much harder to get to than if my kids went to college anywhere from the Midwest to California. Around 8 hours from BWI to the island if you work it right.
I give it 5 years, tops, before you’re back.
Yeah, OK, not too concerned about your opinion. We are well aware of the downsides of our move, but feel the upsides way outweigh them.
In terms of hurricanes, they're not too frequent on Ambergris Caye -- something about the reef being protective. They do evacuate to the mainland occasionally and there is some damage. We're buying a low profile house away from the Caribbean side of the island so we have more protection than we would. My house here had quite a bit of hurricane damage previously so it's not like we are out of danger of that here. Again, we all choose what we are willing to live with and I choose not to go to shopping malls, drive in traffic, deal with the prospect of mass shootings, and the consumerism of American society. To each his own.
I think it's an awesome idea, and ignore the naysayers. People here in DC can be crabs in a bucket, mostly driven by envy and fear that the safe treadmill they've chosen may not be the VERY BEST option in life. Great on you for getting out of here and seeing what else is available. I hope to have the guts to explore that when my kids are a little older.
Disagree. PP is moving for emotional reasons and sounds hysterical. Moving because of school shootings and consumerism? The only reason there isn’t consumerism in Belize is because everyone is too poor and their government and legal system is so incompetent that your average person can’t build any wealth or really accomplish much at all. It’s easy to bash American consumerism but it makes our life very comfortable and it’s what pretty much what every single person on the planet wants. I doubt PP will be giving up his American consumer goods (iphone, TV shows, antibiotics, Tylenol, clothing etc) when he or she moves to his or her second world country.
PP will be back because of bad healthcare, corruption, lack of building codes, crime that actually affects wealthy people, a lack of infrastructure and consumer goods, etc. I could go on.
Speaking of hysterical.... It is obvious you've never lived in a less materially rich place, so your perspective is one of fear and ignorance. The fact that you cannot imagine a world without the things that make your life "very comfortable" says a lot about you, and pretty much makes my point that you have gone all in on the "getting and spending" and have lost perspective on other ways to enjoy life.
And yes, you can have things like Tylenol and antibiotics without also the culture in the DC area of constantly trying to make and spend money to feel important. You act like if you want some basic things you must also stay chained to the tread mill that you've chosen. Maybe you can't imagine another way, but plenty of people do. Lots and lots of people retire to places that are less materially well-off to enjoy a culture not as focused on getting and spending.
I'm the poster moving to Belize and I just want to say thanks! This is exactly our perspective. We know there are some things that might get harder and we are fortunate enough (unlike many Belizeans), to be able to plan for that. We can fly back to the US, use our US health insurance, and get care. We can self-pay in Mexico which we can quickly access via water taxi. As for routine care, I got a UTI when we were there last and it his hard. I walked into a pharmacy and for around $5, in 3 minutes, I was taking my first dose of antibiotics.
I have all the clothes I need for now. I'm a simple girl. I already said I'd be coming back to the US a couple/few times a year to see my kids/family and I fully anticipate I will stock up when I'm here. Again, I'm fortunate that I can do that. The island is a simple place and my shorts and plain t-shirts and summer dresses will suit me just fine.
I'll admit we're cheating. A lot of North American expats who move to Belize move off the grid -- solar, cistern water, septic, and even growing their own food. We will be living in the village with a shop on the corner, public electric and water, and, while we are going to try to use Belizean air conditioning (open windows and doors on all 4 sides to create a breeze), I'm sure that we will be turning on our AC units from time-to-time.
We will also do what many expats do and continue our streaming services. We don't even have regular TV here so I don't see any decrease in availability of entertainment. I'm not sure why you don't realize that my AT&T iPhone works just the same there as it does here. Not even an extra fee. The government upgraded internet services and it's quite good. A little more expensive than here, but since just about everything else is significantly cheaper, it's a wash.
We know what we're giving up. What we're turning away from. We're ready and excited and believe in what we're doing. I don't expect other people to embrace this type of move, but it seems silly to disparage what others are doing without actually knowing the reality of what they're doing. I actually wouldn't have the nerves to move to neighboring countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras specifically because of the concerns about government, law, and corruption, plus crime and I don't speak Spanish. So that would be a huge step too far for me. But I understand why others do it and applaud them for being able to take that step. I've also lived abroad before, way before internet or easy phone calls, etc. so I know what it feels like, but this practically feels like cheating that I can Facetime my kids in the US for free!
That kind of lifestyle is definitely not for me but I checked out your island and I approve your move. Also, I like you, PP, so my DH and I decided to visit you next year. We have no food allergies.
Different poster here. Whatever you're serving pp for dinner will be just fine for me as well.
Belize poster here. You guys are fun. When the time is right, I will come back to this and post where you can find me on the island. Let's have dinner!
Just curious how old you are, Belize poster? It seems like all is well for many retirees in their 50s/60s but the 70s/80s can hit hard. Are you concerned about developing a chronic health issue requiring the care of one or more specialists? Even really healthy adults usually end up needing to be monitored closely for one reason or another as they get into old age. Is your plan to just live it up until that point?
I’m the PP who knows the Belize / Roatan area well. I’m telling you the expats are weirdos. They live there because they can’t afford to and can’t fit into living in the US. Island living gets old real fast. The same weird old fogies going to the same happy hours and dancing around to 70s rock. Very small community of losers. It’s sad to see actually.
Anonymous wrote:I dont get people who want to move away from friends and community they spent 18+ years building unless its totally unaffordable. When my kids are grown ill get to garden more, spend more time with the friends i made and enjoy my neighborhood more.
+1 million.
Many of my friends have plans to move, so the community is going to be broken up anyway. They are moving for various reasons: lifestyle, to be closer to family (either for eldercare or to be around grandkids), finances.
+1 It really is different for people who aren't DC area natives. For the rest of us, the transient nature of the area means that the people in the community that you built keep leaving. Almost all of my good friends from my 30 years living in DC have left. We finally left DC for a different part of the country and wish we did it sooner.
+2
Some of us can not imagine living in one place our entire lives, it is 2023, not 1952!
Sad isn't? Roaming the world looking for something that they should be seeking inside themselves.
Wow that's quite a leap there. Most people aren't wistfully roaming the world and never finding a community. They leave DC and find what they're looking for.
Anonymous wrote:I dont get people who want to move away from friends and community they spent 18+ years building unless its totally unaffordable. When my kids are grown ill get to garden more, spend more time with the friends i made and enjoy my neighborhood more.
+1 million.
Many of my friends have plans to move, so the community is going to be broken up anyway. They are moving for various reasons: lifestyle, to be closer to family (either for eldercare or to be around grandkids), finances.
+1 It really is different for people who aren't DC area natives. For the rest of us, the transient nature of the area means that the people in the community that you built keep leaving. Almost all of my good friends from my 30 years living in DC have left. We finally left DC for a different part of the country and wish we did it sooner.
+2
Some of us can not imagine living in one place our entire lives, it is 2023, not 1952!
Sad isn't? Roaming the world looking for something that they should be seeking inside themselves.
Wow that's quite a leap there. Most people aren't wistfully roaming the world and never finding a community. They leave DC and find what they're looking for.
Anonymous wrote:I dont get people who want to move away from friends and community they spent 18+ years building unless its totally unaffordable. When my kids are grown ill get to garden more, spend more time with the friends i made and enjoy my neighborhood more.
+1 million.
Many of my friends have plans to move, so the community is going to be broken up anyway. They are moving for various reasons: lifestyle, to be closer to family (either for eldercare or to be around grandkids), finances.
+1 It really is different for people who aren't DC area natives. For the rest of us, the transient nature of the area means that the people in the community that you built keep leaving. Almost all of my good friends from my 30 years living in DC have left. We finally left DC for a different part of the country and wish we did it sooner.
+2
Some of us can not imagine living in one place our entire lives, it is 2023, not 1952!
Sad isn't? Roaming the world looking for something that they should be seeking inside themselves.
Wow that's quite a leap there. Most people aren't wistfully roaming the world and never finding a community. They leave DC and find what they're looking for.
I'm a bit curious about this. Because I left the US for 14 years of expatdom, roaming the world. I had a great time, but you definitely don't put down roots. One of the reasons for moving back to was to build a community and put down roots so that when I was older I'd have good networks of family and friends. And it's a lot harder to do this when middle aged or older than to start out in your 20s like most of my friends did back in the day, settling down, buying a house, starting a family. They now all have established networks. I still don't. So when I hear people talk about leaving a place to move somewhere new, I'm not quite sure they really understand what they're getting into. Except, of course, if you move somewhere when you already have good friends. Or don't care about having friends. The latter is quite real for many, I've noticed.
Kinda funny, but I scrolled through this entire thread thinking I might find some relocation ideas. In the end, there isn’t much here, and those who did move away or had friends move away didn’t mention their new location.
I turned to VA migration data for some better insights. Northern VA is attracting people from NY and CA. Virginias are leaving primarily for the south, most notably NC and FL, but TN, SC, and GA too.
Anonymous wrote:Kinda funny, but I scrolled through this entire thread thinking I might find some relocation ideas. In the end, there isn’t much here, and those who did move away or had friends move away didn’t mention their new location.
I turned to VA migration data for some better insights. Northern VA is attracting people from NY and CA. Virginias are leaving primarily for the south, most notably NC and FL, but TN, SC, and GA too.
NOVA is attracting people from blue states and losing them to red states. It’s also attracting people from colder climates (save CA) and losing them to even warmer areas.
Separately, there is a trend toward moving from urban areas to more rural parts of the state and even WV.
Anonymous wrote:Kinda funny, but I scrolled through this entire thread thinking I might find some relocation ideas. In the end, there isn’t much here, and those who did move away or had friends move away didn’t mention their new location.
I turned to VA migration data for some better insights. Northern VA is attracting people from NY and CA. Virginias are leaving primarily for the south, most notably NC and FL, but TN, SC, and GA too.
VA is as far south as I’ll go. It’s already too far. So many backwards people.
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}