Clue Me In--Groceries

The market in San Ignacio is great. Though Saturday's are the big market day, the other days of the week you can get fruits and vegetables. They are very fresh - vine ripened, and very in expensive. Sorry - I can't answer your question directly as I did not write prices down when I was in the various grocery stores. For the type of food that you are looking to purchase the prices are inexpensive. It is when you want to buy the things that need to be imported that things get expensive (and not available off the shelf). We have the same idea of growing our own food as much as possible (especially our dogs' food). Therefore we are thinking our monthly grocery bill will be around $100 - $150 for the two of us. We feed our dogs the BARF diet, so we are expecting to be butchering our own animals to make up their food.

Have you found a place in San Ignacio? Do you breed and sell dogs (since your handle is 'doglady'?

Hi and thanks so much for the response. We haven't really shopped at the market, but the days we passed by it were big tourist days so we thought maybe that was the draw.

I do not breed or sell dogs. At one time I was an Animal Control Officer. I am hoping to do some volunteering with the animals once we arrive and get a bit settled. And no, we have not found a place. We have spent many years planning a move but each time something has slowed us down. Now we have decided that the end of the year or the first of next year -- no excuses.

We have not really considered San Ignacio until recently when we were there for the end of year celebrations last year. We own property on Ambergris Caye but it not habitable yet. We wanted to move there but are being warned not to by locals. So, here we are looking to make a leap and can't seem to find a little footing to do so.

Do you have a small farm there? Making your own dog food is very cool. Butchering your own animals as well. My husband want chickens and I think goats and/or rabbits. Nothing major, just a little extra something to keep us busy and put a little dinner on the table.

Any ideas on how to make the leap would be great. Thanks again for the help.

We have purchased a small farm there (small by Canadian standards) 20 acres. It will be big enough to grow fruit, vegetables, have a fish pond, chickens, and raise some dogs. That is what I have wanted to do since I was a teenager. We are far from teenagers now . We are by San Ignacio, and hope to move down around November this year (as soon as we can sell our house).

We will be learning a lot. Sure, I grew up on a farm, but that was Canada. We want to grow our own food to eat healthy, but also to keep ourselves moving. We have been sitting at a desk for 25 years working on computers, so we need to get moving again.

My impression was the Saturday market is a busy time for the locals, not just the tourists.  Having said that we have only been in Belize a on two occasions.

Interesting that the locals warned to not move to Ambergris Caye. Why were they warning against it?
We wanted to have some land for a small farm. We figured we would be much closer to the ocean in San Ignacio than we are now in Canada.

Jody

Hi Jody,
It is interesting that you have purchased a small farm. Which way from San Ignacio are you situated? We have met another lady from BC who is a bit south of San Ignacio, near San Antonio who also has a small farm of 40 acres. It's nice to know other Canadians in the district. We purchased 3.3 acres in Unitedville, with the same idea - get back to moving again, grow our own food, and have space for the dogs and cats. I would like to have some chickens too. (maybe even a cow - I just have to talk my husband into that one).
MariLynne

I wonder how many of us have this same story?! It sounds as though my husband or myself wrote the above post. He is a corporate compliance officer and I was a parole officer for a many years, then went into Animal Control. We kid each other that its a good thing that our mid life crisis' are compatible. Having 20 acres would be incredible. We are just hoping for enough room for a few chickens, a milk goat, and garden and our pets. Are you going to raise dogs for selling or for pets?

Sorry, I confused you. The locals on Ambergris Caye are warning us not to move to the north end of the island. They think the petty crime in San Pedro is tolerable.  But apparently the drug dealers hide their gas for their boats at the north end; which is still mostly jungle. We wanted to build a Mennonite prefab house up there but one of the REALLY big real estate agents there said it was very dangerous. We had all but convinced ourselves that that was the way to go when she sent us a private message explaining the issue. So, back to the drawing board. That's kind of when we started looking at places on the mainland. But so far, no luck. I'm still a little set on San Pedro but the agents there don't help with housing in some of the iffy neighborhoods. So the cheaper places are very hard to find there.

BTW-- can anyone give me info on the San Joaquin area?

We are just east of San Ignacio on the river, so not far from UnitedVille. When are you moving down, or are you already there? There are lots of expats, from many countries. We have found everyone very friendly which is so nice.

I would say your looking at about $25.00 dollars belize(12.50 us)

billem wrote:

I would say your looking at about $25.00 dollars belize(12.50 us)

Per week for groceries listed? Where are you and where do you shop for these items. It seems that $25 in almost any currency is a great price for groceries!!

Hi Doglady
Our dogs are just pets and for security. We have one dog and three cats here in Canada and we are hoping to bring them to Belize once we sell our place here and move down. We purchased a lovely mid-sized dog in Belize for security reasons. She loves us but is really good at keeping intruders out of the yard. Our yard is also fenced.
MariLynne

Hi 2flyaway,
My husband, Brian, is there right now and will be there until mid-June. I'm back in Canada, trying to sell our property here, then we plan to both head down to Belize. Not certain yet if we will just be snow birds or will stay there. Still playing it by ear.
MariLynne

we spend about 2 months a year in santa elena.there are many shops to choose from,we usualy shop at lin's super store on the western hwy