Advice on using relocation companies

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dabuis New member

Member since 19 June 2013

dabuisNew member23 June 2013 18:51:12

My wife and I are planning our retirement to Belize and have come across a couple of relocation companies such as Escapeartistbelize and Fidelity overseas.

Does anyone have any experience with these companies that they could share and would you recommend these or other companies to help our planning and relocation process.

Thanks

Dave

terrific Serial expat

Member since 11 August 2013

terrificSerial expat15 August 2013 19:17:49

582

I am not sure paying someone else to do the leg work when for the similar price you could enjoy being on the ground exploring for yourself is anything I would have opted for.
If you do not know the country and through a third party are committing to it, can be hazardous to your wealth, and happiness.

Johnhenry1925 Active member

Member since 20 November 2012

Johnhenry1925Active member15 August 2013 19:29:00

Hi Dave
Have your wife and yourself visited Belize? If not my first piece of advice would be to come here for an extended stay (I would say a month minimum). Travel around. Get a feeling for all of the places you visit. Understand (as best as you are able with the time available to you) what you can get. And, what you cannot.

Visit realtors and other agencies that manage rental properties. Look in the newspaper classified sections. Trawl the Internet (you can find out most things there).

My wife and I moved to Ambergris Caye just over a year ago (we had been visiting on holiday for 15 years prior to this) and organised everything ourselves. We didn't feel that we needed the involvement of a relocation company. Having made the move we are not sorry that we didn't.

Good luck with your move.

http://www.abelizehomeforus.wordpress.com

2flyaway Contributor

Member since 16 January 2013

2flyawayContributor15 August 2013 20:40:15

178

Dabius:

As with most things in life, different things for different folks. If you are a busy professional and just don't have the time to fill all the paperwork, and spend the time learning what you need to fill out, and walk it through the process then these kinds of organizations can be a real help. We have flown our small plane (an adventure) across Canada, across the USA, and around Central America. For Canada and the USA I did all the paperwork. It takes time. For Mexico and Central America we paid an experienced company to ensure all the paperwork was done, and have people on the ground (except Mexico) to assist us with all the processing. This made our visits much more enjoyable. From hours in Mexico to an hour in the other countries.

That is just an example. It certainly does not mean that a person can't do this for oneself. It is what you want to be doing with your time.

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