Pending ex-pat

It is a wonderful idea that you check out the country before deciding to move,

Hi KateyT,

Welcome to Expat.com

I invite you to browse through the list of real estate agencies in Belize you might want to contact.

For better orientation, can you please give us more details regarding the accommodation you are looking for?

Thank you,

Hasnaa

Be Careful!!!!     Come and plan to stay in an inexpensive place until you can do your own research.   The land speculators drool when they see a new "sucker" that can be overcharged by 200%.    If you want a USA house with a dishwasher etc in a neighborhood of ex-pats, you will pay USA prices, thru the nose.     Utility costs are very high here, so the rent you pay is only the tip of the iceburg.       Check carefully, ask for costs of utilities.   We found our little Belizean house in a Belizean neighborhood via an ad posted on the window of a hardware store.    We have no view, cement house, AC,  hot water in the bath, 900 sq ft, 2 br, 1 bath for $575 Bz a month.  Our electric runs $5-600 a month.   Best Luck.

Very good advice . Lot of plus an minuses for moving to Belize. May be it is a good idea to write down all the pluses and all the minuses side by side and make a rational decision

yes, Spiceman....   I can suggest that adding up all the costs,..... &  being realistic will be helpful.   there are some real enjoyable advantages to living here.   There are issues too.  It depends on how important the different factors are to an emigres needs and wants.

Top of the list what come to my mind
Weather Obviously is what every talk about ,a real plus
Friendly people ,Most are ,but there are  murderers ,real Estate cheaters
Government -over all friendly ,but it is bothering when the system is set up to extract maximum amount of money from Expats. Corruption is present. may be difficult to Eradicate
Belize customs. Some time I wonder what  the purpose of customs is other than give job to bureaucrats ,and customs brokers. But it reduces flow of vital goods needed for industry including factories that may employee Belizeans and keep Belize down in the arena of international competition.
India used to do the same about 15 or 20 years ago. Custom was "strict" Corrupt and encouraged bribery at every level and smuggling. Bold steps taken by one prime Minister changed everything .Look where India is now. I am sure there were arguments against Mr Manmohan Singh when he basically removed all barriers of imports of goods and technology. They might have been India will lose jobs,Foreigners will come and take away the jobs etc. Another argument ight have been relaxing customs will discourage indigenous production. History Actually proves the opposite is true.
Customs is like toll booths.  Toll booths  slow down traffic ,take away money from travelers but give job for a lot of people for sitting in booths and collecting money. It is supposed to pay for the high way ,but I am afraid the collection of toll may continue long after the high way was paid off.   
Similarly Customs impede economic growth and keep industries from coming in to the country. Wonder what will happen if Belize downsize customs -say by 50 %.
This topic with input from many members may answer most of the questions  posted by new comers who want to move to Belize

I completely agree with Spiceman.   the import tarrifs encourages corruption and prevents businesses from coming to Belize...  money flows to the corrupt government workers & nothing to the citizens of Belize.  The trucks run down the Northern Hway with contraband from Mexico to Belize, all night long.  Customs even uses Customs trucks to deliver goods and unloads at some Chinese stores in Corozal.

When the US Embassy officials were in Corozal I asked about what was being done to work on a more favorable tarrif situation for importers of US goods.   Nothing is being done at the international government level.   Individual businesses would have to come and negotiate bribes with the officials.  the cost of the bribes makes most ventures not profitable.

My average time to get a part for my tractors or other machinery is 2 to 3 weeks, waiting on an order made by Mennonites in SLO.  I can get it in 2 days or less by air except for the paper work and other delays .
Starting a business is 30 % or more expensive in Belize because of Tariff. Wonder if present day customs is a left over from British  time?
Brokers have told me Belize port is one of the most expensive port -even more expensive than Mexico.
We need very bold honest authorities with progressive 21 st century mentality and 0% tolerance for corruption. All areas of Government  that could turn in to breeding ground for corruption should be watched or eliminated .  People do so much better everywhere without the wrong kind of government interference.
You don,t have to go too far to see an example.
Many evenings I watched (in Golden Stream Village)Trucks full of Cattle going south on Southern high way. I was curious as to where they are taking the cattle.
From what I heard these cattle are taken to to the end of Southern high way walked across the boarder to Guatemala.
The farmers make good money. No paper work ,no customs ,  just people to people  (like our ancestors did before we came "civilized"). Ordinary people worked for it and deserve the profit. I am sue what they did may be "illegal"

Sounds good. I'm currently in Romania but my family in Canada and we're all planning to move to Australia (complicated stuff, I know). Would you recommend asking a customs broker for advice. I've found these guys here - w2c.ca/customs-training-montreal.html and they seem ok.