At the end of January 2013 we put Barton Creek Outpost on the market and by the middle of February we had a deposit on it. The Outpost sold, we hugged some necks, shed some tears, packed a few things and after 8 and a half years, left Belize.
We are now three weeks into readjusting to the US and I have realized a few things during that time. American grocery stores make my head spin. The pledge of allegiance at Little League games makes my eyes leak. I like good roads and air conditioning. The US is incredibly wealthy.
The abundance in the US is hard to get used to after being surrounded by so much poverty. NEWSFLASH: The people of the US are not in financial distress. Oh but everyone is in debt, it’s all credit cards, blah, blah blah. Here’s an idea, take your family to a 3rd world country for a year, live in a similar fashion to the locals. Return home. Notice how nice everything is, notice the air conditioning everywhere, notice the pavement on the street, notice the highways and mall parking lots & restaurants packed with shiny cars, notice the lack of burglar bars on every window. If the Fickle Financial Wonderers of Wall Street use the spending habits of average Americans to help determine confidence in the economy, look around and see how much money is being spent. It is staggering. Don’t listen to the fear-mongers, you are still wealthier than most of the world. Chillax…
I am not opposed to people making and spending money. Some of my Belizean friends extoll the perceived virtues of the “moneyless world” and the peace it allegedly brings… I mean, apart from the murder rate, alcoholism, physical abuse etc….AND, even though, according to a friend of mine, “the u.s. is the known leader of detestable excess” I am personally happy to see nice things again. I don’t think abundance, wealth or having nice things is detestable or evil. Even my 5 year old daughter (born in Belize) appreciates the smooth roads in the US. I subscribe to the Ann Ryand view, “America’s abundance was created not by public sacrifices to the common good, but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America’s industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages, and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance- and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way.”
I love Belize for its natural beauty. I love Belize for the freedom its people have. I love living there because of the perspective it gives a Tennessee redneck on racism. I appreciate that it is not a “stuff driven” society and keeping up with the Jonses’ isn’t a way of life. I love that about Belize. However, I do think that the majority of the Belizean native population could use a good dose of M.O.T.I.V.A.T.I.O.N. I have said it a hundred times, Belize doesn’t have an unemployment problem, Belize has a work ethic problem. That might ruffle a few feathers but I know this, if you are a foreigner and have lived in Belize for a few years you just said, “Amen”. Can I get a witness?
Are there hard working Belizeans? Of course. Do I want Belize to be like the US? No. Can Belize and the US learn from one another? Yes. Let’s face it, Belize is laid back. People go to Belize on vacation and want to move there because it is laid back. They soon find out their contractor is laid back, the electrician is laid back, the mechanic is laid back, the waitress is laid back, the majority of the workforce is laid back. Its great to be laid back until you need something done. Want the opposite of laid back? Visit the Mennonites in Spanish Lookout, Belize, for example. The streets are awesome, the buildings are nice, the bathrooms are clean, there is “customer service”, gasp. Customer service is so foreign to most Belizean businesses that I doubt there is even a word for customer service in the kriol dialect. (Easy, I’m kidding, some have a vague understanding the general concept.) Are there exceptions? Of course, but they are exceptions. Is there bad customer service in the Midway Restaurant in Spanish Lookout? Yes! Could the US benefit from being more free, less uptight and generally more laid back? Yes, yes and yes.
Being away has given me perspective that I hope I am forever grateful for. Coming back to the States I am astounded by the relative wealth the people of this country enjoy. The wealth here is not an accident but the product of abundant natural resources and generations of dedicated men and women with vision and an incredible work ethic. In the US today we are “standing on the shoulders of giants”, products of the great generations before us. Like many others, I am dismayed by some of the things happening in the United States. Unlike many others I just returned from life in a “developing country” and I see the US as an incredible land of opportunity and wealth. My fellow Americans, quit whining, you’re embarrassing the giants.
A final note, for those of you who continue to tell me how screwed up the United States of America is but you haven’t lived anywhere else, save your breath.
BelizeBritts's Blog 
Welcome home!! Very well said. There is a great trade off for “freedom”: the Freedom here comes with a cleaner environment, many rules, a greater sense of safety, more choices of product, nicer roads, your friends and family; the “freedom” there is more organic, you breathe more deeply, you see clearer, life is cut down to its base.
My analysis after our foray into Belize? A nice place to visit, even winter, but there’s no place like home; especially, when things are getting harder.
Love your writing!
Having gone back & forth from Texas to Belize for some 12 + years, i can Totally say that i agree, agree & agree some more with everything you’ve said, Jim. I dearly loVe so many things about BeliZe …everything you already stated, which includes the people. Plus, all that i have learned about hardship, the challenges that living in a third world country presents, to persevere no matter what, & the intense appreciation it has given me & shown me for America. I have said it so many times & i will say it again, everyone needs to get out of their comfort zone, experience life in a third world country by living there and facing the challenges & then come back to America & realize just how good we have always had it ! I’ve told all my friends in Tx just how extremely wealthy they really are & just don’t know it. It really puts one’s appreciation factor on high alert !
So glad your family is adjusting well and that your children have such a great perspective !
Take care and may God Bless you & Jacqueline & your beautiful kids !
Amen Jim! Preach t! :). I’m visiting the States for three weeks, overwhelmed by the choices and can’t wait to get back to my small slow simple life of Belize.
Yes, welcome home! I too have enjoyed your writing and perspective. I very much enjoyed my visit to Belize several years ago. What it taught me was how much I miss and long for a simpler lifestyle. That you don’t need a lot of money to enjoy life when you look for God’s wonder in nature. On the flip side of the coin, it taught me that life in general can be harder without some of the modern conveniences we have, and that is the trade off. You have to make a choice, and then my advice is everything in moderation. I know it must be a big adjustment for your family especially your children. But they will have opportunities here in the states that will give them that choice. Then the rest is up to them. You and Jaq have raised them with morals and values that I’m sure are quite rare for our youth in the US. But they will use that to their advantage and excel. I wish you guys all the success you deserve! God bless.
Welcome back home!
Really enjoying your perspective on your new journey, totally agree with you those large stores make my head spin, the children always look so happy in your photographs so happy they are settling in and especially happy your back with Family …..Blessings to you all
Jim, I am trying to wrap my mind around everything I just read. Very informative. Great perspective and insight from one who has lived in Belize. I was wondering if you would offer up insight about the American view of their dependence on God because they have so much wealth. do you see many of them considering themselves self sufficient without even the time or need for Him. Would you be able to share and compare the people of Belize and Americans in their spiritual relationship and need for Christ?
Welcome back to America. I am happy for you and your family.
Pam
Pam, thank you for your kind words and those are great questions but to offer my opinion would require a lengthy response and I just cannot do that right now. Additionally, I am not sure this is the forum for me to get into my opinion on that. I will say that I do not think one needs that relationship more than the other.
Hi Jim,
The most important point you raise in your article is that most Americans have a very limited perspective: we make big pronouncements about the state of the US without having anything to compare it to– most Americans never live anywhere else, or travel for that matter! Sadly, a lot of Americans probably won’t even know what “Belize” is when you talk about your experiences over the past years. Bravo on having an exceptional experience living abroad!
Thanks Marisa. Americans may not travel as much some Europeans, for example, but I think that is a product of geography as much as anything else. I agree that travel often brings perspective but I do not think vacation travel always brings perspective. I have traveled a bit and find that in every country there are simply people who stay at home. The western part of Belize is full of people who have never seen the Caribbean Sea, 70 miles away! The most important thing I think I have to say is that America is an amazing land of opportunity, the product of several generations of people with vision and a great work ethic. Today it seems fear is being perpetuated on every front and everyone is scared that things are so bad. My point is they aren’t so bad compared to the problems of many other countries.
I have lived in Belize two years and have visited multiple times since then. I also lived in El Salvador for 12 years. Very much agree with your perspective and wish there were a way to combine the best of several worlds!
Welcome from Belize, you only spent a short term down here, why do not ask USA and Canadians, Italians,,some of the other who have lived here for from 15 to 30 years, Yes, it is an experience, and yes, you are correct in many items, the people are more friendly here, they do not go into their houses, pull the drapes and watch TV, the TV is usually on, all day long, watching soaps, and at night, they go to the road in their village or town, they hit the streets, 80% of a village after dark is on the road. And, why did you leave? Belize???Your children”s educations, you did not make enough money.??? There is alot of your story which is “left out and vacant from answering”, and yes, I knew you all thru ” the grapevine, but, down here, it is a called , “the coconuts wireless.”.Good luck in the USA….
Thanks Mustard. My intent with this blog has been to share my experiences and insights into life in Belize based on my personal experiences. I do not mean to imply that I speak for anyone else and, for the purposes of these writings, I have not sought the opinions of others. We have several close expat friends who have spent 30 + years in Belize and I have sought thier treasured input on many things through the years. If I had sought their input more often in the earlier years my life would have surely been easier. As to “the rest of the story”, the specific questions you ask are addressed in previous blog entries. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment.
Hello again, and, I hope you are adjusting to the USA again, where, it is amazing that when you go to get some document, you can actually get it-quick. Your experience in Belize will stay with you forever, and, personally, raising children down in Belize is hard, but, their experience that they have had will stay with them forever, And, you can always come back, that’s the beauty of things, you can always come and be welcomed. Please keep us posted on your new journey in the states.
Jim, wishing you and your family all the best being back in the states. Enjoyed reading your “Perspective” blog.
Having lived in Haiti, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, I agree that what the whiners need is a solid dose of the third world. Americans might not be able to find jobs but here anyone can start a business and if their work ethic is solid, they can always find opportunities.. I have always enjoyed your blog.
Why didn’t you just move to Spanish Lookout?
I sense a rhetorical question. Just the same, Barton Creek Outpost is one of the most beautiful places in western Belize. However, many times I did think that I could live out there in Spanish Lookout and enjoy the generally cleaner enviroment and significantly less crime. The ony violent crime I recall there involved the Belizean Police killing an unarmed security guard in the course of robbing the Scotia Bank. http://7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=16608
Jackie, I am so pleased that you and your family made it out at last!
Very much enjoyed your journey and candid observations. Having lived in Belize twice, and running a business I agree your observations are spot on. It takes a special person to be able to make the move from tourist to resident in Belize. The day to day challenges can be immense. That being said, I love Belize, her people and the many expats I consider my friends.
Will I live in Belize forever, not a chance. Do I feel like the time I have spent here has been beneficial, INDEED. Like others have said, refreshing to get out of your comfort zone and enjoy another culture. Biggest mistake a newbie can make is selling everything and having nothing to return to if things don’t work out. Real Estate and businesses are pretty easy to buy in Belize but often take many years to sell. Like so many others have said, come down and rent a place or 6 months or a year, then make your decision.
Like Belize Brits I love going in the produce section of the US grocery stores.
Good luck to you and your family
I find your insight and willingness to share your experiences not only helpful but even life changing. Romance is a powerful factor and just like the honeymoon phase of a marriage once you stop holding in the farts you can start getting on with the business of the relationship, in this case relating to a country. My romantic view of Belize, even of life itself, was changed in reading your posts and blog. Thank you. .
Thank you very much, I hope part of that view includes all the wonderful and amazing things about Belize. It is after the honeymoon that real love sets in and we start to appreciate what love is without the oogley googley facade.
Hmmm … I’m a Canadian born and raised in Belize, but have lived in a Canadian city for 10 years. I moved back to Belize 8 years ago. I will not go as far as to say that one place is better than the other, but I will say the countries are VERY DIFFERENT. It’s like always driving a car to work, but now your job requires you to drive a full size pickup truck with a goose neck trailer (or vice-versa). You’ll get around in either one, but damn do you have to learn quick to not hurt yourself or others.
Perhaps the best way to put it, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Of course there’s always Home Sweet Home …. which simply put, is where you grew up.
Belize is as you said a developing country. Belize has a long way to go and you should be smart enough to not compare the US to a 31 year old “Belize”. Don’t give bad publicity to a beautiful country. Enjoy the comforts of America lets see how long it will last. Chaw…
Belize is made up of its people who have been around longer than 31 years. I am not giving bad publicity, I am sharing my personal experiences and honest insight, good and bad, about a place I called home for 8 and a half years. There is plenty of pie in the sky, “Belize is Paradise” BS info out there and it isn’t the whole truth. For people who want the truth, good, bad and indifferent, I have spent numerous years writing about it from my prespective and it is contained in the entirety of my writing. If people want sunshine and rainbows they can talk to realtors or read International Living.
I didn’t move back to the US for comforts but I am enjoying them, thank you.
Hi Belize Britts,
When you are saying that their is a lot of BS info could you be a more specific or direct me to some of your writing.
Did you participate in the writing of the book ” The Single Best
“Just In Case” Place In The World” sold by Bill Heid?
If I understand your post, you wouldn’t recommend to someone to expat full time to Belize Cayo?
I really would like to have all the pro and con if you have time.
Thanks you
I believe the body of my writing, posted here and nowhere else, speaks of the positives and negatives of Belize in general. I am not opposed to Cayo at all, I like it there. Belize is not for everyone though some try to sell it like it is a lost paradise. I am not anti-Belize, I love Belize and left many close friends there.
I know some people are making preperations for a giant collapse in the US/world. I simply do not care, I’ve read The Book, we win in the end.
Would you recommend the book since you read it? I am asking since you might know if it’s worth for $300.00 since you might know Belize very well.
Do you know the project Biospharma? in spanishlockout? A little to small for us but like the concept.
I am not familar with the book nor do I know too much about Biosphara.
thank you
JIm,
I don’t understand but maybe I mislead what you were writing, I thought you have read the book sorry : The Single Best
“Just In Case” Place In The World” sold by Bill Heid? ( from off the grid news)
It”s about BELIZE, and your picture is on is website to buy the book.
thanks you for the information.
The question I am asking is with what’s going on in the US , socio economic collapse coming, less and less liberty, morality, freedom etc… the situation might be very difficult in the US compare to Belize where is less government control (less police state / Progressive Big Brother)
Thus Belize might be a better place compare to the US in order to prepare in terms of surviving a probable global socio-economic collapse.
Most of all the experts are suggesting to get out of the US.
No doubt there are problems in the US. No doubt Belize has more freedoms. As to “surviving a probable global socio-economic collapse” and “Most of all the experts are sugesting to get out of the US” I disagree. If the world collapses, and I don’t think it will in my lifetime, I aint scared. As to the “experts”, my faith is not in them.
Thank you for your respond .
So you disagree with Peter Shiff, Doug Casey Gerald Celente, R Paul Glenn Beck etc…
will like to know your opinion .
http://100thmonkeyfilms.com/endoftheroad/
If the world comes to a crashing end I’d rather be near my family and, besides that, I am convinced my faith is well placed. I do not live in fear of that eventuality nor am I going to debate it with you or justify my views.
I understand
best regards and good luck.
If you don t mind I ask you some questions on some post, would appreciate if you have the time to answer.
If the usa collapses so would any third or second world nearby. I am with Jim on this. I think your best chance for a global problem is going to be here. Life I think you need to look at Alaska. Also people are still panning for gold there so if money fails you could have something to trade.
Now that I know this is working, I have my own experience and views on this subject. First, I really appreciated Jim sharing his views with the rest of us. The quickest way to be wise is exposure, specially to other people’s take on events and experiences, and then make your own decisions based on your unique situation.
To me, ~nothing~ is a matter of absolutes, but degrees. I don’t see any place perfect nor do I see the choice between Belize vs, the US as being the only one, for there is Europe and the rest of Central and South America. Big difference between Panama and Belize, for example.
I been in Belize 3 years, started a business and just sold it, and going back to the US also. For a while mind you, until enthusiasm rises enough to continue the search for an alternative to the US, but to me Belize is not that place. Yes, America does have the amenities, the comforts, safeties and life is so much more predictable, but on the other hand it is too predictable for me, thus gets boring. At 65 years old, with the children gone, I would like to end with something more exciting. In Belize, I loved its raw nature, simplicity and laid back atmosphere, but not the lack of motivation of its people, the fact they don’t seem to care how ugly things are around them, nor how long things take, which directly correlates to risk, since the longer things take, the higher the chance something goes ‘wrong’ (of course I am alluding to the general underlying corruption).
Some of you may say 3 years is not enough to get to know a place. Not after you have seen a lot of the world already, you can detect the pattern that much quicker. I have lived quite a few times outside the US over 65 years. Not my first rodeo.
Is the answer really that no ONE place is ‘perfect’, thus takes two places to make up the ‘perfect package’, live in one place and visit the other? Probably, stands to reason. Which those two places are, of course depends on the individual. A ‘live-in-US and visit-Belize’ sure sounds like a good combination, which certainly seems to work for many. But not the other way around.
May you all find what makes YOU happy, as for me, I will continue looking, just in case.
Fred
I have read the comments with interest. However, I didn’t read anything about a woman living alone in Belize.
I have recently retired and have been considering moving to Belize. Living the laid back life for a time (1 year) is something I need and living within walking distance of the beach is appealing.
What words of advice do you have?
Thank you
Kathy
Live in a populated area, fence your yard, get two mean dogs, trust no one initially, don’t feed the natives the faya wata.
As one who has lived in the US for 5 years, I really appreciate your perspective and would have to agree with you. When some American was recently trying to make me believe that if our children behaved in a certain way in the US, the social services would be there real quick to take them away from us. I smiled as I said we had lived there, our children had behaved the same way they did here, but no services had come around. Don’t believe all the stories you hear! Life is good where one makes it good.
And by the way, thanks for the Spanish Lookout comment, seeing as I live there!
40+ years in Belize and finally getting out. Belize was a primitive paradise in the 70’s. 80’s was very prosperous. In the 90’s Belize started going downhill. Now it has become a cesspool of corruption, high crime, graft, pollution and everything else bad. I thought I would never leave but it has come to the point I need to get out. This was my home as I grew up here but I no longer feel safe or happy in Belize.
I wonder how things turned out for you folks when you went back to the US last year (yes it is 2014 already!). Since I wrote my response last summer, many changes have taken place in my life in Belize. I found a niche comfortable for me, and I wonder if that is the approach one should take with this country, since is so diversified, socially.
We are doing well. Most of the adjustment phase is behind us. We miss our friends in Belize but have been surrounded by family here so we have been enjoying that. Much of the news I have heard from Belize (flooding in Barton Creek, violence against friends) further strengthens my feeling that we left at the right time. I have been intending to spend more time with this blog but haven’t carved out the time yet. I hope to soon.
Personally I found your blog and experiences very enlightening, fair and thus very wise. Above all, you all did something special, and had a unique experience to draw upon the rest of your lives, individually and as a family. That is what I think it is the best part of it, the country is secondary.
One thing Belize does offer is opportunity, an extraordinary one IF one happens to stumble upon the right situation,
Thank you Fred. I agree with everything you said.
Each of us has a perspective of events and experiences that are seen through the veil of past experiences and opinions….. thus I disagree with your assessment of both Belize and the USA. I lived in the southern USA for 5 years. Your notion of the origins of the wealth in the USA omits the impact of slavery and the days of labor prior to unionization. I feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to be born in the USA at a time when there was great affluence for the middle working classes, where my public school & land grant college education was excellent, and in the Mid West where religion did not run the governments and racial prejudice was unknown. I enjoyed the opportunity to be well paid for my work, so I could provide a good standard of living for my children and myself. I am grateful I retired before the middle class was wiped out.
The Mennonite communities in Belize that you so admire are a religious communal culture/society and there is little personal freedom within. The lawlessness & lack of laws and law enforcement in Belize is direct result of the corruption at every level of the Belizean culture, both government and the public. The funds provided by countries outside Belize for economic development have gone into the pockets of the elected & appointed government employees/officials instead of being spent on the infrastructure and education. Education is firmly in the grip of the churches. The Chinese here have bought their passports with counterfeit US $. The Chinese who do have a “work ethic” are indentured servants to the man in Belize city who pays their way into the country & holds their passports until he is paid off. He also is the importer of all the goods sold in the many little markets, so he gets them both ways. The store owners work here for 5 years, then move on to the USA, which was always their ultimate destination.
I understand that your impressions of Belize are valid for you. And they are not an accurate overall assessment of affairs or of the causes and effects.
My impressions of Belize are not only valid for me but the vast majority of expats who live, or have lived, there. How do I know this? I have close relationships with many of them and get feed back from many more.
The Chinese in Belize, as a whole, live a far better lifestyle than the average Belizean. Period. They are no more indentured servants than the average homeowner in the US is to a bank who owns the mortgage.
I agree about the corruption and lawlessness.
The education is firmly n the grip of the Government which operates under a system that is firmly in the grip of the people should they choose to exercise that right, get involved and not (literally) sell their votes to the highest bidder. That educational system is substandard to be sure and I have long said that education in Belize should be the #1 priority.
The Mennonites have as much freedom as they desire. To willingly live in any culture and operate under its expected practices is not surrendering one’s personal freedom. I’d stack a Mennonite up against nearly any other people group in Belize, including expats, and prefer to deal with a Mennonite (on matters of integrity and competence) in nearly every situation. I’m not judging their lifestyle one way or the other, I am judging the fruit of their lives.
You obviously exaggerate in an attempt to prove a point, in this case, “before the middle class was wiped out.” I turn to Webster to define “Middle Class”: “characterized by a high material standard of living, sexual morality, and respect for property.” The middle class in the US hasn’t been “wiped out”. The standard of living in the US is embarrassingly high, sexual morality is embarrassingly low and our property laws are some of the best in the world. You know where there is virtually no middle class? Belize.
Slavery is a smear on US history. Fact. However, to attribute the wealth of the US to slavery and not take into account the slavery in the rest of the Americas is beyond reason. Where is the middle class there? What percentage of slavery, during the course of human history, do you suppose the US is responsible for? That infinitesimal number does not make our long dead ancestors right or excuse their actions but it does lend perspective. Peoples have been enslaved, an estimated 400,000 in the US. (http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2012/10/how_many_slaves_came_to_america_fact_vs_fiction.html)
There were more slaves that went to Central and South America during that time in history than the US. Where is their middle class? Where is the wealth?
I appreciate you taking the time to respond and I strongly disagree with nearly everything you had to say. I think your impressions are accurate for you, regardless of the facts.
I couldn’t possibly agree more with Belize Britts. His is one of honesty, fair and a perspective based on first-hand experience; he doesn’t have a theory to fit the facts in order to arrive at a fix set of believes which he refuses to change. He had an experience in Belize that led him to come away with a new way of thinking. It happens to coincide to the letter with mine, and that is no coincidence.
I have been in Belize 4 years and at 62 years old I thought I was on top of my game as an understanding of people; I arrived with the most idealistic of mind, as I suppose Belize Britt also; well in time I now ‘see’ why Belize is where it is and a good idea where it is headed, considering the ~nature~ of its people; and no its no one else’s fault or some hidden sinister master plan by the ‘foreigners’ to keep them down; it is because of the fundamental mentality of its people, which is very ~different~ that of us Westeners, Mennonites or Chinese, which make up a very small part of its population.
I absolutely love Belize and it has worked for me, through sheer effort and tenacity, but it has required many mental adjustments and a much higher degree of caution and constant adaptation; if anything else born out of self preservation. It does keep one on their toes.
I have also been back to the States twice to visit and I have discovered how much I really like my people “Americans”, at least those that have similar values, as most had when I was growing up from the 60’s onward. I did notice something however each time I went there, the ~amount~ of people is amazing, its people density is 1000x that of Belize, and yes it is 1000x bigger, but they are not evenly distributed. Now I am beginning to understand why its organization, controls and big government one could make the case are ‘necessary’, but its those aspects in which are not for me. As a result I do feel ‘freer’ in Belize, albeit with a higher amount of risk and surprises.
I wish you all the best and may you be happy wherever life takes you.
BelizeBritts and Fred +1 Thank you.