I made it! I've officially been "flip flops on the ground" for just over a 2 weeks now and so far everything has been much easier than I anticipated. I heard horror stories, but no one questioned my one way ticket, customs was a breeze, and the apartment l found on facebook but hadn't seen pictures of was perfect! My barrel arrived after some delay due to weather and everything I packed made it without breaking. So I'm here for 6 months to make sure this is really what i I want, and if everything works out my husband will join me. Moving alone was not ideal and I really miss my family, but the people here are wonderful. So far I've managed to get a phone, set up my art studio, get butane delivered, get acquainted with my new town and I'm slowly learning to just "be". I'm excited about the future here in beautiful Belize!

Just Do It!

I can't believe it's been so long since I updated here ~ so much has happened!  Our trip in May solidified our desire to move to Belize and I have been doing research online and reading everything I can get my hands on, as well as emailing with and talking to people that live there since we've been back. I finally decided that I just have to do it now!  There's only so much you can learn without actually being there.  I joined all the expat groups I could find on facebook and through one of them I found an apartment ~ so I bought a one-way ticket yesterday!  The plan for now is for me to go for 6 months and if all goes well my husband and youngest daughter will join me.

We can't afford for him to just quit his job until we know for sure, so as hard as it will be to do this alone, it's the only way we can get started before we're old enough to collect Social Security (which likely won't be there for us anyway).  And so the countdown begins ~ 35 days from today I will be in Belize!

Going Back

We Have Tickets!!

It's been a while since I've posted here, but trust me, I've been doing a ton of research!  Moving to Belize is not just a dream, or even a goal for me ~ it's like a magnetic pull that I have absolutely no strength to resist.  

What I've learned so far is that the majority of the information readily available online and in print is horribly out of date.  So we bought some plane tickets and we're going back to do some "on the ground" research.  Which will likely be a lot more accurate and will definitely be a lot more fun!

We'll be spending the month of May traveling the country. There will be lots of posts coming up on everything from how to pack for a month on the road with just a backpack, to up to date info on budget traveling and every thing I can learn about moving there.

Despite what some backpacking sites will tell you, underwear is NOT optional in my pack!  So I'll be showing you an in depth list of what we take (and don't take) and yes, we've done it twice before so I know we can. This time I intend to pare it down to as little as possible (while still taking the underwear!) because I do know how heavy that thing will feel halfway through the trip.

Before you get the impression that we're silver spoon trust fund babies, I should probably do a post on finances, because really, we're just average Joes with average jobs and a family. So mostly what you'll get from me here is the BUDGET way to do it!

Until next time ~ Belize it!

Your First Visit

The first time we traveled to Belize we were just taking a vacation and wanting an adventure.  We made no advanced plans and no reservations beyond the hotel in Belize City the first night, and we packed as little as we could.  This allowed us to go anywhere we wanted on the fly. If we ran into someone who said "you have to see ________" we could go the next day.  There was absolutely nothing first class about that trip.  We didn't spend a single night in a fancy resort, didn't eat a single meal in a top restaurant, didn't rent a car or join a tour group.  We simply picked up our backpacks, and traveling by bus, taxi or on foot, we explored the country.  One of the keys to doing that successfully was not having any luggage.  We packed the minimum we thought we would need in great backpacks we borrowed from our parents.  These worked out so well we bought our own!  We used Rick Steves Convertible Carryon and found that it had exactly the right amount of room (with none to spare!) for everything we needed including our snorkeling gear. The pack itself weighs only 3 pounds which meant that the total weight only depended upon what we decided were necessities. When you think about packing everything you need for a month on your back, you realize there are a whole lot of things that do not qualify as necessities!

This is the only picture I have of the backpacks - but it gives you the idea.

We plan to do a post on how we pack and what we take as we prepare for our next trip.

Take a Trip!

We should start by saying it is vitally important to actually GO TO the place that you think you may want to live and spend as much time there as you can afford.  We learned from our travels in Belize that there are places we loved more than others, and they weren't necessarily the places listed in the tour guide books.  The other benefit is that now that we're looking for property we don't get fooled by great sounding descriptions and pictures taken from the perfect angle.  We can look at a place and say "oh yeah, that's the place right next to the dump", which for obvious reasons is not mentioned in the listing.

Going there will also prepare you for things you may not have anticipated, like an opossum watching you watch him for an entire night while he travels the top of the wall beneath the palapa roof.  And bugs, there will definitely be bugs.  Mostly, I use the "if I can't see them they can't see me" strategy of dealing with them, but I find that a little difficult when they crawl up my leg from the shower drain.  You need to know if this makes you want to pack up and run for home, or if you can towel off, get dressed, and head down to the local bakery for a fry jack.  

Like many people, we have taken a vacation, fallen in love with the area and wanted to move there.  Belize is that place for us.  We have been there twice, staying both times for a month, and have longed to go back permanently. We have officially gone from daydreaming to planning!  We wanted to create a log of our process and progress, both for ourselves and to help others learn from whatever mistakes or successes we encounter along the way.