| Retiring
in Belize ~ Page Two |
| Belize,
the English-speaking country on the Caribbean Coast puts out the subtropical
welcome mat for Americans |
| By Lan Sluder |
| Life in
Belize
Belize is that
little spot on the map just to the right of Guatemala and just below Mexico.
The Rio Hondo separates Mexico, a country with 100 million people and an
area of about three-quarters of a million square miles, from Belize, with
its area of 8,866 square miles, about the size of Massachusetts, and population
of only 240,000. By air, Belize is about two hours from Miami or Houston.
Driving through
Mexico from Texas takes about four days. |
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| Belize
is a true multiethnic, multicultural society. About 40 percent of Belizeans
are Mestizos, persons of mixed Indian and European heritage, most originally
from neighboring Latin countries and most living in northern and western
Belize. Thirty percent are Creoles, of mixed African and European descent,
concentrated in and around Belize City. Ten percent are Maya, and another
10 percent are Garifuna, of mixed African and Carib Indian. The Garifuna
live mainly in southern Belize along the coast. Kek’chi and Yucatec Maya
are in southern, western and northern Belize. The rest are Americans, Europeans
and other Anglos, plus Chinese, East Indians and others.
Belize is
a stable democracy, a member of the British Commonwealth with an English
common-law tradition. The country -- formerly British Honduras -- has
been independent since 1971. The Westminster-style system has a prime minister,
an elected house of representatives and an appointed senate. The current
prime minister is Said Musa, a British-educated lawyer of Palestinian and
Belizean heritage. He heads the People’s United Party, which swept the
last national elections in 1998. The main opposition party is the United
Democratic Party. The two parties are centrist, and their policies and
ideologies are not very different, but Belize politics are often intensely
personal. |
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| Everyone
seems to know everyone else, and party loyalties are rewarded and remembered.
Belize is one of the few countries in the world where English is the official
language, and Spanish also is widely spoken. All official government documents,
deeds and papers are written in English. If there’s a lingua franca in
Belize, it’s Creole, a mixture of English and other vocabulary and West
African grammar and syntax. Garifuna and several Maya languages also are
spoken in Belize, and many Belizeans speak two or three languages.
The climate
of Belize is subtropical, similar to that of South Florida. Daytime
temperatures generally are in the 80s or 90s most of the year, with nighttime
temps in the 60s in winter, 70s in the summer. In areas of higher altitude,
such as the Mountain Pine Ridge and Maya Mountains, winter temperatures
may occasionally fall into the high 40s or low 50s. |
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Offshore
Resources Gallery
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| Humidity is
high year-round, tempered on the coast and cayes by prevailing breezes
from the sea. Rainfall varies from 150-200 inches a year in the far south,
feeding lush rainforests and jungle, to 50 inches in the north, about like
most of the Southeastern United States.
Belize is
in the hurricane belt, but the western Caribbean does not get as many hurricanes
as the Southeastern U.S. Atlantic coast or the Gulf coast of Texas.
On average, Belize is visited by a hurricane about once every 10 years.
Tropical storm and hurricane season in Belize is June through November,
with most storms coming late in the season, particularly September through
early November.
The most
recent storm to strike Belize was Hurricane Keith in late September 2000.
The hurricane’s winds of 120 miles per hour hit Ambergris Caye and Caye
Caulker, the two largest islands off the coast of Belize, doing about $100
million in damage and killing four people, including two American citizens,
residents of Ambergris Caye who were attempting to move their catamaran
to safe harbor. The Belize mainland received an additional $150 million
in damage, mostly from flooding, but there were no additional deaths. |
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| The Belize
government and international relief agencies moved quickly to restore services
and to assist in rebuilding, and within a few weeks most of the damaged
areas were almost back to normal, welcoming visitors and potential retirees.
Health and
Crime
In the past,
expatriates in Belize used to say that their hospitals were “TACA, American
and Continental airlines,” the three major airlines serving Belize.
For top-flight medical care, Americans in Belize still may fly to Miami
or Houston or go to Chetumal, Mexico, just north of Corozal, but Belize
City and most towns in Belize have doctors and dentists trained in the
United States, Mexico and Guatemala. Local medical care is inexpensive.
A medical office visit is $15-$20, and prescription medicines are less
costly than in the United States. |
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Offshore
Resources Gallery
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| Dental care
is one-third to one-half the cost in the United States.
Crime is
one of Belize’s puzzling dilemmas. On one hand, most who visit Belize
feel safe, and visitors and expatriates rarely are affected by serious
crime. Crimes that would pass almost unnoticed in Honduras, Guatemala or
Mexico get big headlines in Belize. Belizeans expect their police to solve
crimes, and the police try, even though many are undertrained and underpaid.
On the other hand, the statistics – which are incomplete -- suggest that
the entire country has a serious crime problem, albeit one affecting mostly
the lower strata of society.
For example,
Belize has more murders than Ireland -- more than 50 in Belize compared
with just 39 in Ireland in 1998, despite the fact that Ireland has
a population more than 14 times higher and a land size much larger. Muggings,
shootings and knifings are sadly common on the rougher streets of Belize
City and, to a lesser degree, in the towns of Orange Walk and Dangriga.
Hardly a weekend goes by that the newspapers and television news aren’t
filled with news of people being injured or killed in robberies or attempted
robberies.
Most of
these crimes are committed by the poor against each other, are drug-related
or are a result of family squabbles. However, if you’re planning to
live in Belize, even in a rural area or small village where crime is not
routine, you should take crime-prevention measures. Many expatriates keep
large dogs, and walls, fences and burglar bars on windows also may be a
good idea. When you leave on a trip, you will need to arrange for someone
to watch your property. Bicycles, construction supplies and movable equipment
of any type are likely to disappear if you don’t have a security guard,
housekeeper or dog keeping an eye on it.
On the next
Page ~ Choice Places to Live In Belize By Lan Sluder - Click
Here - |
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Article
Index ~ Belize
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