Expat Living in Belize

The Great Blue Hole is one of the most famous scuba diving sites on the planet

Jenny and John Wu are a typical Taiwanese family. As with most Taiwanese people, life was fairly good for them. They inherited a lovely three-bedroom, 150 sq mt apartment from their parents and owned a small business. Taiwan used to present a great lifestyle for them with fine theatres, shopping, and comfort. They lived for their children and planned for them to go to Taiwan universities, and they wanted them to be a doctor and a lawyer, respectively.

Most Taiwanese residents love the island for its mixture of western culture and ancient Chinese Confucian values. But, with time, life became harder for them. The business wasn't doing good and Taiwan life started to change. Many other families saw themselves in similar situations and looked for greener pastures. They advised the Wu family to sell their assets and do the same. They started thinking about going somewhere else to get a fresh start especially while property prices were still high.

The family looked at their immigration choices. New Zealand, Canada, and Australia were far too expensive. A house there started at around 2 million, and the immigration process was too lengthy. But then a friend who knew a Chinese family in Belize told them to look into it.

And they were quickly amazed.

John found out that 2% of Belize's population is Chinese and were brought in as indentured workers by the British, so he understood there was a community of shopkeepers, business owners, and professionals who traced their ethnicity back to China. He also found out that the best place to live and buy a home was Ambergris Caye, whose capital was San Pedro. This was an island filled with a mix of different nationalities and with thriving tourism and business opportunities.

John lived for his family. He lived a simple life having a small supermarket store that sold fruit, vegetables, and small goods. The competition was tough and margins were low, but since they owned an apartment, life was good. As a Wing Chun practitioner, he spent most of his free time training martial arts with his son, so he really didn't want to move, but he knew all his family wanted to start from scratch somewhere else.

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Belize had very affordable and fast residency options. Indeed, under the retiree plan, all he needed to show was that he could sustain a monthly income of $2000 a month. However, John decided he would form a local business, so he opened a convenience store in San Pedro serving fruit, vegetables, and a small café.

He also found there were a number of good private schools, which offered British education. The school system is not as high quality as Taiwan, but the relaxed island lifestyle gave the children more time to study, and the use of online technology meant they had an excellent lifestyle combined with a top-rate online education.

After visiting San Pedro, John decided to make the move. He sold his Taiwan central apartment for $2 million. With that, he found out he could buy a beautiful property right on the beach in San Pedro for around $250-350,000, and it would be far bigger than anything he had in Taiwan. He used another 300,000 to build a fully operational mini supermarket leaving him a million dollars to spare for his enjoyment and his family. John was absolutely amazed at what sort of lifestyle he had acquired.

John found that he had plenty of spare time because his business was only a few minutes' walk from his house and labor was cheap. So, basically, all he had to do was to organize the fresh fruit and vegetables grown on the mainland and imports from the US to be delivered regularly. Tourism was constant and booming, so his shop was always full of customers. The money he made was more than enough, and he even lived far better than in Taiwan.

His children spent much more time with him doing activities they always dreamed about. Right on the bay of San Pedro, they could snorkel with the amazing sea life that would swim up to them. He took diving and fishing courses, and at the weekends, the family would explore the amazing coral reefs of Belize and its mysterious rainforests.

During the weekends, when his family wants a big-city experience, he simply takes his boat to the Chetumal border. Chetumal is a Mexican city on the border of Corozal, Belize, and only 30 minutes by boat from San Pedro. There, you can visit shopping centers, restaurants, and cinemas as good as those in America, but at much lower costs. Full seafood dinner for four in a top restaurant costs him only $60. And if he wants something fancier and larger, Cancun is only two hours away from Belize by plane.

John realized, sitting in his beachfront home, that he was extremely rich by Belizean standards, whereas, by Taiwanese standards, he was poor and barely making ends meet. He realized that he could send his children to the best universities in the world with the money he saved while living on a permanent holiday.

Our Mundo experts would love to show you and your family the opportunities in Belize. If you want to organize a Belize property and investment tour please Contact us now