Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: rpm on July 01, 2007, 01:33:09 AM
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I've been looking for a tropical place to vacation and possibly live. So far Belize seems to top the list. They speak English and Spanish, have a stable government under British law and US title insurance companies will write policies. It was mentioned in this month's Men's Health as a great deal for a 2nd/vacation home. Anyone have any personal experience with Belize?
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i visted in belieze when i finished with school it was amazing! the immunizations are a pain but the heck with it (mind you it is a very impoverished nation so kinda depressing in big cities) i recomend it 100% and its a fun place to go. my friends and i stayed in the jungle in a jungle hut/ pueblo style hotel where we rented a shack with 2 bedrooms and a mosquito netting (we were students so this was a good deal at about $15 us a day), great scuba diving make sure to check out the blue hole if your certified, lots of monkeys and defiantly visit san paul island (i believe it was called) its hot btw and very humid and loads of mossies everywhere take a load of anti bug spray. So ya and defiantly look into jungle excursions and open water fishing (good sport fishing for dorado tuna and marlin). so ya like mexico and carribian fused together
hope that helps
freezman
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You don't have to leave Texas to find tropical :)
Seriously, you just looking to get away from cold weather, or is it that you want seashore, jungle, being outside the USA, or ???
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Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes.;) La Isla Bonita looks like as good a place as any! Buy me a little resort on the beach, get a serious tan and do some deep thinking over aged scotch and cuban cigars.
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Roger all.
Before you export your dollars, here's a suggestion - include deep south Texas in your exploration. There are some small, isolated communities down here that offer a great blend of old-time laid-back attitudes in the locals, a beautiful outdoors experience, with proximity to modernity when you want it (within an hour's drive). You also can be in a rain forest or a major city in Mexico within 2-3 hours (yes they do have Cubanos).
Port Mansfield - coastal fishing camp with amenities. Deer wander the half-dozen or so streets at night to eat at the feeders folks put up. South Padre National Seashore just a short skiff ride across the bay. Awesome place, really nice 1,500 or so people living there, off the beaten path.
Zapata - all same-same, except about 70 miles upriver and on a large lake (Falcon).
Roma - small city with rich historical background (dates to the 1700's, lots of old stone buildings etc) in the middle of nowhere. Walk across the bridge to Miguel Aleman, Tamps. for your Cubanos, 2 hours from Monterrey. In the middle of ranch country, the people are old-school (will invite strangers into their house for coffee just because they walk by). Lots of rocky hills, you can find a cheap deal on a patch of ground on one and have glorious views of sunrise, sunset, and the mountains down south in Mexico.
Its worth the time to explore a little.
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Forgot to mention, its only snowed twice in a century down here (we wear shorts/sandals most days in the winter ;))
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If i were you i would try to find that beach from the movie with the same name. Awsome farming going on there, and some cute females walking around on a beautiful beach :aok
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I lived in Refugio for a couple years. Its not as far south as you're talking about but fairly similar. I've also been in McAllen, Pharr and Brownsville. The difference in the two is location, location, location.
Another difference is price. Belize has some fantastic oceanfront property available at dirt cheap prices. It's poised to become the next Carribean hot spot with a lot of Euro travelers. It's below the traditional hurricane pattern and has the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world.
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Originally posted by Nilsen
If i were you i would try to find that beach from the movie with the same name.
What movie is that Nils? I did an IMDB search for Belize and it turned up nothing.
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The Beach? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163978/)
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163978/ :D
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AH! I've actually seen that. :D
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I just thought... you know... if you were interested in doing some farming when you retire ;)
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Well, you know...
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I spent six months in Belize when the RAF had a base there ...
Stay away from the Belize city , it was not a nice place to go , lots of muggings and the like ..(not sure if it has improved since then)
However the Cayes are good , San Pedro was very nice we also used to vist Caye Caulker which was just a hotel and a couple of small houses but was a good place :)
I think Ambergris is the place to go now . If you go to Pedro look up a bar called the tackle box hada good night or two there ;)
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Both times I've been to Panama as part of Panamax exercises I've run into quite a few Americans that have retired down there. Most of them men in their 50's - 60's with Columbian/Panamanian girlfriends in thier late 20's - 30's. Cheap everything and they go back stateside once a year. All they talked about was how appreciative the women were to them. I've already started saving my money...:D
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Belize? an impoverished third world nation with a very hot climate and rife with mosquitos and disease? do yourself a favor and visit these prospective locales prior to buying anything. remember you have the bahamas which are far more than grand bahama, freeport, nassau etc. the out islands have a lot to offer and the government is very accomodating to Americans. there are also places that are America proper such as the US virgin islands and puerto rico. this is a favorite of ours and even if you decide against purchasing there you'll be glad you went. ta daaaaaa Rincon, Puerto Rico. why leave the united states at all?
http://welcome.topuertorico.org/city/rincon.shtml
there are no photographs that can do any place justice either for good or ill. check them out.
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Originally posted by DiabloTX
Both times I've been to Panama as part of Panamax exercises I've run into quite a few Americans that have retired down there. Most of them men in their 50's - 60's with Columbian/Panamanian girlfriends in thier late 20's - 30's. Cheap everything and they go back stateside once a year. All they talked about was how appreciative the women were to them. I've already started saving my money...:D
:rofl :aok
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I travel a lot but I haven't been to Belize.
The Bahamas suck but it gets better the farther you get from Nassau.
Costa Rica is nice.
Venezuela is great but Chavez is pushing the country towards violent revolution.
Jamaicans are friendly but it is a dangerous place.
Puerto Rico is the most modern of all of them.
Mexico is a pain. The locals are annoying.
If I was moving to the Caribe or Central America I would choose Costa Rica.
I like Venezuela but it will be years before it is stable again.
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I ussed to work for Princes Cruises,in "96 i've been in Montego Bay on a nude beach with my girlfiend and some friends colegs , crew members
That was a humiliating experince, we p/up our pants and got lost,those negros jamaicans walking on shalow waters were looking like mutants monsters with triple legs, the girls were so excited like kids at Wonderland,
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Ah yes, the tropic idyll, the shangri-la getaway spot, easy living, perfect climate, great water, companiable compatriots, appreciative females.
If they exist, the lucky who live there usually are wily enough to not share them lest they draw hordes that ruin them.
Lots of places I haven't seen, but closest to paradise I've been is Hawaii. Expensive, got to be careful, but perfect water and climate,
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Originally posted by DiabloTX
Both times I've been to Panama as part of Panamax exercises I've run into quite a few Americans that have retired down there. Most of them men in their 50's - 60's with Columbian/Panamanian girlfriends in thier late 20's - 30's. Cheap everything and they go back stateside once a year. All they talked about was how appreciative the women were to them. I've already started saving my money...:D
I was very very impressed with Panama as well. I was there for Just Cause and even with all the turmoil going on it was obvious that the locals were very supportive of the US and tourists when they could get them back. The water is drinkable without treatment, costs are rather low compared to stateside and the diving is incredible. The only fly in the ointment is the heat / humidity and some of the bugs. I'd love to go back and do some dives on the Atlantic side and also see what it's like on the Pacific side.
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I spent one day there during a cruise. It was okay.
During the cruise, we visited also visited Roatan, Costa Maya, and Cozumel.
Of all, Costa Maya seemed the most impoverished... next was Roatan. Cozumel was by far the most developed and it was still contending with the hurricane damage of a couple of years ago.
Belize seemed okay. Lots of big house along the oceanfront as we entered in to Belize City and some nice "middle class" type homes along the Belize river. Other than that, lots of poverty and miles and miles of unfinished construction... but never a building that's actually being worked on.
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Originally posted by Halo
Lots of places I haven't seen, but closest to paradise I've been is Hawaii. Expensive, got to be careful, but perfect water and climate,
...and a never ending supply of ******* natives. I'd rather visit Texas. ;)
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Originally posted by rpm
I've been looking for a tropical place to vacation and possibly live. So far Belize seems to top the list. They speak English and Spanish, have a stable government under British law and US title insurance companies will write policies. It was mentioned in this month's Men's Health as a great deal for a 2nd/vacation home. Anyone have any personal experience with Belize?
There's a good market smuggling in frozen turkeys and bootleg DVDs.
It's also an amazingly beautiful country. I'd vacation there, but wouldn't move there. You lose too many of the conveniences you have here.
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I don't know much about Belize. I have heard some great things about Costa Rica.
I know of about 10 people who have retired there and my ex girlfriends uncle and father both moved there and love it.
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Originally posted by Gumbeau
I travel a lot but I haven't been to Belize.
The Bahamas suck but it gets better the farther you get from Nassau.
Costa Rica is nice.
Venezuela is great but Chavez is pushing the country towards violent revolution.
Jamaicans are friendly but it is a dangerous place.
Puerto Rico is the most modern of all of them.
Mexico is a pain. The locals are annoying.
If I was moving to the Caribe or Central America I would choose Costa Rica.
I like Venezuela but it will be years before it is stable again.
I agree I almost forgot costa rica.
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If you're a typical american, you won't like Belize. If you're a single man it's great, your wife will hate it. The mosquito coast climate can be pretty opressive, the worst in central america. If I could earn decent money there I would allready be there. Though I'd prefer someplace more developed and with a more civilized climate, like central or southern South America.
If you like the tropics, but you want more access to modern amenities you might consider the Philippines. The Philippines also enjoys a cost of living comperable to Belize.
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I think I'm going to book a trip down there in August and look around. Ambergris is where I've been reading about. But getting first hand info is always better than reading a travel guide. Thanks for the responses guys!
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dont forget aruba i just visited there gotta love that its swiming distance from venizula about 16 miles ;) its awsome place warm, less mossiquitos and its a tiny island plus they have a hooters!
lol only bad thing is that the only night life is the night life of the locals (mostly dutch speaking) and its a tad dangerous but hey students gotta have fun ;)
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There once was a man from Belize
Who said. "I have to sneeze."
He said it again, then sneezed on his friend,
And said ,"Excuse me, please."
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VOR
Dont give up yr day job :)
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poor ol' rpm moved to belize,
now he sits in the shade of the trees
the skeeters do bite and
since they have bitten him all night
he has welts from his head to his knees
:D
plus mrs rpm went upside his head with a cast iron skillet and a rolling pin.
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Originally posted by storch
plus mrs rpm went upside his head with a cast iron skillet and a rolling pin.
Happily single and ain't got a ring.
Mi Casa Belize has a nice ring.
It's called La Isla Bonita, full of senioritas
to swat skeeters while I live like a king.
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nice one rpm, if you add en to the second line it polishes up nicely
"mi casa en belize" my home (or house) in belize instead of my house belize which is what you typed.
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been to Belize on diving trip, was there for 6 days. Very nice people & country & great diving. Not sure if I would live there though.
Costa Rica I have been to a couple times & definitely will go back again. Stable country, people are nice & some of the areas are very nice. Definitely worthy to look at for place to buy something.
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Like "xpat" in the earlier reply I spent 6 months in Belize during my time in the RAF. This was way back in the 80's tho so info is out of date, Ambergris is the place to go very relaxing, most of the Cayes are ok but life in Belize City isn't. Once you arrive get lots of bug spray you'll need it.