New members to the Expat blog

Hi John & Lois,

Welcome on board guys

Regarding accommodation I will invite you to please drop an advert in the Houses for rent in Belize section as it might help

Best of luck with everything !

Thank you

Maximilien

Thanks Maximilien very much and will do.
. Any other info on Belize that you would like to share with us would be appreciated very much.

Hi everyone, I am looking at being in Belize this fall.  Looking for tips on where ex pat Canadian/British/ American ex pats live.
Also info on housing and transportation.

Thanks

Mike

Hello!
You will find ex-pats all over Belize, but many are concentrated around Corozal, Ambergris Caye, San Ignacio/Santa Elena, Placencia, some in the areas near Belmopan and along the Hummingbird.  Probably fewer 'concentrations' of ex-pats as you go south of Placencia, towards Punta Gorda and Guatemala.
Transportation - As a tourist, you can rent a vehicle from Crystal or one of the car rental companies at the airport. You can also get around farily well between cities using the bus system. As a resident, the bus system is pretty good, and cheap. Purcahsing a car - new or used, is also an option. Importing a vehicle is expensive for the most part. Bicycles are useful in small villages and residential areas. You can also fly between larger cities/towns, if you have the funds to do so. You can take some water taxi's and ferries in certain areas, for access to the cayes.
Housing - a wide range of options, prices, locations, etc. This you will have to decide once you visit, but visit first!
Good luck to you. Hope you find what you are looking for.

Hi John and Lois  If you come to Belize with the right expectations  I am sure you will love it My one Question is why would you want to start a yet another mission the one thing Belize has in plenty are 'missions'. If that is for you a big need for your personal peace of mind I would suggest you contact some of the myriad of groups already running similarly named organizations.
What would be the aims of your mission to help the poorer population materialy or to encourage yor own prefered religion.
One reason  to join with other established groups, particularly if your aim is to help the actual lives of the population here  and now in Belize, as opposed to saving their souls for a future after life, is  that these things will always cost money to set up.
if you joined in with an established group that extra cash you would be spending could start helping the local population immediately. Also you would have the benefit of the local people knowing where that mission is and what it does.
I see that there are a surplus of missions and such like in Belize run by folks (virtually all with xpats in the head positions and locals doing the actual work) that seem to enjoy a very nice standard of living for themselves paid for by charitable contributions from overseas while the people they are 'helping' see little or no extra benefit to their lives apart from more prayer meetings and the promise of some after life.
I am not a church person as you may have gathered but I now a lot of good is done by many groups to help with the very real poverty in Belize but there are a lot of charlatans whose main goal is to get a nice life paid for by others. I also believe if you want to help people you can and you  don't need to label it as Gods work.

Hello Terrific: Thanks fpr your input. !st the mission was just a thought of one possible trhing that we might take on. Whether you believe in the saving of your soul is your business not mine tho i do belive in thet and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ came to this world and died on the CROSS to Pay for all men's sins that would come to him, repenting of their sins, being Baptized in Jesus Name for the remission of sins and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost as Peter preached in the Book of Acts  chapter 2 Verses 37-39. This is an individual thing that is between a person and God himself. I am a 76 year old man and have traveled through much of the world and have always desired to be a blessing to anyone that God would direct me to. Iam retired but still have a desire to be a blessing. My wife Lois and i reallyare looking at Belize as a place to possible spent our latter years enjoying each other and those around us. I will consider your suggetions but feel that you wee being a little out of line but i do realize that all people have a right to their own opinion and hope that you can understand mine. Thanks again and i pray you have a blessed evening.
John.

Hello again Terrific : i guess you can see by my reply that i am not a very good typist but hope you can read it. Thanks ! John

oops I double posted sorry.

I have no problem with anyones faith but I think when you get to beautiful Belize you will unfortunately see the charlatans that are only out for themselves but talk the talk without walking the walk, My very best friend in Belize is the kindest and hardest working person any one could meet she has recently retired from running a clinic she built up from nothing over 40 years while bringing up 7 wonderful children. One particular "Mission" would ask her if they could bring a group to visit her every few months.So she would take time from her family to give a personal tour and lecture on the clinic and its history. this over several years.
She discovered only a few months ago that the people on the tours all paid 100 dollars us each for the tour as an add on to a particular church run vacation company,Presuming most if not all would go to the clinic funds unfortunately that church never donated a red cent to the clinic.  not even for the refreshments provided at their request .My friend found out when a person who had visited on a tour 4 years ago was now vacationing with her family and popped into thank my friend for her inspiration and asked if she could see the new things in the clinic. After a pleasant chat she casually said 'How much should I leave for you as I'm not with a tour group I don't know how much you charge"  My friend was horrified and deeply hurt.
Please believe me there are a lot of folks clothing themselves as good and godly people who are in fact preying on the faithful for their own ends. I hope you didnt think I was doubting your personal faith but trying to warn you that Belize seems to attract the wrong kind too.