New members of Belize forum, introduce yourself here – 4th quarter of 2015

Hello, my name is Scott and I am new to this group.

My name is Shay from Tampa. Interested in possibly relocating. I am an experienced critical care RN who would prefer to work a bit. Any information helpful. My first message sounded like someone from a daring site lol. Not my intention

Hello.  I am a 49 year old divorced male.  I own a Consulting business in the US.  I am coming to Belize November 9 to 16 and hope to meet a few people and get some advice.  I want to move my business there and hire a few locals to help.  I want to move under the QRP program and need some more insight there too.  Lots to discuss.  Hope to talk to some of you soon.   Thanks,  Robert

Hi and welcome! I am not yet living in Belize but I have learned a lot from just being part of this forum. People respond to questions usually within a couple days at most. There is a lot of great information if you read the archives, too. I know there are some restrictions for working under the QRP program and pay is not as much as in the US for skilled jobs. A lot of people I have talked to work online, as that is the most flexible. I hope this helps!

Hi Shay and welcome to this forum unfortunately there is little chance of you being able to work in Belize for at least the time it will take to get either pemanent residency (one year  staying in Belize with no more than 14 days out of country in that year, before application can be put in and then a questionable time before a decision is made some folks waiting a year or more for a decision) Or if you can apply for a work permit after I think 6 months, which is very difficult if its for a job that Belizeans can do. if you get through either of those hurdles then any positions available are not comparable to any you have held elsewhere. Salary for a Qualified Nurse in Belize range from $4 to $18per hour and the top range is unlikely to be offered to an expat. $1 Belize dollar is equal to 50cents in US money.  If you check the archives you will find lots of discussions on work permits and rules for residency. If you meant you wish to volunteer your services to a charitable organisation that also is fraught with red tape and applications for permits with many  rules and regulations Belize is a poor country with high unemployment  so they do protect what employment is available for their own citizens which is understandable. Belize wants exptas to invest money into the country not take scarce jobs and wages out of local hands.

Actually only one restriction to working under the QRP  You can't.

Hi Robert   What kind of consultancy business do you run? will it have any uptake within Belize.
On the QRP you can not work your self. You can  open or purchase a business but you can not work in that business, you must employ Belizean staff at all levels. If you were to keep your north American based business and work remotely on the internet that would be allowed so long as you were not selling your services within Belize and any earned monies from the business were earned from sources outside of Belize.

Thank you.  Yes it is Internet based and will not generate any Belize income.  All US but I will employ a few locals.

If you are generating monies out of Belize and employing  local personnel and putting money into the economy they will love you

Hi my name is lidear i am an experince chef and ineed of a job

Hi my husband and I are planning on moving to Belize soon. We have purchased land in Maya Beach and will begin construction on a studio apt next year to live in while our casita is built. As soon as our farm in the states sells, I am planning on moving down and becoming a permanent resident. My husband will follow later and come down under the QRP program. I hope to have a small ice cream/snow cone truck to generate a little extra money. We have been to Belize many times and are so excited to make it our permanent home in the very near future!

Hello
My wife and I are coming down in January 2015 to look for some property to build a home on. Our plan is to move to Corozal in 2 years. Wether we choose to make it a permanent is yet to be decided. We love Belize and find it meets our needs. English is a plus. We look forward to getting back to Belize.

Hi my name is Lisa,
My husband & I are coming into Belize in mid January. We are looking for a short term rental in Corozal to start. About 2-3 months. What is a good area in Corozal to rent?
Thanks!

Howdy

I am Thomas Bodine. I live in Texas. I am thinking about when I retire spending at least the months from October through March in Belize. I have a few years yet. So I am gathering information.

I need information about hospitals in Belize. My wife has asthma and she's curious about getting help with that.

thanks

7th December 2015

Hello all,

My name is Joanna and I am happy to join you all on this forum.

I have not been to Belize yet but have done a bit of research and concluded that it's a beautiful country. My husband and I plan to visit next year.

I was born and raised in London UK, and emigrated to Ghana. There I was called to the bar, lived and worked there and even got married out there👰.
This year, after 3 years, I moved back to freezing cold UK. 😨

I have taken my husband away from the 🌞and wish to compensate him 😄so I wanted to find out more about Belize:
life,
working environment,
how we can give back to the community and
the process that should be followed to qualify as a legal practitioner.

All helpful comments are warmly welcome.

Thanks

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you.

I was going to post a lot of uninformed stuff, based on living in Antigua. I have a friend who studied for the Bar in London, and Practice in Antigua, then moved to the US to practice.

The market is crowded in Antigua, I assume its the same in Belize.

Hi. I'm Kristin. I live in monkey river town with my husband and 3 of my 4 kids. We've been in country since March and in monkey river town since July.

My kids are 17, 13, 3, and 2. The 17 is in the states. The other three are currently homeschooling, but I'd be beside myself if someone wanted to start a Sudbury school in Placencia. My husband is hoping to work with children with special needs in the near future. We are also hoping to get a little micro brew started with some friends here in the village. We're a little ways from jumping through all those hoops, but it's gonna be worth it.

So I have some questions.

I'm looking for essential oils. Does anyone sell doTerra or Young Living? Also, for anyone making their own cleaning supplies, can you tell me where you get your ingredients? I know about the can't believe it's not bronners but don't know where to find stuff like borax and washing soda. Would rather not ship if i don't have to.

Also, i have friends, yoga teachers and the like, who are wanting to do a retreat here. Someone suggested that they would have to have a work permit, which seems perfectly crazy to me and also not possible since you have to be here a while to get one. Does anyone here know anything about this? I'm planning to connect with existing yoga teachers in Placencia to work with as well. Thoughts?

Positive and helpful comments are appreciated. Thanks, y'all.

Hi Kristin,
You can get essential oils at Reimer's, Ultimate Herbal Health Food Store and from Karen at Diaz Santos & Sons. If you mean Dr. Bonner's soap, that is available at the above stores as well. Check at FTC for Borax and washing soda.

As to permits, I strongly recommend you contact Immigration and Labour. When musicians come in for a show, I know they must get the appropriate paperwork, unless they are CARICOM.
As "perfectly crazy" as the rules appear to be, they are not that much different for most countries when it comes to working/volunteering as a non resident.

There is a private school on the Peninsula. The Peninsula International Academy. Don't know how it compares to Sudbury school.
For your husband, checking with the Ministry of Education, https://moe.gov.bz would be a really good start. I'm sure there is a great need for qualified teachers for children with special needs..

Good luck.

Thanks so much for all that info!! So very helpful!