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    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
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  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore & Diversification

    Making Money

    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing

    Follow Us:

    • Meet Our Experts
  • Real Estate

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

    Upcoming Events

    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Greece Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

    Learn More About This Event
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
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    PRE-REGISTER
    • MORE EVENTS

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    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
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    From Outside North America:
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    Working Hours
    Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

    Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

  • Store

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    Overseas Havens Reports

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    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
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    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

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Home Countries Belize

How Ambergris Caye Grew Into A Bonafide Expat Enclave

by Kathleen Peddicord
Sep 21, 2016
in Belize, Lifestyle
0 0
Ambergris Caye Belize restful relaxing afternoon

iStock/Dennis Swanson - Studio 101 West Photography

Coming Of Age In The Caribbean

My first visit to the island of Ambergris Caye, Belize, I climbed down the stairs of the eight-seater airplane, grabbed my bag from nearby on the runway where it’d been placed by the pilot who doubled as landing crew and baggage handler, and carried it with me across the dirt road to the hotel where I had a reservation.

There I was met by the real estate agent who had promised to show me around. He wore shorts, a T-shirt, and no shoes.

“Welcome to barefooted paradise,” he greeted me.

It was 1986. I was 23-years-old.

Ambergris Caye, likewise, was but a young girl.

San Pedro town, the fishing village around which development was just beginning, consisted of three parallel roads, all unpaved. The hotel where I stayed that first visit and the several that followed over the next few years, the best on the island, could generously have been described as two-star. Amenities included towels in the bathroom (some days), a telephone at the front desk (that worked sometimes), and a front-line position on the Caribbean Sea.

It was the beachfront situation, of course, that people, including myself, came for. There’s only so much Caribbean seafront, and, as they say, nobody’s making any more of it.

Thus, what there is tends to be pricey. I came, therefore, all those years ago, to Ambergris Caye in search of affordable Caribbean seafront.

And I found it. My first several visits, that same real estate agent (who never did invest in footwear) toured me up and down the coast of the island in his small boat. We had to go by boat, as the single road that continued up the island beyond San Pedro town didn’t continue very far. The only way to see what the island had to offer beyond San Pedro was on foot (tough going, through untouched jungle that grew in most places up to the water’s edge) or from offshore.

I was young and inexperienced, but even I could recognize pristine beauty. The beaches of Ambergris were (and are) far superior to those of mainland Belize. They compete with the best the Caribbean has to offer, and, back then, more than a quarter-century ago now, they were a steal.

They were also utterly undeveloped. If you didn’t bring it with you from the mainland, you likely were going to go without it on Ambergris Caye. I remember a couple of beachfront bars and grills and a single small shop where you could buy cold Cokes and toilet paper. If you wanted to own a stretch of the sandy Caribbean, this was a good place to shop for it cheap. If, though, you were in the market for a Caribbean beach home, you had to be the rugged, self-reliant type to make a happy go of it here.

Three decades later, Ambergris Caye is coming of age. The three original town roads are paved… and a number of others have been carved out. A central island roadway continues nearly from end to end, meaning that, now, you don’t have to travel by boat to see the length of the island. You can go by golf cart (the preferred means of transportation these days).

The hotel where I stayed years ago is still there, but, today, it shows four stars in its materials (probably deserved). These days, the coast is also dotted with five-star hotels and resorts, along with high-end condo communities, restaurants, art galleries, supermarkets, delis, wine shops, and golf cart rental agencies.

The best part is that it’s not as bad as all that might make it sound. Ambergris Caye has grown up, yes, but she’s managed to keep much of the charm of her youth. Ambergris hasn’t matured into a tourist haunt. Rather, this island has evolved into a cozy and welcoming community.

This is neither tacky Cancún nor prim, proper Bermuda. This is a small Caribbean town of expats from all over the world working together to create the life they all came in search of. They’re opening businesses, indulging artistic interests, planning community events, inviting each other over for beach barbecues…

You wouldn’t describe property prices today as a steal, but they can be a bargain compared with elsewhere in the Caribbean. More to my point, though, Ambergris Caye, Belize, today is a place where anyone interested in a new home and a new life in the Caribbean would do well to take a close look.

Until next time,

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord signature

Kathleen Peddicord

Founding Publisher, In Focus: Belize

Tags: beachfront ambergris cayebeachfront belizebeachfront caribbeanexpats ambergris cayeexpats Caribbeanliving ambergris cayeliving belizeliving Caribbean
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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has reported on opportunities for Americans to live, retire, and do business overseas for 40 years. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 24, established businesses in 7, renovated and built properties in 6, and educated her children in 5.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets from the east coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland, then to Paris, France, and finally to Panama City, Panama, where she has based her Live And Invest Overseas business. Peddicord and her husband, Lief Simon, now divide their time between Panama and Paris.

Peddicord was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. She opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Waterford, Ireland; Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France. Peddicord launched Live And Invest Overseas group in 2008 and has built it into a successful multimillion-dollar business. Today, she shares her firsthand experience of expat life with more than 500,000 readers of her publications, including Overseas Opportunity Letter and Overseas Living Letter.

Kathleen has been featured often in The New York Times, MSNBC, AARP, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, and more and writes monthly about expat matters, international real estate, and offshore diversification for Forbes and U.S. News.

Kathleen has written several books including the memoirs “At Home In Ireland” and “At Home At Los Islotes” and her latest title “At Home Abroad,” all published by Lahardan Books. Her best-selling "How To Retire Overseas: Everything You Need To Know To Live Well (For Less) Abroad” was published by Penguin Random House in 2018 and her “Buying Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow (And A Better Life)” was published by Wiley in August 2020.

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Top Countries

  • Spain
  • Portugal
  • Panama
  • Belize
  • Colombia
  • Cyprus
  • Mexico
  • France
  • Montenegro

Best For:

  • Health Care Abroad
  • Retirement Living
  • Cost Of Living
  • Investing in Real Estate
  • Establishing Residency
  • Gun Ownership
  • English Speakers
  • Safety
BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

Budgets

How Much Will It Cost
To Live Overseas?

Super Cheap

  • Chitré, Panama
  • Santa Marta, Colombia
  • Phuket, Thailand
  • Dumaguete, The Philippines

Cheap

  • Medellin, Colombia
  • Boquete, Panama
  • Kyrenia, Cyprus
  • Hua Hin, Thailand
  • The Algarve, Portugal

Affordable

  • Valencia, Spain
  • Cascais, Portugal
  • Las Terrenas, The DR
  • Pisa, Italy
  • La Rochelle, France
  • Mazatlán, Mexico

Luxury

  • Ambergris Caye, Belize
  • Kotor, Montenegro
  • The Panama City Beaches
  • Paris, France

Resources

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