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    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

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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
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    • MORE EVENTS

    Contact Our Events Team

    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
    1 (888) 627 8834
    From Outside North America:
    1 (443) 599 1221
    Working Hours
    Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

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

  • Store

    Unlock The World

    • Access Your Library

    Overseas Havens Reports

    • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

    Conference Kits

    • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

    Lahardan Books

    • Titles on living and investing around the world
    • Explore Our Store
    Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

    Services

    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

  • My Library
Live and Invest Overseas
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THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

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Home Countries Belize

The Country Where The Combination Of Lifestyle Options And Price Tag Is Perfect

The World’s #1 Place To Leave The World Behind In 2021

by Kathleen Peddicord
Jan 11, 2021
in Belize, Retirement
0 0
Southwater Caye Island in Belize.

iStock/SimonDannhauer

Clear turquoise waters lapping gently against soft white sand… palm trees rustling in the warm breeze… red and blue fishing boats bobbing on the horizon… birdsong and island tunes all around…

Perhaps that’s the picture of your ultimate retire-overseas dream… quintessential escape to lazy, languid days on warm Caribbean shores…

Or maybe your fantasy is more to do with wide-open spaces… lots of elbow room… and far-reaching vistas…

Rivers and waterfalls… adventure around every corner…

The kind of place where you could stake your own claim and make your own way… while enjoying the best of sweet, simple country living…

Beach Or Rain Forest… Surf Or Turf…

Ambergris Caye, Belize restful relaxing afternoon
iStock/Dennis Swanson – Studio 101 West Photography

Two very different pictures of paradise…

That can be hard to choose between.

But what if you could have both?

As you can in one of my favorite places on earth.

I’m talking about an idyllic land with miles of white-sand Caribbean beaches, both along the mainland coast and fringing the offshore cayes.

The largest of these cayes, the island of Ambergris Caye, is where you’ll find most of the expats.

The local dress code is shorts and flip-flops, the music is Jimmy Buffet and Bob Marley, and, as cars aren’t allowed, everyone drives a golf cart or rides a bicycle.

Ambergris Caye is unadulterated, unpretentious, straight-up Caribbean…

The sea, sand, and sunshine of the Bahamas, the Caymans, or the Virgin Islands… but without the price tag.

In fact, you could rent a two-bedroom apartment, right on the water, for only US$1,200 a month. Cheaper digs start as low as US$650 a month.

Not bad for a fully appointed new life on a Caribbean island, right?

Indeed, this irresistible combination of lifestyle and price tag has made Ambergris Caye home to one of the world’s most established expat communities.

San Pedro town, a former fishing village, is the center of activity, with restaurants and shops, art galleries and community organizations. You could settle in here quickly and easily, as the language (like everywhere in this country) is English.

Life on Ambergris is relaxed and friendly, carefree and sunny. Adopt this island as your home, and you’d enjoy most all services and comforts of home… without ever having to look too hard or too far for like-minded company.

I fell in love with this place long ago… from my very first visit, as a young girl.

Arriving here for the first time, stepping off the plane, and walking across the tarmac to the arrivals hall of the airport, I had a sense of leaving the rest of the world behind.

This place and her people operate according to their own rhythm…

The troubles, uncertainties, and worries that seem so all-consuming Stateside and elsewhere in the world right now fade away here.

This is a frontier… undeveloped and oozing potential.

At home in this Arcadia, you put yourself on a new path… embracing a new future of your own making.

And, while those sugar-sand beaches sure can be hard to resist… for me, they’re not the main attraction…

Paradise Times Two

Beautiful river in Belize.
iStock/TopPhotoImages

No, it was the flipside of this paradise… inland… in the region known as Cayo, with its virgin rain forest and sun-drenched expanses… that captured my heart.

You won’t find many golf carts here. I suggest a horse or a 4X4 when you want to explore.

This land of waterfalls, river caves, Maya ruins, and wide-open tracts perfect for farming and easy country living is a playground for discovery.

Life is effortlessly pleasant in this corner of the world… like a throwback to 1950’s America.

Everyone knows each other… looks out for each other…

The folks you’ll meet here are maybe the best neighbors anyone could ask for.

The Farmers’ Market overflows each week with fresh, organic produce grown locally and delivered direct from the local farms to the market stalls. Natural and healthy. Talk about farm-to-table eating…

And, if you need something built, whether it’s a rocking chair or a new house, the local craftsmen will make it better and cheaper than any alternative… certainly better and cheaper than anything you’d find back home these days.

And this face of paradise is even more affordable than life out on Ambergris…

Here in Cayo, your entire monthly budget could start at US$1,400…

Rentals go for as little as US$400 a month, and entire homes (with plenty of land) start at around US$50,000.

Jimmy Buffet… Or Indiana Jones

As you’ve probably guessed by now, I’m speaking of Belize… a little country that packs a double punch when it comes to lifestyle upside.

Belize is both quintessential Caribbean… and a frontier…

Making it the perfect choice for two very different types of people.

If you had the choice, would you rather hang out with Jimmy Buffet… or Indiana Jones?

Would you prefer life in old-school Key West… or Andy’s Mayberry?

No matter your answer… no matter which of those enticing lifestyle options is your picture of paradise… Belize could well be the place for you.

I’d like to show you around a little this week so you can get to know this special country a little better… and discover if, in fact, Belize could be calling your name.

We’ll pick up this conversation from here tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

Sincerely,
Kathleen Peddicord
Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter

Tags: 'Belize''Cayo''San Pedro'ambergris cayebeachlifestylemove overseasRain forestretire overseas
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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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HOME

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

Global Living

  • Living & Retiring Overseas
  • Raising A Family Abroad
  • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
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Making Money

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Meet Our Experts

Real Estate

Overseas Property Alert 

 

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

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Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

READ MORE

Explore Our Latest Posts

 

Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

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Learn More About This Event

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From Outside North America:
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Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

Store

Overseas Havens Reports

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Conference Kits

  • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

Lahardan Books

  • Titles on living and investing around the world

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