• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home Countries Belize

6 Reasons Why Off-Grid Belize Is The Perfect Overseas Haven

6 Reasons Cayo, Belize Is The Place To Start A Self-Sufficient Lifestyle

Philip M. Hahn by Philip M. Hahn
Apr 22, 2020
in Belize, In Focus: Belize, Lifestyle, Real Estate
0
cottage in carmelita gardens belize

Image Source: facebook/carmelitagardensbelize

313
SHARES
4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

“Breaking bread together” is an age-old idiom.

Literally, it means sharing a meal with another person or group. The spirit behind the expression, though, has far greater significance to do with creating meaningful connections and sharing humanity’s friendlier side.

Even during today’s social-distancing mandates, people are finding ways to break bread together… including here at Carmelita Garden in Cayo, Belize.

On Friday I had a pleasant virtual reunion with old Florida State diving teammates using the Zoom video app. It was great to see their smiling faces and know they are safe and well.

And our Property and Construction Managers Chris and Diana Boutwell enjoyed a virtual dinner party Saturday night with friends they’d met on a Carmelita Gardens Tour.

New Normal?

People around the world are adjusting to a “new normal” that has us keeping our distance. In the face of it all, breaking bread together in whatever creative ways possible is more important than ever. Modern communication options make it possible to break bread virtually with people all over the world.

coronavirus laptop

But what about the meal itself?

That consideration was one of the main driving forces behind Carmelita Gardens, where one of our agendas is to reclaim control of what’s in our food and where it comes from. With fertile land, clean air, fresh water, sunshine, and food-producing communities all around us—including, for example, the Mennonite town of Spanish Lookout—we are food secure.

Here at Carmelita Gardens, the “new normal” is simply normal. The current crisis underscores the value of fertile land. In our case, that fertile land is located in a beautiful tropical climate and populated by friendly neighbors.

We’re in Belize by design.

Belize is one of the most important members of the Caribbean Community, thanks to its arable land and agricultural capacity. The country helps provide food security for CARICOM, an international community of primarily small English-speaking island nations.

In addition, Belize has pristine marine, rainforest, and riverine environments and a small population, so, in addition to being food secure, it is a great vacation destination and an ideal place to live.

A Fertile Piece Of Land

Reading Jimmy Buffett’s novel “A Salty Piece of Land” during my first visit to the Cayo District in 2004, I had an epiphany. I realized that, even though I loved visiting a salty piece of land (islands, beaches, and reefs), I would feel more secure and comfortable having a fertile piece of land.

During that 2004 visit, I drove into Spanish Lookout and was greeted by three big Brock grain bins. They looked like the ones I’d built near my hometown of Holland, Michigan, as a teenager working a summer job.

It seemed like a sign. I purchased my first piece of fertile land in Cayo.

That experience of having a place speak to something deep inside me made me realize that Heraclitus was only partially right when he said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

While the river (life… the world) may change, a person’s core values and passions can stay the same. Cayo spoke to me on that first visit and continues to speak to me in the same way today.

Breadbasket And Locavores

Cayo is the breadbasket of Belize principally because of the industriousness of the Mennonites of Spanish Lookout. It is a booming town with thriving businesses and wholesome traditions… and it’s only 7 miles from Carmelita Gardens. The proximity gives us easy access to resources that become particularly important during times like we’re living through right now.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American meal travels 1,500 miles from farm to market. The movement is toward sourcing food from within 100 miles. For us at Carmelita Gardens, the entire country of Belize qualifies.

In fact, we even enjoy a hyper-locavore diet. All food is sourced within 10 miles.

And one of our goals is a Zero Mile Diet. That doesn’t mean people would never buy their favorite food products. It simply means we’d be food secure and not dependent upon an elaborate, vulnerable, and costly global supply chain.

Six Elements Of An Ideal Overseas Haven

Specifically, here are the six reasons we believe Carmelita Gardens, Belize, is the right choice for a self-sufficient, resilient, sustainable, neighborly, and fun life…

#1: Food Security

A key factor to a healthy lifestyle is access to quality, nutritious foods. At Carmelita Gardens, you can grow your own food on site and on your own land.

carmelita veg

Those things you choose not to produce yourself are available from the local Farmer’s Market in San Ignacio. It’s the largest produce market in the country.

#2: Reliable Water Sources

Carmelita Gardens has three reliable sources for clean fresh water.

We catch, store, and filter rain water, plus we have ground water from our on-site well and multiple access points to the Belize River. We periodically use the river water for irrigation, but we count on it every day for fun activities like canoeing and fishing.

#3: Energy Independence

Living off-grid with solar and rain-catchment doesn’t have to mean giving up the amenities of the modern world. At Carmelita Gardens we have high-speed internet, modern appliances, and an active lifestyle with neighbors. Technologies have enabled us to embrace our natural resources in an efficient and productive way.

#4: Low Population Density

When there is a disruption in the supply chain, as we are seeing now, it’s good to be a safe distance from big cities and high-density populations. Belize has a population density of just 37 people per square mile.

#5: Fertile Land Investment

International real estate has been a safe haven for the world’s savviest investors for decades. The good news is that you don’t have to be rich to be smart. Our current 2020 Growth Incentives allow you to own a fertile piece of land of your own with as little as US$7,000 down and payments of US$585 per month.

#6: English Speaking

A great benefit for many expats, tourists, and visitors in Belize is that English is the official language. As a former English colony (and still a part of the English Commonwealth), Belize is the only officially English-speaking country in Central America.

Plus it’s warm here year-round!

Wherever you find yourself sheltering in place right now, I hope you’re safe, comfortable, and connected.

And, when this crisis situation has passed, we hope you’ll come down to see for yourself why Cayo, Belize, is an ideal place to hunker down and hang out.

I couldn’t imagine a better Plan B destination. I hope to meet you here sometime soon.

Phil Hahn

Share144Tweet71
Previous Post

5 Dream Places To Live After The Coronavirus

Next Post

Podcast From Paris #7: Spanish-speaking place with cool weather and low humidity for retirement?

Philip M. Hahn

Philip M. Hahn

Phil always dreamed of the tropics while growing up in Michigan. He started his southerly migration in 1982 by attending Florida State University. At FSU he studied Interior Design and Housing. Prior to graduation, he started a residential design business that ultimately designed over 6,000 homes and expanded into construction and development. In 2003, Phil saw the potential for development in Belize and purchased 115 acres for his new urbanism development community. Combining his experience with quality coastal home design and his love of classical architecture, he created an evocative new Caribbean town. In 2007, he Co-Founded Great Land Holdings, which has grown to include multiple properties throughout the northern and western part of Belize.

Related Posts

Farmer hands planting to soil tomato seedling in the vegetable garden. On the background a watering can for irrigation.
Belize

Enjoying The Benefits Of Gardening In Belize’s Cayo District

by Tony Lauria
June 23, 2022
0

Carmelita Gardens is an off-grid community in Belize's Cayo District spread out over 98 acres. This quiet, naturally stunning area...

Read more
Adobe Stock/dudlajzov

My Biggest Regret After Living In Bellapais, Northern Cyprus

June 21, 2022
Taipei's City Skyline at sunset with the famous Taipei 101

The Top Affordable Places To Retire In Asia And Live Well

June 19, 2022
Porto, Portugal

Where (And Why) Should You Buy Property Overseas In 2022?

June 15, 2022
belize caye

Angela And Rick’s Big Adventure In Belize, Part I

June 15, 2022
Quaint colorful houses of the Alsatian city of Colmar, France

How To Tell If You’ve Found Your Ideal Home Overseas

June 14, 2022
Serene street in Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

8 Things You Need To Know About Bank Financing Overseas

June 13, 2022
Next Post
Podcast From Paris #7: Spanish-speaking place with cool weather and low humidity for retirement?

Podcast From Paris #7: Spanish-speaking place with cool weather and low humidity for retirement?

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.







Get ​Your Free ​Belize Report Today!
 

​Simply enter your email address below and we'll send you our ​FREE REPORT – ​​Discover Belize: Reef, Ruins, Rivers, And Rain Forest… Plus Easy Residency And Tax-Free Living
 

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2022

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY

The World’s Best Places To Be In 2022?

Discover Them Here…

Get Your Free ​​Belize Report Today!
 

​​Learn more about ​​BELIZE and other countries in our free, daily Overseas Opportunity Letter​​, as well as our ​In Focus: Belize ​newsletter​​​​​​. Simply enter your email address below and we’ll send you our FREE REPORT – ​​Discover Belize: Reef, Ruins, Rivers, And Rain Forest… Plus Easy Residency And Tax-Free Living