100 Days As An Expat: How It's Going

Today marks our 100th day living in Belize, and not in the U.S.

How is it REALLY going...?

And do we regret moving...?

Neither of the above questions have easy answers, and even the answers I give today may change tomorrow - or even by this afternoon. It's complicated.

We have had a lot of struggles - from being gouged by companies, to battling the elements, to trying to assimilate to our new culture. 

People have said over and over again, "Living here is very different than vacationing here", and, "Life is simple, but never easy on the island". We feel these statements in our core now.

We are feeling more settled now that our belongings are here, and improvements are nearing completion on our villa. 

Progress on our beach home is slow. Our architect gave us an estimated cost to build our home when we met him in person. Then he produced gorgeous preliminary plans that were 80% larger in living space than what I had drafted for him, with all of the bells and whistles even beyond what we could imagine. We asked him in Monday's meeting where he saw that home building out at, price-wise. "$950,000...maybe $1 Million U.S....?" Sir, we must go back to the drawing board. These Lords are not actual "lords" of anything, beyond a few acres of sand.

Two days ago, Zachary, our younger son, turned 20. It is the first birthday for either boy where Nathan wasn't able to physically spend time with them. Losing my Aunt Joyce unexepectedly drove home the fact that we are, indeed, on an island, so far away from our loved ones. 

Inflation is a very hot topic in the U.S. Guess what? Same thing here. In fact, I would venture to say that inflation is considerably higher on this island; the cost of almost everything has skyrocketed. The local workforce is struggling to live here; the cost of rent is through the roof, as landlords try their hand at short-term rentals in lieu of long-term leases. Food prices cause many locals to get by on one meal per day - and it isn't a healthy one. Our living expenses are about the same as they were in the U.S. Water and electricity are more expensive. We're renting a cart at $500U.S./mo instead of having no car payment. The only advantage is we no longer have a house payment.

We thought we would spend more time doing the activities we love - snorkeling, fishing. Nathan works during the daylight hours Monday through Friday, and with it being rainy season, many weekends were either rained out, or the roads were too flooded to get out to Secret Beach. The mosquitoes are relentless.

This is a developing country in Central America; utilities do go out. I had a basket full of groceries to check out yesterday and power went out unexpectedly - to most of the country. After 20 minutes, I had to abandon my groceries as they couldn't check me out. What happens to those groceries that went unrefrigerated for over an hour, until power was restored..? Grocery shopping and meal planning are already difficult compared to in the States, where everything your heart desires is always in stock, fresh, and semi-affordable. 

The neglect of cats and dogs and the masses of trash across the island are truly disheartening. I am not "getting used to it", and hope I never do.

My goal with this blog was to keep things honest and not "rose-colored glasses" our experience. I want to share the raw details in hopes that if my readers choose to follow in our steps, they are well-informed. I think we idolized this move over ten plus years as a solution to our unhappiness in the U.S., as an escape pod from all of our worries. Spoiler alert: it is not. The move brings with it a new cornucopia of stress and challenge. 

Most of what I have enjoyed is not based on being here specifically, but on being not-there. I have no desire to move back to the U.S. with the rampant entitlement, division, and the rat-race mentality. I see that country devolving rapidly into chaos. We'll watch it burn from a distance, rather than being in the mix. 

We both feel that once we break ground on the beach house, our outlook will improve and it will give us more purpose on the island. 

I am enjoying my writing projects and am excited to start bringing in some income again.

Family is starting to make plans to come visit.

Rainy season is drawing to a close, as we enter the best months of the year, weather-wise - dry and sunny! 

Things have not gone according to plan, but I do not regret moving to Belize. I knew we'd have learning curves and challenges. We're working through them. We can do this!