Six Months As An Island Immigrant: A Review Of Our US Expatriation
If the code is still showing in the below article, my deepest apologies. I have reached out to my web host to resolve the issue.
You may read the same article for free on my Medium blog by following this link: We Expatriated the US Six Months Ago - Here's How It's Going
<p><p><code></code>&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Today marks six months since we permanently left the US for our new home in San Pedro, Belize.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Has it gone as well as we had hoped..?&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Short answer: No.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;We still face challenges, although no longer on a daily basis, at least once a week a curveball is thrown at us, something goes sour, or we have a rough day.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;When we moved, I committed to doing milestone check-ins; if you are just joining, here are the previous editions:&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a title="US-couple-moves-abroad" href="https://www.futureexes.com/Blog.php/archived/20240901/30-Days-In-Reflections-Exploding-Kitten-Food-Take-2-Everything-s-Bigger-in-Belize"&amp;amp;gt;30 Days As An Expat&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a title="US-expats-in-Belize" href="https://www.futureexes.com/Blog.php/archived/20241101/100-Days-As-An-Expat-How-It-s-Going"&amp;amp;gt;100 Days Living Abroad&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;What We've Had To Adapt To:&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;img class="img-responsive" src="http://store24-ubertor-com.s3.amazonaws.com/futureexes.my-ubertor.com/content/image/Beach-Chat_346.jpg" alt="san-pedro-belize-beach" width="400" /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;Not living like we're on vacation.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; The first few months, we were still in our "island honeymoon period" and even though we planned to eat more like a local, we were stuck in our comfort zone, going out to eat 4-5 nights per week, plus a few take-out lunches and sit-down breakfasts. Internally, I was excusing this as our belongings had not arrived and I only had crappy kitchenwares. One day, Nathan asked what was in our Heritage Bank account, and he was FLOORED by my response. Repairs to our villa ate up a huge portion, but when we dove into spending we were hemorrhaging money by going out to eat. We had a reality check and have dialed this &amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;way back&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;, with the aim to go out to dinner twice per week, and breakfast and lunches out are a special treat.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Everything's lifespan is a fraction of what it should be.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; We knew that leaving garden tools out would cause them to rust quickly in the salty air. We did not account for the fact that the salty air permeates EVERYTHING. Quickly. Indoors and out. Make sure your budgeting allows for frequent replacement of anything metal, painted, made of wood, that has metal or electrical components, and more. It's one of the top things more senior ex-pats always mention when they learn we recently moved here.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Lack of Follow-Through&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;. From contractors to store owners to officials, hardly anyone does what they say they will. The lack of accountability is frustrating and we're having trouble grasping (especially for business owners) the lack of following up.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;What I Miss:&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;It goes without saying that anyone moving abroad will miss their friends and family, so I'll address the less-obvious options.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Conveniences.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; Grab-and-go food, Amazon Prime, Chewy delivering 40lb bags of cat litter (that cost $20, not $3 per pound) to my front door...Americans are definitely spoiled in this regard! I fully expected this item.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Living in a modern home.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; The one we sold prior to moving here was my shortest-held home at 2.5 years. We totally lucked into buying it&amp;amp;amp;mdash;we drove by the day the sign went up and before it was in MLS, a brand-new build in Uptown Phoenix. It was a strategic financial move that paid off, and even knowing we wanted to leave ASAP, it was devastating to sell. My dad filmed it to show friends when he first visited. I do not foresee him doing that with our decrepit villa!&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Grocery Stores.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; 99 cents per pound for strawberries? I am lucky to find them for $7US. Fully-stocked shelves? Unheard of! One-stop shopping..? &amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;gt;HAHAHAH!!!&amp;amp;lt;/em&amp;amp;gt; Non-expired goods? Now you're just dreaming. Weekly specials allowed me to stockpile my pantry but were loss-leaders for US stores; here, a store will sell you 4 oz of goat cheese that expired in 2023 for $6.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;What I Don't Miss:&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;American Politics.&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;We try to tune out the chaos, yet there is no escaping the news feed. I try to scale news in the perspective that it no longer directly impacts me, but war, climate destruction, and market crashes all would - we still have 401ks and &amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;gt;maybe&amp;amp;lt;/em&amp;amp;gt; Social Security to collect down the road. It's kind of like watching a car crash and a fictional movie that is trying to be comical at the same time.&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Traffic. &amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;The thought of getting in a stale car cabin and driving stop-and-go in rush hour for 45+ minutes to work each way makes my stomach turn at this point. It could take 20 minutes to get to the grocery store 2 miles away if you timed things just wrong. Sure, town has moments of congestion, but 99% of the time, it's nothing that is catastrophic. (Except for the time I had a sick cat in my golf cart, it started raining, and a MACK truck decided to pull in front of me and &amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;gt;crawl&amp;amp;lt;/em&amp;amp;gt; for the next 4 miles.)&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;img class="img-responsive" src="http://store24-ubertor-com.s3.amazonaws.com/futureexes.my-ubertor.com/content/image/PXL-20241109-201536152-1_344.jpg" alt="palm-trees-on-a-beach-san-pedro-belize" width="400" /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;Winter&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;. Even in Phoenix, it would get "cold" - a few episodes of frost per winter; maybe a dusting of snow every few years. While it was by no means "Midwest winter", it was still pretty miserable for us.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Having a mortgage.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; January 23rd was our six-month anniversary of not having a mortgage, which was a large financial weight lifted; I have had a mortgage since 1997. For those unaware, the word is based on Latin "mortus" (dead) and "gage" (pledge). A mortgage is literally a "dead pledge".&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;I was going to list, "American Entitlement" here, however it's most certainly permeating the island. There is currently an uprising (mostly from American immigrants) about the Public Health Department enforcing a standing law that pets are not permitted in restaurants for health reasons...people are threatening to boycott restaurants that enforce this law&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;gt; that is tied to their business having a license&amp;amp;lt;/em&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; and most arguments are, "every restaurant in the US allows pets on restaurant patios...". You can take the American out of America, but not the America out of the American. &amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;gt;Sigh.&amp;amp;lt;/em&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;What I Didn't Expect:&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;There is a small contingent of Belizeans who are developing an anti-immigrant sentiment. To be fair, in some cases, they have valid points (see "American Entitlement" above). It's a delicate balance between being a good immigrant and being abominable. Those of us who have immigrated here did so by our own free will; you can also leave if the country no longer suits you. Be a positive guest, don't ruin it for the rest of us, please!&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;What Frustrates Us:&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;Corruption.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; It's astonishing what comes out in the press, from the lowest level of local representatives and up to the Prime Ministers, former and current. That is not to say that America has no corruption; I believe it does &amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;gt;in droves&amp;amp;lt;/em&amp;amp;gt;, it's just not as direct and publically witnessed.&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Animal well-being.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; It's absolutely heart-wrenching to see how dire the living situation is for many cats and dogs on the island. We saw this in "vacation mode" but it runs so much deeper when you experience it every. Day.&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Litter and environmental destruction.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; We were also aware of the massive litter plague on the island and living here has only expanded our realization of how widespread the problem is. We had read posts about the environmental destruction but seeing it first-hand really drives home that everything is for sale here, even the very basis for the island's existence as a destination - pristine waters protected by the barrier reef and mangroves.&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;What Has Been Great About Our Move:&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Climate and Scenery.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; Nathan's lived in Phoenix all of his life and only knew dry, desert conditions. He enjoys the frequent rains and variety. Phoenix just completed a 159-day streak of no precipitation. They received .01" of rain. I appreciate not having to put on closed-toe shoes for 360 days of the year.&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Even if you are having a terrible day, catching a glimpse of turquoise-blue waters and palm trees seems to make even a dastardly mood better!&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;img class="img-responsive" src="http://store24-ubertor-com.s3.amazonaws.com/futureexes.my-ubertor.com/content/image/Mangrove_351.jpg" alt="secret-beach-belize-ocean-view" width="400" /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Health.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; I had delusions of grandeur regarding health - like we'd eat a lot better and swim every day - old habits die hard! But the food we eat is produced in a healthier manner - meats without hormones and antibiotics, produce free of chemicals and GMOs. We've both lost a few pounds, but not to say that we're in any better of physical shape! Once we live on swimmable water and have land to care for, our physical activity will rise. &amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;Inexpensive and readily available healthcare is a vast change from what we experienced in the US.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;The power grid was reinforced&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;. We had visions of doom based on news that the development of the island had far exceeded the electrical capacity available; rolling blackouts were common last spring and summer. When we first moved, we experienced multiple power loss episodes. We planned to install solar on the villa (until the bid DOUBLED from what we were initially quoted), and then there were many delays in getting the gas turbine grid expansion up and running. I was mentally preparing for having no power for days during peak season. Fortunately, in December the gas turbine system was engaged and we (knock on wood!) have had flawless service since. WHEW!&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Advice For Future Escapees:&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;Challenges follow you.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; Hate your job but can do it remotely? Guess what? You'll still hate your job, just from a different locale. Don't have patience? Oh lord, this island will not help there! Drink too much? Happy hour is all day, every day, for many that live here. Make poor choices in partners? I see news on a weekly basis about women AND men who are in poor situations due to their relationships.&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;HEAR what others before you are saying.&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt; We were aloof and dismissive to many cautions laid out ahead of our move with our rose-colored glasses on. Spend extended periods of time in a new country before moving, it will make your expectations considerably more realistic. Bring twice as much money as you think you'll need. Check out different areas. In hindsight, we should have checked other coastal areas that could have delivered the same view, but with a lower cost of living and more conveniences.&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;You may sense that we regret our move, which we don't. We are still in the adjustment period of figuring out island life, which any immigrant to any location will experience. I would rather be honest and forthcoming with our wins and losses, to more accurately prepare others considering an international move.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;</p></p>