Neighbors' Happy Hour; 1 Year Unemployed, Sargasso, Tax Class, Power Woes, House Pricing...

Last week, a neighbor we had waved to in passing showed up on our front porch - she invited us to a Happy Hour she and her husband were hosting the next night. YES, PLEASE! It started at 5, so naturally, we were on their doorstep a few minutes after 5 and were the first to arrive - we're still on "US time" and didn't want to be rude/late - we wanted to make a good first impression! Throughout the night, about 8 couples rolled through, and we were delighted to learn that not ALL of our neighbors are batshit crazy - just the ones immediately adjacent to us. We're so excited to have some "normies" we can hang out with! We made plans for future events, and now I have phone numbers of two of the ladies, including one who is even newer than us, she and her husband moved last month!

I also realized that it's been a whole year since I have been gainfully employed; I resigned at the end of April, 2024, to focus on getting our home listed/sold, cleared out, arranging shipping, getting the cats ready to go, and so much more. It's been such a whirlwind, it feels like just yesterday we were stressed about "when will we get an offer on our home?" and "do you think our belongings will actually arrive...?". I've kept busy - just grocery shopping is a marathon event here - plus the writing and now content gigs - but I'm preparing to "work-work" once I am a permanent resident.

With that being said, I'm taking an online course each night this week about how to pay taxes, wages, social security, and more in Belize. You file every pay period, which is crazy when you consider many people are paid daily or weekly. Lots to learn here!

Over the weekend, we drove up north in search of some plants, then headed to Hurricane's for this view:

Josh makes the best coconut mojitos, and they have added shade over their banquettes on the dock. We need to return for dinner soon! Their shrimp pastas are all amazing.

In town, San Pedro Town Council has been grinding paint off the bridge to re-paint and completing road maintenance - including repainting the speed humps. 

Did you know that there isn't a single traffic light on our island...? But many, many speed bumps!

We received pricing from the builder I met with the previous weekend - he builds in ICF and actually took the time to cost out what our build would run! Wouldn't you know it, it's the first bid we have received under $1M US - I am telling you, the builders that simply state a "price per square foot" are making a killing. It's still considerably over our budget for the build, so we have him looking at ways to cut costs. And our former front-runner builder has messaged that he is also going to cost out the build to come down in pricing, after seemingly ghosting us for a few weeks. I suspect his crews don't have a project to roll to after their current one, so there is an incentive to sharpen his pencil! I'm not getting my hopes up for either to come in on-budget - but it's encouraging to see numbers going in the right direction.

Just before midnight last night, power again went out - countrywide - without explanation. Weather-wise, the temps and humidity have been creeping up, and in poorly-insulated concrete homes, it gets sticky FAST. It was about an hour of tossing and turning before power was triumphantly restored.

On the sargasso front, a bumper crop has rolled in - San Pedro Town Council is aggressively looking for additional staff to remediate it. Depending on where you are on the coast, it varies from "unpleasant" to downright "stomach-turning". The nicer resorts and condos keep their beaches clean - it's the vacant lots and individual homes that aren't always keeping up.

The view by the High School today - eeeek.

In better tourism news, the Town Core Large Truck Ban went into effect May 1st! While I still see an occasional truck with "special permission" to traverse the town core (from the south gas station to the bridge), it has substantially improved downtown's atmosphere, pace, and sound! Here is a video I shot May 1, if you'd like to see the difference: San Pedro Belize BANS Large Trucks in Town Core

Tomorrow, we are both going to San Pedro Urgent Care in Caribbeville - Nathan for a physical, and I'm finally having my labwork completed, which was ordered by my dermatologist, Dr. Julietta Bradley. Seeing a general practitioner is $70BZ/$35US, I didn't get a cost on my lab work, so I'll report back with that next week!