We have long wanted to visit the Belize Zoo - all of their animals are native to Belize, and are there essentially as rescues - whether orphaned, injured, or due to becoming a "problem" with ranchers or locals. Having the long weekend and FINALLY good weather, we booked an overnight stay at the Tropical Education Center (TEC) across the street from the zoo. It's rustic but exceptionally well ...

I've had a very busy week so I'm overdue to catch up! A few readers have asked about our beach house, so here's an update on it: Our architect, Alex, has dialed back the living space to a more agreeable size, and I've gone from having two living floors to 1. My original plan had two master bedrooms stacked on top of each other. In the U.S., it's cheaper per square foot to build up a story t ...

Last week was a whirlwind of trying to finish my large Feature Project for Live & Invest Overseas. My copy was mostly complete but due to Tropical Storms and/or generally rainy conditions, I didn't have the photos and videos I wanted. I repeatedly kicked myself for not taking more photos in general; I have taken for granted where we live and also didn't anticipate landing such a large assignm ...

We have weathered our second Tropical Storm in as many months. TS Sara stalled out offshore and delivered a deluge of rain; at least 15" as of mid-day Saturday and it rained most of that night, as well. People who have lived here for years have said they don't recall ever getting so much rain. The original forecast had the storm rolling through late Friday/early Saturday, but Sara decided t ...

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 ...

Nothing like a polarizing election to boost blog readership! If you are new here, welcome! My name is Sharon, and I'll be your tour guide on how to escape the U.S., regardless of your motivation. Politics and division were strong factors in our decision to expatriate.  Increased website activity wasn't on my radar Wednesday morning until a dear friend texted me: I'm sensing your expat blog ...

My apologies for the long delay in posts; life has been hectic. I was set to fly to Arizona on October 28th; the week leading up to then was a bit of a blur, trying to find an appropriate dress in my packed clothing, shoes, a jacket...make sure Nathan and the cats had everything they would need while I was gone.  We renewed our passports early just in case something went sideways with my tr ...

What a weekend... Friday night we finally opened up the pinball machine. Our stuff was delivered nearly a month ago, but we had been putting off unpacking it - partly for fear that it was damaged. Nathan, Clayton, and Zach did such an excellent job wrapping it, nothing was broken! It fired right up and now our Living Room looks even more like a frat house, with no sofa, one chair, and a pinb ...

This week has seen a LOT of rain, with small breaks of sunshine. Surprisingly, the King Tide has not been a factor so far this month, it was projected to start on the 16th. I'd prefer it stay away as we are forecast up to 10" of rain with the tropical depression currently southeast of Belize.  Tuesday I completed the grocery shop circuit, only missing a few items from my list. I'm getting be ...

Outside of my whirlwind, Monday-through-Friday visit in October of 2022 to set up the villa, we haven't been in Belize for the "winter" months - October through March. October can be very rainy; we welcome the free water for our plants and after living in the desert, the rains are a nice change of pace. Imagine our delight when it was CHILLY this weekend! To be fair: "Chilly" might be a stre ...