Belize is virtually middle class compared with most of the rest of Central America. If you want to see poverty, visit Honduras, Nicaragua or parts of Guatemala. In rural areas especially Belizeans do not have a lot of money, but Belizeans by and large live well compared with the majority of the world's population outside the first world.
There are some bums and street hustlers in Belize City (not at the airports), but in most other areas it is rare to see anyone bumming, and you don't have the kind of aggressive higglers you find in much of Mexico or in poor areas of the Caribbean Basin such as the Dominican Republic or Jamaica.
Ambergris Caye has the highest standard of living in Belize. Not a few native Sanpedranos are far wealthier than the average tourist to Ambergris Caye.
I think your fiance has been misinformed.
--Lan Sluder
AmbergrisCaye.com 
