AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Moving to Ambergris and could use some advice pls

Hi All,
My wife and I are planning on retiring there around August.
I have been scouring the Internet looking for long term rentals but have been unable to find much.
Any pointers on who would be the best person to contact for this.
We are looking for a 2-3 bedroom house on the beach.
Our monthly housing budget is ~1500 US per month, possibly more for something exceptional.
We could use any advice or suggestions you all may have.
About how much do the golf carts cost?
Is it easy to find a fishing/diving boat to buy there?
Are there thing from the States we should bring that are hard to get there?
Thanks again for any insights you can share with us.
Russ and Rita H

Offered in no particular order:

http://www.cayemanagement.com/
http://www.ambergrisvacationrentals.com/?page_id=50
//ambergriscaye.com/m-m/index.html
//ambergriscaye.com/blease/index.html

Also, you could just get a hotel for a few days, connect with people, start to read the local papers, meet with Caye Management, M&M Rentals, etc., and see what's available.

Or you can look on this message board here:

//ambergriscaye.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/forums/5/1/Classifieds.html

I believe there have been a couple of places advertised lately.

Hi all,

My husband and I will be moving down in October to start our retirement too. We have a condo at Reef Village that is ready to be rented until we come down should you be interested in renting it from August to October 10th. The people to contact is:
- Lisa & Mick
at
Shoreline Solutions Belize
A Spa Bar Belize Limited Company
Long-Term Rentals
Corporate Services
e-mail: info@shorelinesolutionsbz.com
web: www.shorelinesolutionsbz.com
Tel: +501 635 1171 - +501 629 9935

Their great to work with and I know they will do whatever they can to help you as they have us.

I wish you all the best on your new chapter and hope to meet you on AC soon.

Welcome!!

If you are coming to retire, suggest that you apply for QRP. With that status you will qualify to bring/own/have a golf cart of your own on the island (permits are limited to residents) and will have an easier time qualifying for your Boat Captain's license as well.

If you don't have some sort of "residency" status you can live here easily on your tourist visa but won't be able to own a golf cart (long term rental of golf carts are expensive) nor will you get a Captains License to drive a boat.

To process your application for QRP check in at the Belize Tourism Board office, upstairs from the San Pedro Library on the beach at the south end of Front Street, across from the Primary School.

Thank you all for your input.
I wasn't aware of the problems of registering/operating a cart or boat without residency.
What do they do if you arrive by boat?
Do you have to hire a captain to tour the country?
We were just going to arrive and stay on tourist visas and eventually join the QRP program.
Anything else we should be aware of?
Thanks again everyone, can't wait till we all get a chance to meet.
Russ & Rita

Russ, if you are cruisers on a boat I believe you just clear customs like you would in any country you visit. You will not need a Belize Captain to move about the waters but you may be limited on how long you can stay and you must keep renewing your visa in order to stay.

Now if you're wondering if you can have QRP or PR status and keep your boat in visiting status I believe the answer would be no but I do not know for sure. In some countries where I stayed for several months I was charged a fee per month for the boat and sometimes it increased with the time I stayed and in some countries there is a limit. I do not know how Belize handles this as I've never cleared in by boat. I have cleared into Commonwealth Countries and stayed for an extended period so I would guess that Belize would handle it somewhat the same.

What I would imagine is if you did QRP or PR then your boat would have to be re-registered with Belize, any taxes that may apply paid and then you would need to be or have a Belize Captain to move about.

There is one cruiser that I know of that has been in Belize waters for quite some time with a documented boat from the USA. This fall when I return, if he is still there I will ask him how it is handled in Belize. I'll bet that he checks in monthly and pays his fees. I'd further guess that he doesn't have QRP or PR status.

That is another point to keep in mind. In order to travel to foreign countries your boat must be federally documented, a State registration will not do it in most if not all countries.

You can get a boat captain's license without residency but you must own property in Belize and pay property taxes. You will be asked to provide proof of both before being allowed to register for the test.

QRP allows you to bring in the boat duty-free. Again, this is all assuming that "moving here" means moving here to live, not just passing through on a longer than usual visit.
Whatever your choice - don't let the details distract you from making the move!

Hi All,
Thanks again for all the great information.
Just to clarify, we are moving there to stay, hopefully.
We can't leave here until our son (last to leave the nest) heads off to college.
So probably after the first of September.
With your help we have found the perfect place, but it may be gone by the time we get there.
But we will keep our fingers crossed.
Any input on the safety of the area about 7 miles north of SP?
Do the folks on this board ever get together socially?
If anyone has a boat or cart they would like to sell, let us know.
Thanks all,
Russ & Rita