I have a question for those of you who live in AC... or for those who wish they did...
What do you miss (or think you would miss) by living in AC?

For me, there are two main things... I don't know if I can miss football season, or shopping. We have bought a house and my husband wants to move down in a few years.

You can catch a football game most anywhere that has cable! We watch Cowboy games when we're there! I don't shop, hate it in fact, so i wouldn't miss that! i GUESS I WOULD HAVE TO SAY MY PARENTS!! Trying to get them to spend winter months there w/us. But dad likes to golf, and winters here in Texas are pretty mild! O ther than that, can't say i'd miss much of anything! All my friends are there! (AC) C

In all honesty.... I think the security of having good medical care within easy reach. That would bother me most of all. As you age, little problems sneak in, and if left untended, usually get worse. I would panic in the event of an accident or emergency. Small stuff can easily be handled in AC, but I'd be hard pressed to even go to Belize City for the more serious things....
Debbie

Hmmmm? Been there...done that....so here's both sides of the coin.

What did I miss from the states when I lived in Belize?

1)Walmart...no such thing as "one-stop" shopping in Belize.
2)Home Depot...and the endless supply of home improvement and gardening supplies!
3)Family
4)Good, cheap communications...phone, internet, etc.
5)Grocery stores...specifically cheap deals on food and variety...esp. the meat departments. By the way....a good size Turkey in Belize will cost you about $60 BZ. I'm used to $.12 a pound....LOL
6)A good place to get cheap clothes and shoes...bring enuff with you to last a while...or until you think you will be able to make a trip back for more. Remember to plan your trip back in the summer so you can get stuff you need on the island. Don't forget good towels and sheets too...hard to come by there.
7)Square footage.....they don't believe in square footage for housing in Belize. We Americans are spoiled in that aspect. Most Belizeans all live together under one roof...the whole family!...and usually in the space of a few rooms. Obviously...privacy is not high on the priority list...LOL You can have space...but it will cost you.
8)Good, competent medical care....Debbie is right....you will never know how important this is...until you are put in that position...God forbid.
9)Good emergency services....Police, fire, Coast Guard and Emergency Management for natural disasters. Somehow they make do...by the grace of God...but you definately notice the difference.
10)Last but not least....LOL...Arby's Beef and Cheddar..and the occaisional Meat Lover's pizza from Pizza Hut....YUM!

What I didn't miss from the states....
1)Punching a clock
2)Traffic
3)Endless taxation
4)Politicians
5)Driving a car
6)T.V....except HGTV...LOL

What do I miss about Ambergris Caye now?

1)Waking up without an alarm clock at 6am every morning. and knowing when it got dark....it was 6pm...every day...365 days a year. Keeps your biological clock stable.
2)Sitting on my porch in the morning with my cup of coffee...watching the sunrise and all the colors coming to life. What a gentle way to start the day!
3)The water..the color..the salt air.
4)Being able to go to lunch when I wanted...and not watching a clock to go back to work. Having a beer at lunch if I wanted to...and no body wanted to drug test me....LOL
5)The Palapa on Sundays.
6)Seeing Barefoot Skinny when I want to...miss you buddy
7)Jade Garden
8)Friends I made there.
9)San Pedrano grocery store
10)Diving I didn't get to do while there....grrrr.
11)Milport cigarettes....@ $3.00 BZ a pack.
12)Getting medicines over the counter.
13)Nurse Natalie...San Pedro's guardian angel.
14)Those yummy hamburgers and hot dogs in the park late at night...and the smells that come from them cooking.
15)The view at Basil Jones Beach.

Things I don't miss on Ambergris Caye....

1)BTL
2)Dusty, pothole streets
3)Not being able to find things I wanted.
4)High prices
5)My water being off at really odd times with no warning.
6)Traffic.....taxi's, large construction vehicles.
7)Watching the lounge lizards do their routine on un-suspecting tourist females...GOD!....LOL....sick!
8)Animals not taken care of....and the mentality that goes with it....it's a cultural thing that needs to change...maybe in time...with Saga's help. Don't forget Saga when you're making donations at tax time!
9)Trash...from those that don't care about the island...that too is a cultural thing...and poor home training. OUCH! (it's the truth though)
10)Pests...mosquitoes, no see-ums and doctor flies.

No matter where you live in the world....you have likes and dis-likes. Hard to find a happy medium in the world. There is no perfect place on Earth...if there was..it wouldn't be perfect for long because we would all want to live there.

Belize is a good place to learn the difference between your WANTS....and your NEEDS.

I can honestly say I'm glad I experienced it....and I wouldn't take anything in the world for it. I learned a lot....and met the most fascinating people!

If circumstances had been different...maybe I'd still be there....but life changes...there is always a curve ball waiting around the corner to jump out in our path...and you go with the flow I guess.

Who knows...maybe one day....I'll go back....someday.

Cheers!

Sandshaker,

Your replies are always so thoughtful and so well written, I thoroughly enjoy reading your perspective on all topics introduced here.

I spent nine days there and missed milk in my coffee very much I'd never last!!

LOL at Sandshaker. I definitely would miss Home Depot. My favorite store!

You'll be back!!!! It's in your blood. I remember when we first met and you WANTED to come back to the states....the second time, you were never going back.."in for the long haul"! LOL......yes, curve balls Will miss you in Oct/Nov!!! C

Did I mention stars????

I miss the GAZILLION stars you see at night on the Caye.

Interesting when you live in a part of the world that doesn't have a lot of artificial light at night how many stars you can see.

AWESOME!!!

tammy, so well written. you know, you could write a book. seriously, how many people come on here asking for the view of a us citizen who HAS lived there. and you see both sides so clearly.

can i have a cut? 10%?

great answers! I am really weighing all of the options still. Right now, it seems like we will spend winters in AC. I am pretty sure I will be home (States) in the fall (it is football season, some hockey, and it is hurricane season). We are keeping both houses anyway. I had thought about some of the things Sandshaker wrote about, but not all.
Sandshaker, i have to agree about the stars. where are you now? i am planning a couple of trips north and would love to meet you.

What do I miss from the US? Hummmmm....Let me think...It will come to me....AH! Jack in the Box tacos! Two for 99 cents. Let's see...Traffic?..no...The pace?....no....My family? No, they are here....I've got it! Beautiful Walmart! What a gem she is. Good quality and one stop. What luxury. One would look very nice on Middle street right across from Rocks!

LOL...I agree Dave!
I tried to get one put in while I was there...but nobody would cooperate!...GRRRR

I'm just north of Chattanooga Ibanole.
Email me if you want to hook up.
sanshakr@hotmail.com

By the way...today opens dove season...the boys are heading out at noon. Guess I'll be a hunting widow now.....LOL
Where's my dive gear????!!!!!.....LOL
Maybe I'll join a bowling league again..hmmm?

Cheers!

I have not lived on AC but I have spent several years overseas. There were things I missed.

Beef. Big thick red slabs of Oklahoma beef. I miss that anytime I'm away. Except in Argentina.

My family. They are the only reason I"m still here.

Space. Big houses, big yards, big cars. I own a ranch. I like the space.

Shopping. Real shopping. Big mall shopping. "Honey I just paid off the VISA" shopping.

American hospitals. They really are the best in the world.

Florian!...you...a shopper?....a MALL shopper no less!.....I would have never guessed!
Bet you got a big truck too huh?.....LOL

Hey - if you miss Walmart in AC, go to a Walmart at 2 pm on a Saturday, and you'll wish you were in AC!

After staying only two weeks, when we got to Houston International we each got our favorite Taco Bell AND a Wendy's classic!!

But, oh, those stars!!! Every night we were there, we stargazed! Here in the states you can't see hardly anything, but in Belize the stars are wonderful!

No matter where you are, the grass is always greener on the other side!

Darlin', I can shop with the best of them. Great big expensive malls are my fav. I'm kinda a clothes horse for a guy.

Just don't take me to a big hardware store. I'm like that guy on the electronics store commercial that's running on tv. I can entertain myself a while. I like building things, usually have something going. I've build two houses from exavating the foundation with a shovel and a matlock up.

I guess I'm real lucky. I have my own place, it's a few miles from the nearest town, and I can't really see off of my place from my house.

I keep it dark outside at night here. I can see the stars better here then from San Pedro. A lot better. Better then almost anywhere else I've ever been. Ok, not as good as the desert east of Perth, but still better then most places.

I spend many an evening on the front porch, which I built special for stargazing.

Pick-up? I sold the pick-up last month and bought a Jeep,

Please keep in mind I'm thinking of things I miss when I'm away from the US. I'm about to wander over to another thead and speak of what I miss about AC, and other places, when I'm home. I mean .... the stars are real special from San Pedro for a few reasons. No doubt. But I'm lucky, and they're special from my place too.

[This message has been edited by Florian (edited 09-03-2001).]

My wonderfully tolerant friends.

I never shop at Walmart at 2pm....you have to go at 2AM...then you have the whole store to yourself!....LOL

Sounds nice Florian!

Women, as I remember them, wore high heal shoes (something that doesn't work well in sand),nylon hose and short skirts . Women in San Pedro eat a lot of lard filled tortilas,
smell like fish and are barefoot.

LOL.....ELBERT!...you eat the fish...you don't wear it!

Perfume is a luxury there though...damnned expensive! Luckily...I ran out right about the time I left...

Este Lauder....here I come!!!....LOL

Barefoot works for me.....and I miss it now!
After two yrs. of bare feet....I now wear a WIDE shoe....LOL Try finding a size 10 wide....grrrrrr....LOL
This is the first real cool morning we've had....about 56 degrees outside right now. Won't be long before it will be bitter cold and then the boots come out. *UGH*

By the way....I never touch lard...LOL...bad for your arteries!

[This message has been edited by Sandshaker (edited 09-15-2001).]

If you think living in AC is remote and hard to find things you should go up to Xcalac MX.
I built a solar powered house there and had no water except what we caught from the roof or bought from Chetumal (120 Mi by bad road).
The town of Xcalac was powered by a solar/wind experiment and you could never tell if the town would have the power on or not because no one there fully understood the system (Well, one american did, but, he got beat up and died on the bus trying to get to a doctor.) The army patrolled the beach a couple of times a day and searched your vehicle if you wanted to go see your neighbor a click or two away. I'm over that place forever and don't miss it a bit. A nice little retreat on the north end of AC was my grand idea, but got sidetracked to MX.
Stupid move and now it's too late for me. AGE! Stick with AC gang, No Walmart is a blessing, if everyone could afford it everyone would be there with no room for you.
Bud

Talking about perfume SS.....I can remember when "Evening in Paris" was the pafume par excellance! in Belize...everyone who could afford a little bottle wore it. I have to say that perfume ( or company) fell off the face of the earth...have never been able to find it...and would love to have some for oldtimes sake lol..lots of memories...I remember sitting on the edge of the warf on AC (those long boardwalks going out to the sea)...the wind blowing your "evening in Paris" to the one behind you lol. ..Those were the days.

Mosquito

[This message has been edited by Mosquitorose (edited 09-17-2001).]

My mom used to wear "Evening in Paris" I remember that little cobalt blue bottle with the tassle on it.

What I miss the most in AC is Hershey's Tollhouse Chocolate Chips and Hershey's Kisses (with almonds). Geez, I'm making myself hungry just typing this.
--Silk

Silk -- I'm making a note to myself. Next time I come down I will bring you both. Do you mean *Nestle's* tollhouse choc chips? I'll try to keep them chilled so they don't melt and turn white.

Kathy

Hi Silk, I remember you we used to chat on the Ambergris Caye chat when SS ran it. And you were planning to move there. Haven't heard from you since then. Seems like you're doing so well down there. Lots of luck to you, your silks are so beautiful.

MR