There are three economies..period. Local. Gringo. Tourist. Tourists cannot manage the gringo way for long etc.. It is the for long part that trips up most folks. the Belizean oligarchs will share in your pecking order. You may move down a peg but rarely move up. If you plan to retire here well bring lots of money. Locals never really retire. Gringos die off pretty fast or move off faster, wiser, more patient and have left a ton of money behind. To be happy here you double down day one and cope. It can be done on $2,000 USD a month but that is relative comfort in a third world country. Come because you can afford to do so and are not trying to recreate 'home' on the cheap. Be a part of the community and if you et to really crossover you will be happy. Ex-pats are just that. Looking to have some fun and become part of a new community that is foreign to them and MAY take a lifetime to ever really understand.