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Joined: Sep 2006
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Well I haven't visited this site in a couple of months and I can't tell you how excited I am to see another 5,244,689 posts that talk about people needing information because they plan on moving to AC! Isn't the island full yet?

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 13,675
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The island is sinking from the load of JimmyBuffets and fugitives from US justice.


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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 6,267
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Living at the end of the rainbow does have its odd bits.
Then again (nearly?) everybody deserves a chance.

Shucks, if you think this is strange you shoulda been in Marvelous Marin County (the end of another rainbow) in the 70's ...... I could tell tales from there, but the ones from here are sweeter and funnier and have a lot more heart.




Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 37
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wherever you go, there UR!
I figger- from the Virgin Islands to the "Mayan Riviera" to the Bay Islands to obscure litle spits of sand surrounded by Caribbean seas virtually denuded of fish, (all manner of places I've visited/dived/fished since the 1970s), the stampede to the island life continues, arguably slowed by the Big Recession, but poised for a huge intake of air as the next round of over-development will drive the continued collapse of fisheries and marginal infrastructure, etc. I'm very glad to have visited, and to continue to visit, those pockets I can find where some semblance of those things visitors seek still exist-- such as quiet, solitude, tranquility, natural beauty, fresh air, vibrant cultures, healthy people, healthy wildlife, healthy reefs, great food. Somehow, my moving "there" seems to me to be in conflict with a personal desire to "leave no trace behind". Hard enuf to really live that in the U.S. but I fear the more people, of any ilk, who move to these fragile environments, the more the infrastructure crumbles (or never gets to catch up to demand and fails anyway) and the more these tiny places become crowded, piled high with garbage, reefs are choked by runoff and sewage, etc. Just doesn't seem sustainable in the long run.

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 65
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I have no idea who Jimmy Buffett is (although I guess he's not related to Warren).

I wonder how much of the recent increase in the island's population is indeed from the community of paradise-seeking expatriates, and how much has come from the mainland and the surrounding region.

We might perceive that every new arrival is a developed-world citizen seeking an island lifestyle to retire with. But it may be that most are local economic migrants who came looking for work and opportunities based on (yes) an erstwhile boom in construction and tourism, then brought their families - and have stayed.

It will be interesting to see the census results - if they include this sort of data.

(Also I wonder how the impact on the environment caused by population growth varies with these sorts of factors.)

Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 993
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I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that if a person is requesting information about retiring in AC they are not living on the "mainland or surrounding region"

Don't know who Jimmy Buffet is?????? Oh Lord. No, not related to Warren but would be considered a brother economically speaking.

Joined: May 2006
Posts: 538
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----I'm very glad to have visited, and to continue to visit, those pockets I can find where some semblance of those things visitors seek still exist-- such as quiet, solitude, tranquility, natural beauty, fresh air, vibrant cultures, healthy people, healthy wildlife, healthy reefs, great food. Somehow, my moving "there" ----
It is of course those very visits folks make to wild places that are spoiling those places. I note many of those who move there do a lot less damage than the visitors.They sometimes fix broken infra,bring medicine, food sources and schools to hopeless people.

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 65
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Evidently ;-) The majority of the island's population does not comprise country music fans, crooks, and forum posters.

But I wonder how the different types of immigration are geared. i.e. 1 expat retiree impacts the economy, environment, and then the derivative immigration (and, in turn, its impact) how much?

There's obviously some sort of feedback cycle that isn't sustainable, but I wonder if the dynamics are well understood. The census will be interesting if it helps in that regard.

(My comments were more in response to Carib Traveler's generic observations than the original post)

Joined: May 2006
Posts: 538
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I haven't seen the census but I spoke to the census taker. The big increase in population is as you said: economic refugees.The population of Caye Caulker is now overwhelmingly what we call aliens. Our economy has little to do with serving needs of expats. For each one of us there are a 300 tourists and a hundred aliens serving their needs.
Not sure about unsustainable feedback.There are mitigating factors.The expats brought a respect for the environment, esp marine, that simply did not exist before.They brought the idea of eating vegetables daily. They cleaned the streets in person and the idea caught on. In some cases they grew the economy in less destructive ways than before.


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