AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Moving down in 2014

Peace and happy new year!

My husband, our son, our new child (due in July), our cat, and myself will be moving to Ambergris Caye post birth, as long as we can secure an affordable place to live and some temporary supplemental income while we build our business.

My husband and I work as a photography team. Amadijphillips.com. I am also a science teacher by training and trade.

We are looking for a small inexpensive rental with space to garden. We do not need as much space inside as we'd like outside.

If anyone has any leads in terms of rentals or employment for 2014 around August, Please put us in the loop.

Thank you!

beautiful photography! Assuming you are U.S. citizens with a 404 area code and not trolling here. You know you won't be able to work in Belize, yes?

Thank you. Yes, we live in the US, definitely not trolling, just trying to get our ducks in a row and get out of this place

From my understanding, we'd be able to work our own business at the very least... My husband does some photography travel tours with models from around the world and works with a couple clients in the Caribbean which we thought would help supplement for a while until we got settled...

Why couldn't we work in Belize?

Thank you for the feedback and tips. These are things we are figuring out, but we are determined to make this move!

Ill be at home with our children likely for a while, and only working photography as needed, but I was hoping the opportunity to work would be there if our business didn't pick up...

You have to apply for a work permit in Belize. You are not a citizen. As far as I know .

Just like in the US, you need to apply for a work permit to work legally. There have been many discussions on this site regarding work permits and own businesses here. Last I checked, you can have a lawyer here draw up the paperwork and it cost between $1500 and 2,000 US. The time varies this has also been discussed here. Coming down and thinking you could teach is a non starter. I'm not even sure whether your husband could work his photographic tour business here since that could be considered a tour guide which is restricted to locals. Finding a place that is reasonable in price is also not so easy to do. On Caye Caulker a 2 or 3 bedroom house is hard to find since they are rented very quickly, see the thread started by artisan whose longing for that and Simon's comment regarding same in AC. Both places are tourist places and most are looking for the tourist dollar while they can. They are also islands where building cost only go up. Everything comes from Belize city by barge which adds to the cost. Medical concerns with a new borne aren"t as wonderful as one might like. On Caye Caulker there is a health clinic with a nurse but I'm not sure whether the doctor has been replaced. On AC, there are a few doctors and clinics but for both places the hospital is in Belize City. Good luck on your move.

Wow. Thanks again for the insight.

I'm not concerned about medical issues. We are mostly a natural remedy household and would only need a doctor in an emergency.

We are also just looking for a small place. 1 bedroom is fine. 2 bedroom max. We spend most of our time outside in warm weather.

The work permit thing, though, is a bit disconcerting... Nevertheless, important information to have. We will be looking into this.

I've seen opportunities to teach in Belize advertised online on sites like idealist.org, but never on AC. Maybe we will need to start off on the mainland to take advantage of those opportunities and settle into the country before moving to the island

The husband is really very set on AC, because of the small size he feels it would be ideal for our family. We will see what we are able to finagle.

Thanks again, guys!

I'm not sure why your husband has chosen Ambergris Caye - this is a party town. There is a reason it is called 'Temptation Island'; not particularly family oriented.
You also mention gardening. From the tenor of your post I am thinking you mean vegetable garden? That is very difficult here. While all the tropical plants grow like weeds the veggies don't do so well. There are no commercial gardens on the island. There are those of us who were born with dirt under our fingernails and we struggle to find ways around the problems.
The problems are the critters that live in the sand; and that is what we have - sand. There are iguanas that eat the plants before they can produce fruit. We have to bring in 'black dirt' from the mainland and mix it with fortifiers and plant in containers and screen in our gardens.
I am a single OLD woman and intend to stay that way. Most of the happy gringo women I meet are single and independent. I chose AC because of scuba diving and have lived here for over 10 years.
I love it here and would never willingly go back to the US. My sponsor once said "I love my husband and he has warts." Not 'but' - and. It is kind of like that here; I love it and the country has lots of problems.
My advice to anyone considering moving here is to read Don't Stop the Carnival. Good luck whatever you do.

and she means old!

I will definitely look into reading that

I'm one of those people born with dirt under my nails. I lived for years in new jersey, container gardening on my roof in the middle of the city. It was so pleasant that my landlady started taking her guests up for tours. I think I could make a container garden work anywhere. Despite the initial investment, it's always so worth it! Thanks for the heads up! I know what I'll need to bring

My Husband likes it because he heard a lot of good things about it. I'm more of a country gal, but I also heard that crime is lower here than in other areas. That's always nice. Also, a party town would be better for our photography business than a small country town... if we could get our business started legally and on the cheap... we are not rich people; just looking for a more simple life in a warmer area.

Everywhere has its problems. I'm just ready to trade these US problems for something different. I don't want to waste away my childrens childhood working at some job that I hate to keep up the quality of life neccesary to keep a job that I hate (The current education system in the US is less about teaching and more about test scores. It is sad). I don't want my husband to do it either, so we are trading working multiple jobs for working part time to sustain a cheap lifestyle. No AC. No fridge full of proccessed American foods. No gadgets aside from the ones we need to make a living. Certainly no huge 3 bedroom "modern" house. A former teacher, I'd like to homeschool my children. I'd like to be near the beach to go fishing with them in a boat we make together.

Is AC the wrong place to look for this kind of lifestyle? I have friends in Hawaii living like this, and they are so happy. I'd join them were it not for the radiation levels in the Pacific...