Interview with an Expat in Santa Elena, Belize

Welcome to our Interview with an Expat in Belize series. Our goal is to offer a look at expats who live in different regions of the country, and those who have lived in Belize for different periods of time, both relative newcomers and long timers here in Belize.

The interviews in our Interview with an Expat in Belize series are conducted by email, and we ask the same 10 questions to each interviewee so that those who are considering making the move to Belize can readily see that different people have very different experiences here, depending upon where they live, their interests, and the many choices that we all have made before, during, and after our move to Belize.

The second interview in our series, Interview with an Expat in Santa Elena, Belize takes us to the town of Santa Elena in the Cayo district of Belize. Santa Elena is a quiet and charming town, which is separated from San Ignacio Town by the Macal River. However, the two towns are connected by two bridges: the Low-lying Board Bridge and the Hawksworth Bridge, and Santa Elena and San Ignacio are often called the twin towns.

In Santa Elena, we meet a retired special education teacher, who, with the help of her neighbors, found her new home after just a 28 stay in the area.

Alison Graham, retired Special Education teacher in Santa Elena

Alison Graham moved to Belize from Northern California in January 2020, right before the Covid-19 shutdown. She is in her 60’s, and prior to moving to Belize, she had retired from teaching. Alison taught special education middle school students who were severely disabled.

Alison lives in the Hillview area of Santa Elena, Cayo, and she has been a Permanent Resident of Belize since November 2023. Her Residency took 22 months to process. Although she advocates for people to visit often, and to check out different areas of Belize before making a move, after staying in Santa Elena for just 28 days in August, 2019, she decided to purchase a home there. Some local neighbors helped her to find the house which she purchased and currently lives in.

Interview with Alison Graham

Life before moving to Belize

Q1: Where were you living before moving to Belize? Also, please describe whether you were working, retired, or something in between prior to your move. In other words, what was your daily life like?

Before moving to Belize, I lived in Northern California and had taught Special Education for 17 years there when I retired in 2018. I spent the next 16 months setting up my life in preparation to move somewhere more affordable.

I traveled the USA, taking road trips, checking out different areas, and I had already traveled internationally, trying out Thailand, but there was an unstable government after the King died, and in Costa Rica, I spent 28 days living as a local, but it was difficult, as my Spanish was non-existent, and the cost of living was rising there.

I also volunteered at my previous school because a teacher hadn’t been hired to take over my class, or even a sub on a regular basis, so at the request of my former principal, I went in 1-2 days a week for over a year to help out for 3-4 hours a day.

Current location in Belize

Q6: Describe your experience of acquiring long-term immigration status in Belize, whether that be as a QRP member, a permanent resident, a citizen, or as someone still waiting on residency. How long did the process take, and what challenges did you face?

I am now a resident. I waited through the pandemic and submitted my application for Permanent Residency later than I could have. I just never got around to it. When I filed, it took six weeks to get an interview, and the interview was then re-scheduled six weeks later due to some Chinese nationals arriving the day before with Resident cards in their passports, never having been to Belize before, so the Ministry of Immigration was in an uproar.

After my interview, it was another four weeks before I got my Police interview; it turned out the interviewer was sister to my neighbor across the street. It was another six weeks before the police went out to interview my neighbors, and then I waited.

Immigration then had more difficulties; the Director of Immigration was let go, and it took the government six months to appoint a new Director. Some people who got off a plane “disappeared” while waiting for deportation, and the new Director needed to be brought up to speed, and an asylum process for people in country more than five years, mostly Central Americans who were working in Belize and often had family here, was also occurring during this time.  

When I went to pay the Residency fee, for some reason my file was “upstairs” and someone had to go get it, so I waited four hours at Immigration for that to happen. A week later, I had my card, so the total time was 22 months to be granted Residency.

Belize Lifestyle

Q7: What are your favorite things about the community in which you are living in Belize? Be specific about the types of activities you enjoy, the people, the environment, or anything else you care to mention.  

My area, Hillview, is very neighborly. We watch out for one another. If there is a strange car, people watch it. When people are walking in the area, and we don’t know them, someone is out there asking who they are, where are they going, and what are they doing.

We have get-togethers, and we share tools and extra fruit. We give rides to our neighbors and haul stuff for each other. If something breaks, someone can fix it. If you need something done, someone is able to do it; we hire from within the neighborhood whenever possible.

I go to the local library in Santa Elena regularly, as they have some activities for adults, and there are great programs for kids. I support my local Panda Print shop and use the local Post Office for mailing items. It takes about two weeks when sending something to the USA, and I also support the local restaurants and grocery stores in Santa Elena.

Current Lifestyle Challenges in Belize

Q8: What are the downsides to the community in which you currently live? Are there any aspects of daily life which you find to be challenging in this community?

Road conditions are one of the biggest current challenges for me. The road up to my house is not good. The first half-mile is sort of paved, the last half-mile is not paved. And when election time comes, San Ignacio town workers come and grade some roads in our area, but not the two which lead to my house.

The road I live on has only three houses on it, so I can sort of understand why it isn’t maintained, but sometimes the quarry guys will grade it; however, they don’t grade the main road.

It seems to me that the people on my road do not support the current administration in office in San Ignacio. The Rainy Season is a challenge, as water runs down and across the road, creating holes, crevasses and small creeks, and  water will also flow into and pond in some people’s yards, but not mine, as I’m up a little hill. During the Dry Season, the dust is everywhere.

Reality vs expectations of Belize

Q9: Do you think that your lifestyle in Belize is about what you had expected, very different from what you thought it would be, or somewhere in between? Tell us a bit about your expectations prior to moving to Belize and how daily life here differs from what you had expected. 

My lifestyle is what I expected because I had come for 28 days, stayed in a house that is in the same neighborhood, just five houses away from the home I purchased. I lived like a “local” during my trial period, so I had an idea of what to expect.

I had also lived on Moloka’i, a small island in Hawaii, in teacher’s housing, which was very similar to the government houses here, so I was somewhat aware of what living in the house was going to be like. I had no expectations. Life here doesn’t differ much from when I lived on Moloka’i, and it’s a lifestyle I enjoy.

What would you have done differently for your initial move to Belize?

Q10: Now that you are living in Belize, what are the one or two things which you would change about the way you made the initial move if you could go back and do it again? For example, would you ship more or fewer personal items, bring a car, rent instead of buying right away, or perhaps purchase instead of renting?

I don’t know that I’d do things any differently. I think that moving just before the pandemic lock down helped me. I was forced to make do with what I had, and this was not much since I’d planned to see what I needed and go back to get it in three months, but the lock down changed that plan!

I made do with what I had, met up with the neighbors very quickly, and they shared. I bought a truck, which I also share. Being in a lockdown within months of moving to Belize forced a lot things to happen more quickly, I think, things like making friends, doing without, making do. I wouldn’t change it; I think it was a good thing.

Final thoughts on Interview with an Expat in Santa Elena, Belize

First, a thank you to Alison Graham for taking the time to participate as the second interviewee in our series. I am grateful that Alison was willing to share her pre-Covid lock down move-in story and to give us a glimpse of her lifestyle as an expat in Santa Elena, Belize.

I lived and worked abroad for a large portion of my adult working life, but I have only been in Belize for a little under five years, so for me, reading Alison’s perspective on just arriving prior to the lock down and then deciding to purchase a home was interesting, as I had just moved to San Pedro prior to the lock down, and the experience we had on the island during this time was quite challenging.

I hope the Belize FAQs readers who are doing their research concerning a potential move to Belize will benefit from the differing perspectives we hope to present here in our Interview with an Expat in Belize series.

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