Interview with an Expat on Ambergris Caye, 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. In this edition of the series, we have an Interview with an Expat on Ambergris Caye.

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.

This is the third interview in our series, and it takes us to the tourism capital of the country, Ambergris Caye, where we meet an expat couple who couldn’t wait to retire to the Caribbean.

Sherrie Hansen, Happily Retired Expat on Ambergris Caye

Six years ago, Sherri Hansen and her husband Mark set a goal to retire to a home in the Caribbean by her 60th birthday in March 2023. They chose Belize and started looking for places on Ambergris Caye in 2019. On their first trip to the island, they bought their home in the Residences at Barrier Reef complex, which is located four miles north of San Pedro town. Mark retired on August 12^th, and the couple were on a plane, headed for Belize, to live here full time on August 14th! 

Sherrie and Mark are from Kansas City and remain big KC Chiefs fans on the island. The have been living full-time on Ambergris Caye for 2 years. Mark is 66 and Sherrie is 61. They intend to remain in the country this year from 1/8/24 to 1/8/25 in order to qualify to apply for Permanent Residency.  

Sherrie says that they could not be happier and would love to share their experience with others.  

Interview with Sherrie Hansen

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?

Mark is from Omaha, and I’m from Central Missouri, but we spent most of our life together, before moving here, in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. We remain diehard Chiefs fans to this day! 

I retired about 18 months prior to our permanent move to Belize. Mark retired on August 12, 2022, and we had sold everything we owned and were on an airplane to be in Belize full time on August 14, 2022.

Our lives were extremely busy, and we worked long hours. Mark worked for the US government, and I was the CEO of a large real estate company. We felt like we were ships passing in the night, and we often and longed for a simpler, quieter life together.

Current location in Belize

Q2: Where do you currently live in Belize? And prior to moving here, what were the primary reasons for which you chose this area?

We live in an oceanfront condo at the Residences at Barrier Reef, which is just four miles north of the bridge to San Pedro town on Ambergris Caye.

We set a goal to live in a house on the beach in the Caribbean by my 60^th birthday, which was March 2023. We started researching places on paper first, and Belize checked a lot of boxes for us: 

• English Speaking
• Takes the US Dollar
• Good Exchange Rate
• Friendly to Expats
• Stable Government
• Affordable

Our research told us that we should visit. During our first visit, we fell in love with the beauty of the island and the laid-back lifestyle, but it was the deliciousness of the food and the kindness of the people that told us we were HOME. We made an offer on our current home during that first visit. 

Visit to Belize prior to making the move

Q3: How many times did you visit Belize before the move? Which areas did you visit, and how long was your longest stay in Belize prior to the move?

We bought our home in 2019 while we were still working, and we made as many one and two-week trips to the island as we could. We moved here permanently in 2022. We had also spent a day looking at homes in Caye Caulker, but we decided it was just too small for us.

Own a home or rent in Belize?

Q4: Do you own your current home in Belize or are you renting? Why did you choose either to buy or to rent? If you own a home, did you purchase an existing home or did you build here? What is your strongest piece of advice for someone looking either to buy or rent a place in Belize?  

Since we weren’t ready to move yet, we bought our home using Seller Financing. We were lucky enough to sell our home in Kansas at the top of the market, which allowed us to pay for our home here in full.

Our complex, the Residences at Barrier Reef, was still a pretty new development, and the previous owners had not owned our condo long before they were forced to return to the US. It was almost new with all the bugs worked out when we bought it. 

The strongest piece of advice we have for someone wanting to buy or rent in Belize, is ask the question, “Is this property supported by a backup generator?”  We had no idea at that time how much we would value this in the future!

The first year living in Belize

Q5: What were your greatest challenges or surprises during your first year living in Belize? What advice would you give to others to help the transition go smoothly?

The time and difficulty in getting a permit for our golf cart was a challenge. We just didn’t know the procedure. Once we figured it out, we were fine. Also, the fact that the days of doing all your grocery shopping in one place were gone. We now embrace that afternoon of shopping at the Bakery, Chicken Store, Meat Store, Grocery Store, and Fruit & Vegetable Stands as part of the adventure.

Temper your expectations that this will be like where you moved from-it will not.  And try to remember why you were attracted to this amazing place in the beginning. Wishing it was different will only hinder your happiness here.

Belize Immigration Status

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?

We investigated the QRP Program initially but ultimately decided against it since we were not importing a ton of stuff and felt more comfortable with all of our money in a US bank. We are currently working on establishing our Residency here by not leaving the country, except for 14 days, for a year. Our year is up on January 8, 2025, so we will be going to the Immigration Office to apply for Permanent Residency at that time. 

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.  

The COMMUNITY is our favorite thing about living in Belize; neighbors looking out for neighbors. We love Secret Beach, pool days, snorkeling and scuba trips.

However, our most favorite thing is Wednesday night dinner with two other couples who also live here full time. There is such a plethora of great food and places to eat here that the six of us venture out to a new or favorite restaurant together every Wednesday night. 

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?

The roads are a real downside. We live just north of where the paved road ends on the way north, and sometimes, you just get tired of crawling in and out of potholes or hitting bumps and getting tossed around. A sense of humor goes along way here!

Reality versus 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. 

Our lifestyle in Belize is everything we had hoped for and more. Our only unmet expectation was that we would be able to walk directly out our door into the sea. The sea grass, seawalls, and sargassum affect this. However, our community is literally 20 mins from San Pedro and 20 mins from Secret Beach, so we found this to be a good compromise.

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?

Honestly, I don’t think we’d change a thing! We planned for it, gave ourselves time to pack and get rid of everything we wouldn’t need. We stockpiled some money which made re-furnishing and upgrading our place a lot more fun during our first year. We simply could not be happier with our decision.

Final thoughts on Interview with an Expat on Ambergris Caye, Belize

First, thank you to Sherrie Hansen for the time and effort she put into answering our questions for the Interview with an Expat on Ambergris Caye, Belize episode of the series. This is our first interview from what is likely the most popular expat relocation spot in the country.

Prior to moving to Corozal on the Belize mainland, I lived in San Pedro for about four years, so it is interesting to me to see the experiences an expat who has moved to the island more recently.

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.

Please sign up for our weekly updates to make sure that you don’t miss the next edition of the Interview with an Expat in Belize series or other new articles concerning living in Belize. Finally, for a full list of all of our previous articles, check out the Belize FAQs’ Blog page.