Interview with an Expat in Spanish Lookout, 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 fourth interview in our series, Interview with an Expat in Spanish Lookout, Belize, is our second visit to the Cayo district, and this time we meet Sherrie Reimers, who lives with her husband near the town of Spanish Lookout. Spanish Lookout is located in the northern part of the Cayo District in western Belize, about an hour and a half drive from Belize City. The nearest large town is San Ignacio, which is about 20 miles away.

Spanish Lookout is well-known for its large Mennonite community, and it is home to the largest dairy farm and the most popular brand of chicken in Belize. This part of the Cayo district has rich, fertile soil which made it a perfect landing spot for the first group of Mennonites who migrated to the area in the 1950s.

The rural Cayo district was likely also the most logical landing ground for this expat couple, who managed to bring a barnful, or two, of farm animals along with them on their journey to Belize!

Sherrie Reimers, Professional Farrier, Farmer, and Traditional Naturopath in Spanish Lookout, Belize

Sherrie Reimers is a native Texan, and her husband, Louis, is British. Sherrie is in her 60s, and Louis is 78. They bought their place in Cayo in December 2014, but they didn’t complete the move until June, 2017. Before moving, they had to build fences and barns in order to prepare for the horses and donkeys which they were bringing to Belize. The couple also obtained their Qualified Retirement Person (QRP) status before they purchased the property. 

Sherrie and Louis live near Spanish Lookout, on about 50 acres, which is half jungle and half pasture. They brought down ten horses, twelve donkeys, and a mule, along with almost three hundred pounds of dogs, and five cats. Of the animal parade, Sherrie says, “I’m still in therapy.”

Sherrie and Louis enjoy the quiet, slow pace of life on their property, and they like the fact that it rains enough to keep their equines in green grass all year, unlike the situation when they were in Texas. 

While Sherrie and her husband enjoy good conversation and playing games, they rarely “go out.” They really just like BEING here. Sherrie still goes to Texas to do a little bit of farrier work, for those of us who grew up in the city, this means that she shoes horses. Sherrie is also a Certified Traditional Naturopath, and she still tries to help folks in that way as much as much as she can. 

Interview with Sherrie Reimers

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?

We lived in Beeville, Texas, about an hour and a half south of San Antonio. Louis has been retired for over twenty years, and I was still working as a professional farrier, which is one who shoes horses. I also had a natural health practice as well.

Because of the drought in Texas, we had a hydroponic growing system to grow fresh, green barley for the horses and donkeys. The entire process – harvesting, cleaning, feeding and reseeding – took about two hours out of every day.  So, our days were full.  Keeping a hundred acres up, even with no grass, was a big job. And because of where we lived, I would leave Beeville on Monday mornings to go see client horses, spending the night at different homes, and return to my home on Friday afternoon. I was living just like the old “traveling salesman” days! 

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?

Our place is near Spanish Lookout. We have about fifty acres, half jungle, half pasture, and we just got lucky with this place. I actually found a place online, which was near San Antonio, Cayo, and I was already in love with it.

However, this was before the road had been improved out there. With the awful, bumpy, nearly hour-long drive to get there, my husband nixed it before he even saw it. A week or so later, this place was advertised, and it was more to his liking.

The main reason for HIM to choose our home was the better road, and close proximity to supplies and services offered in Spanish Lookout. For me, it was more about a quiet place with room for the ponies.

Visits 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 had been researching Belize for years. Finally, Louis convinced me to go on a cruise for my 50^th birthday because it stopped in Belize. We did not leave Belize City, and we came away with him insisting he didn’t want to live here. A couple of months later, I convinced HIM that there was more to see than Belize City, and we stayed in San Ignacio for about ten days, driving around looking at properties.

We made one other trip to look at our current property, and we started negotiating. So, our longest stay before purchasing was about ten days. Then, we were here for a month at a time, usually just one of us, while getting the place ready for the move.

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?  

We own our home. For us, renting with 23 head of equines, three dogs and five cats seemed a bit unlikely. The home was already here, but we did have to build barns.  Having built a house in Texas, I could not even imagine how challenging that would be to do in a new country, especially from a distance! 

For most people, I would say rent the house you think you would like to own. See what the neighbors are like. How the water flows during rainy season. Be absolutely certain you are happy in that spot before you purchase. As many have said, it is so much easier to buy than to sell!

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?

Finding things was our biggest challenge at first! My first adventure was finding a solar water heater, which I finally bought at the tire store. Because, OF COURSE, you find water heaters at the tire store! I was thankful for the Facebook group for that little tidbit. Then, we needed a part for my husband’s computer, and we found that at the lumber yard. 

The Facebook groups can be invaluable. Everyone is trying to negotiate their way through this; your situation is not unique. Keep your mind and your eyes open. If you see something at a shop that you think you might need, get it when you see it because it may not be there when you go back. Don’t assume that things are restocked like they are in other countries.

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?

Our QRP was pretty simple and straightforward ten years ago. We opened a bank account with the now defunct Atlantic International Bank, and we had them operate as a “facilitator.”  We did not NEED to do that, but we did not realize that at the time.

We simply handed over our forms and about a month later, we had notification that we were approved. This WAS ten years ago, and the procedures and rules change along the way. The biggest challenge with QRP is the annual game of “will we get ID cards THIS year?”

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.  

I love the quiet: the sounds of nature, birds, monkeys, and frogs, and the lush green jungle around us. We really enjoy having our tea on the porch in the mornings while the world wakes up and having cocktails on the porch as the world winds down. We spend a lot of time with the dogs and the cats, the horses, and the donkeys. We enjoy reading and listening to music, and we do also enjoy getting together with friends for meals, for conversations, and to play games. 

Being from a small town in Texas, I enjoy the “small town” attitude. I love that when I go into the community to shop, I always see someone I know. I like that it feels so far removed from the world here, but everything I need is a ten-minute drive away. 

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 only real downside for us is recent destruction of part of the jungle near our house. That jungle acted as a buffer, a sound barrier. Now, we CAN hear the loud music from neighbors at times. Thankfully, not all the time. We also hear the blaring of horns going down the road to the village and the occasional revival or political rally. Those don’t happen too often, though, and they are very prompt about turning everything off at ten o’clock. 

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. 

For me, I think our lifestyle here is somewhere in between what I had expected and the reality here. I did think I would be out and about more, and I expected to ride my mule or horse down the road before I realized that my mule is afraid of motorcycles, and the roadsides are unsafe due to garbage and unpredictable terrain, not to mention loose dogs.

Daily life is different than expected due to the “Belize clock.” Generally, if we are expecting someone to come do work, we must be available until they get here because they don’t show up when they promise and/or don’t call to let us know that their schedule has changed.

For example, the mowers were set to come on Tuesday, but they called on Thursday and said they were coming, but they did not show up until the next Wednesday. It is very challenging to plan one’s day, not knowing when or if people are going to show up. Of course, that also forces one to “go slow,” which may be something we need to learn!

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?

For me, the big thing I would do differently would be to fly the equines down instead of the ordeal of dealing with so many unknowns and variables. I think the cost would have been only slightly more, although it did not look that way at the time, but it would have saved a lot of aggravation and stress for both me and the animals. 

I have learned that I don’t need near as many clothes as I brought; and we use significantly less of nearly everything than we used in the US.

Final thoughts on Interview with an Expat in Spanish Lookout, Belize

First, a big thank you to Sherrie Reimers for taking the time to share her experiences of both moving to Belize and her lifestyle here. I am really happy that Sherrie agreed to give us a glimpse of a more rural, farm-life experience here in Belize.

When I first moved to Belize, I moved to San Pedro, where I undertook the complete renovation of an older building, converting it into a triplex, as both a home for myself, along with two rental units. This was a really stressful ordeal, but I do not think that it compares to orchestrating a move to Belize with ten horses and twelve donkeys in tow!

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

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