“Before moving here, I was a workaholic and constantly stressed.”ĭonna and her husband, Timm, run Coconut Café Restaurant in San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye. “Belize has taught me to relax, go with the flow, enjoy the small moments,” says Donna Ehart at her Caribbean home.
If you own your own home on the island outright, then expats report it’s possible for a couple to live quite comfortably on less than $2,000 a month. The selection of quality restaurants and bars is constantly expanding.įor between $2,950 to $3,150 per month, a couple can enjoy a comfortable retirement in Ambergris Caye-a budget that includes the cost of a house or apartment rental. Regular water taxis and flights make it easy to take a quick shopping trip in Belize City, or Chetumal, Mexico. Power, water, cell phone coverage, and internet are reliable…and you can buy most necessities for daily living on the island. San Pedro is now the second-largest town in Belize District with more than 15,000 people, surpassed in size only by the former capital, Belize City.Įxpats give up little living on Ambergris Caye. The main motorized transportation on Ambergris Caye at that time was golf carts (which remain popular, though there are many more cars on the island today).
Until just a few years ago, San Pedro was a little fishing village that catered to adventure tourists coming for the scuba-diving and deep-sea fishing. This natural wonderland of living coral supports a dizzying array of marine life, and it’s the main reason Ambergris has seen its recent (and significant) growth. About 30 years ago, Ambergris became a hotspot for divers and fishermen thanks to the Belize Barrier Reef, just a half-mile offshore. Ambergris Caye, Belize ©iStock/HendrikDBĮnglish-speaking Ambergris Caye is the largest island in Belize at 25 miles long and a little over a mile wide, and San Pedro is its only town. Read on to find out more about five Caribbean islands that won’t break the bank…and two that just might… 1.