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Cost of Living and Real Estate: Ambergris Caye in Belize
By Jane Goodwin | May 31, 2007
From the website “ShelterOffShore” comes this information about real estate in Belize:
“With the weather in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye in Belize similar to that in Southern Florida, with the cost of living still a fraction of what you can expect to pay in the UK, US or Canada and with the standard of living rapidly improving without impacting on the laid- back, traditional way of life in this beautiful, fun and relaxed town, isn’t it about time you checked out San Pedro property in Belize, especially if you’re looking for the ultimate in retirement real estate?
Ambergris Caye – a popular island in Northern Belize just a stone’s throw away from Mexico - is home to the beautiful city of San Pedro, where real estate prices are still an incredible bargain. Many people have not yet heard of it, but we’re telling you about it because, if you if you want an escape and a way back to the best things in life, at prices you can actually afford, San Pedro is perfection!
In San Pedro the main form of transport is a golf cart, many of the side streets are sand covered, the main roads are dirt tracks and the airport is more of a landing strip than an international affair. Shops and businesses open when they feel like it and remain open late into the day, restaurants range from simple family businesses offering excellent fresh, local cuisine to the new breed which are slightly more sophisticated in décor and which have a relatively decent wine list and which have set up now that tourism numbers in San Pedro are rising fast.
The range of hotels available used to be the cheap backpacker types but now that more and more tourists are visiting Belize annually and are making the trip up to Ambergris there has been a steady development of a slightly more sophisticated type of hotel with large swimming pools, kids clubs and so on - and you can even rent stunning villa homes on the beach for a few weeks at a time to get to know the area and determine whether you could see yourself sunning yourself and soaking up the amazing atmosphere in San Pedro.
In terms of the real estate in Belize for sale in San Pedro - because the resort town’s number one industry has turned into tourism in recent years, naturally there has been a steady influx of those determined not to leave Ambergris Caye behind which has resulted in a surge in demand for property for sale. South of San Pedro the development of residential real estate is quite intense but in the town itself they are managing to curb any form of high rise building which means the natural lines and feel of San Pedro are preserved.
You may chose an apartment for sale just out of town in a development with shared facilities – there’s a 2 bed 2 bath condo available right now with communal pool and direct beach access for sale for USD 295,000 for example. You may choose a run down town house and renovate it and put your mark on it – although these are getting harder to find! Or you might of course choose a mansion like one that’s come on to the market recently that comprises of 8 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, an infinity pool and direct beach access – it’s on the market for 2.8 million US dollars, mind you!
Whatever it is you’re looking for in terms of real estate – one thing’s for certain, if you want to live in a location where traditional values still exist, where commercialization has yet to impact, where the standard of living is high for a relatively low cost of living and where there is a genuine feeling of community, check out San Pedro on Ambergris Caye in Belize.”
Sphere ItTopics: Travel / Relocation, Culture, Lifestyle, Money and Taxes, Destinations, Real Estate, Retirement Overseas |
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:28 am
A great introduction to Ambergris Caye and in line with our analysis which you can see here. Toursim meets real estate at Ambergris Caye.