Travel

As of right now today, Belize is at the top of my list as a starting point for my container home project. It may not be by 2011 but right now, today it is. My plan is to first visit Belize for a week or two. If I like it, I will return and live there for 6 months. During that time I’ll be trying to see if I really like living there and if I can make the adjustment. If I still like it, I will buy land there and kick off the project.

It feels like 1000 reasons why I should be living in Belize. *Smile* Here are some good reasons why I would like to move to Belize. I can only list what is reasonable considering I haven’t been there. I can’t speculate the good or bad without having been.

1. Protected Forests, animals and other environmental resources and lots of it.
2. 500+ species of birds, a protected Jaguar population, monkeys, butterflies and all types of other amazing animals and insects.
3. A diverse group of people.
4. Low cost of living.
5. Ability to afford land
6. Ability as a foreigner to buy land
7. Ability to build my eco friendly dream house without a hassle and with good, affordable labor
8. Ability to observe nature in a rain forest (I’m thinking of all the beautiful nature films I could create and all of the things I can learn about).
9. Close proximity to so many other countries I could visit.
10. It’s gorgeous!
11. There is a group or two building eco communities there should I like to mingle (although it appears to me, people native to the area pretty much live this way already and have always done so.)
12. Clean natural water supply.

I work with a gentleman who took some time this week to tell me all about Belize as he sees it. He and his wife own property there and plan to retire there. They’ve been in the process of building a home, the Mayan way and also have some wonderful plans for providing a place for visitors and students to learning about the land, natural building, medicinal plants, etc. It is always good to hear about a place you’d like to visit or move to first hand from someone who has been there, lived there, and/or grew up there (even if you don’t want to hear what they have to say. *smile*). Honesty and reality are always useful. Love them. *Smile*

What this has also done for me, is forced me to think outside of my conditioned pattern. Yes, I could work for someone else there in Belize or anywhere I choose to move, but I don’t have to. I’ve been coming up with all sorts of ways I can make a rewarding living. It’s also forced me to see that I have something to contribute on a different level other than hired help at a company. I can teach things, I can help others with their business, I can build professional affordable websites, I can provide video services to businesses and organizations, I can write articles, I could help people build things, fix things, etc. I can do all sorts of things and I simply have never looked at my freedom that way before. I love it.

A friend of mine had suggested in the past I consider moving to Central or South America but for no particular reason, I’ve never been interested. This is true for many places, including the Islands of the Pacific. Truth be told, even if I don’t move to these places, many are worth a good visit. So I’ve got other countries on my mind in addition to Belize as well.

There are also some pros and cons I’ve read or heard about Belize I’m leaving out because I need to visit there and live there for a little while before I can really acknowledge them as accurate and truthful. I’m planning to take a trip to Belize withing the next 3 months. I’ll be sure to blog about the experience.

Cheers!