How many Americans and Canadians and other expats live in Cayo, Belize, including San Ignacio and Belmopan?
Gwido Mar - Grupo Mar Realty Ltd.
If I were to guess, my estimate would be that there are over a thousand Americans, Canadian, and other expats living in the Cayo District, Belize. You see them all the time.If you walk the streets, if you go to restaurants, you go to the bank and to the post office, you will definitely run into some type of expat, whether they’re Canadian, from the US or European--you'll definitely see that. And these are the ones who actually live here. In addition to...
If I were to guess, my estimate would be that there are over a thousand Americans, Canadian, and other expats living in the Cayo District, Belize. You see them all the time.If you walk the streets, if you go to restaurants, you go to the bank and to the post office, you will definitely run into some type of expat, whether they’re Canadian, from the US or European--you'll definitely see that. And these are the ones who actually live here. In addition to that, there are all the tourists.
A lot of the people visit here who are astounded by how many foreigners actually see here. This is not common in other countries in Central America. I've been to Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and you only see foreigners if the area is touristy. If you went to Tikal, of course, in Guatemala, you will see foreigners there. But here in Cayo, it's different; you'll expats and tourists practically everywhere. You’ll see them in Belmopan, San Ignacio, Santa Elena, Spanish Lookout, and along Hummingbird Highway.
Most of the expats don't live in towns. Rather, they live in areas around the towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, in places like Bullet Tree, Santa Familia, Billy White, Cristo Rey, along Hummingbird Highway, United Ville; anywhere along the highway between San Ignacio and Belmopan, you'll find them.
(Tubing down the Mopan River along Bullet Tree, Belize, pictured.)
Posted July 24, 2015
Franklin Syrowatka - Better Homes Belize
My estimate is that there are over a thousand expats in the Cayo District. There is a nice expat community in San Ignacio, where I live, so it’s quite common to run into an expat every day in town. I find two behavioral patterns for expats here. You have the option of being secluded if you don’t want to be around people. You could have a property away from town and lead a very private life.
If you want to meet...
My estimate is that there are over a thousand expats in the Cayo District. There is a nice expat community in San Ignacio, where I live, so it’s quite common to run into an expat every day in town. I find two behavioral patterns for expats here. You have the option of being secluded if you don’t want to be around people. You could have a property away from town and lead a very private life.
If you want to meet people, then you just go to town. If you want to meet other expats, it is no problem because most of them have a natural interest to find out who is the new arrival. Automatically, you will be invited to socialize. There is no lack of opportunity for meeting people here in Cayo. People meet either at home, where they have a potluck or they meet in a sports bar to have a beer together. You will not be isolated if you don’t want to be isolated.
Some people who come here don’t enjoy it because they do not go out and stay isolated. But I think this happens anywhere in the world.
(Canadian guests at Vanilla Hills Lodge treat other guests to an impromptu concert, Cayo, Belize, pictured.)
Posted January 12, 2016