I Live Where You Vacation: 5 Ways Life is Better in Belize

5 Ways Life is Better in Belize
©iStock/Chris Babcock

You've probably seen them. The "I live where you vacation!" t-shirts, worn by locals, in some destination you were visiting. 

Every time I see one of these shirts I wonder if the person is just proud of where they live or if it was, as I have always suspected, them simply bragging.

Now I am one of those people. 

No, I don't have the t-shirt—yet. But, I do live in Placencia, Belize, where during busy times of the year, there may be as many guests in our village as there are residents. I've had the opportunity to tell my story more times than I can count.

How I sold everything back in the US, bought a bar on the edge of the Caribbean Sea, and opened the only beach club here in Placencia.

Shane co-owns Placencia Beach Club, a boutique resort in the idyllic seaside town of Placencia, Belize.
Shane co-owns Placencia Beach Club, a boutique resort in the idyllic seaside town of Placencia, Belize.

More often than not, story time with Shane ends with the listener saying some version of, "Awww, you're living my dream!" or, "Do you need a bartender?"

Sometimes people also ask, "Would you do it again?"

And, now four years in, my honest answer is "Yes!"

Even aside from the pleasure of pursuing my dream with our little resort, I love the simpler way of life here.

Here are five ways life is just better in Belize…

1. No Need to Drive

Gone are my "short" 30-plus-minute drives to work in bumper-to-bumper traffic; which could extend exponentially if there was any type of traffic incident that occurred ahead of me. 

Now, I don't even own a car. We walk everywhere we need to go, and when walking is not the best option, we use our golf cart. Even with the golf cart, rarely do we wander more than a mile to the left or the right out of our driveway… on the only paved road in Placencia. 

These days, when traveling outside of Belize, I white-knuckle the Uber ride from the airport to the hotel as the driver swerves in and out of traffic using all five lanes like we are in some sort of NASCAR race.

2. Simpler Shopping

The grocery store where we primarily shop has six aisles instead of 16. When my wife sends me to the store on an emergency ingredient run I no longer need to call or text her 37 times to determine what size, shape, color, brand, and flavor I am supposed to get. If our store has the ingredient, they are likely to only have one version of it, or if we're really lucky, a small and large version of it. 

Nowadays when I find myself back in a U.S.-style gigantomart, my heart starts to race and I start to sweat just walking down the laundry detergent aisle. How many choices do we really need?

3. The Great Outdoors

We live most of our lives outdoors. Except at night, our house is open to let the air flow through. We are in the process of upgrading our house right now by adding glass to the bedroom windows! 

Nearly every bar and restaurant in Placencia is "open air," and very few events take place inside. 

I realize how important this has become when I need to spend a day of meetings cooped up in a windowless conference room, breathing the re-circulated air. At break time, while everyone else heads for a "bio break." I head outside for a fresh air break.

4. Flip Flops Forever

Unlike my wife, I only have one pair of flip flops. She has two: an everyday pair, and a dressy pair. I love that flip flops (or "slippers" as we call them) are acceptable for every occasion here. 

Dinner with friends? Hell yes. Business meeting? Yep. Wedding? A great opportunity to pull out those dressy flip flops. Funeral? Of course, the person we are there to honor really doesn't care. 

We recently met some friends in Mexico City. Ahead of the trip came a warning, "Bring footwear appropriate for lots of walking, much of it on uneven surfaces." They couldn't stop laughing when my wife and I showed up each day wearing our flip flops.

5. No Crazy Schedule

By far, the biggest benefit of moving to Placencia has been the uncluttered schedule. Before moving here, it wasn't uncommon to have a commitment every night of the week, and full weekends. 

Meet up with friends at the local brewery. Grab coffee with someone visiting the area. Lacrosse practice… sometimes at two different locations. The list goes on and on. 

My schedule now: pickleball on Thursday and Sunday nights. That's it. A dinner with friends may crop up, or it may not. I'll probably walk over to my neighbor's house for a late-night (meaning around 9 o'clock) whiskey at some point, but we won't plan that until a few minutes before. 

When my wife and I get on the phone to catch up with old friends we laugh at how exhausted we feel after hearing about all the "doing" they have going on. I love to hang with friends, but I also love all the space I now have in my schedule.

For some, giving up things like a car, or that hypo-allergenic, GMO-free, unscented, made with fresh glacier water laundry detergent sounds horrible. But for me, I have come to love my simple life here in Placencia, Belize and I have no intentions of going back.

After all, I live where you vacation. Maybe it's time to get that shirt…

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