AARP says Belize one of the best places to retire!

Okay, so I am not ready to sign up for a membership with the AARP but I am getting close...and I am getting their mailers...and I do have to hand it to these folks for the accurate and thorough information they provide!
I've been thinking that I want to live in the Caribbean BEFORE I retire, but one of the benefits that Belize has to offer for their retirement program is that you only have to be 45 years old...which I DO qualify for!

Here's my top ten reasons to choose Belize for your retirement home:
1. English speaking (in Central America!)
2. Relatively easy to get to (only two hours from Miami or Houston)
3. Great diving (World Heritage barrier reef)
4. Great fishing (deep sea or flats)
5. Great retirement program (at least for now)
6. Under-developed (for now)
7. Plenty of stuff to do (diving, fishing, caving, Maya ruins)
8. Wonderful people
9. Low cost of living (even on the islands)
10. Orchid Bay Belize

But don't just take my word for it...read the AARP article here.

Hit 'em straight!

SkipJack

My new friend in Honduras

When I first started out on this journey of writing and discovering various parts of the Caribbean, the small island of Roatan was on my short list of places I wanted to go to. Roatan is just off the coast of Honduras and has some fabulous scuba diving...
Then I discovered Belize and fell in love with the place...Ambergis Caye and Caye Caulker as well as the Orchid Bay, which is located on the Bay of Chetumal.
But I was just introduced to Carter, who is the editor of the CaribbeanLifeClub Blog. Carter is a fabulous writer and has actually made the move...yes, he actually moved to a small town called El Pino (I think that's correct) and his blog is extremely insightful as to some of the challenges he faces while adjusting to his new home...this is a must read (must subscribe) blog for anyone who is considering a move to paradise in the Caribbean...whether that paradise is Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua or the Dominican Republic.
I wonder how many readers actually understood his Beatles reference in his article title "Pineapple Fields Forever" or maybe that was just me...

Hit 'em straight!

SkipJack
SkipJack is now on Facebook

Jimmy Buffett's S.W.A.T Boats effort stalled by beurocracy!

This has to be the most idiotic thing I have ever read! In my last post, Jimmy Buffett and the guys at Dragon Fly boats started a project to build these very specific boats...they are meant to be used in very shallow water to rescue wildlife injured or effected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf.
Here these guys are, trying to do some seriously good stuff together with the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and they are prohibited from using them to rescue wildlife by BP's Incident Command Center!
HELLOOOOOO! Can someone PLEASE help our bureaucrats wake up and smell the oil!
Go to Margaritaville.com to read the full story! And do what you can to pass this along!

Hit 'em straight!

SkipJack

Jimmy Buffett donates boats in Gulf effort...

I absolutely must give the credit to the SunHerald .com for this article and the picture....according to the Sun Herald News, Jimmy Buffett has teamed up with the USM and toured the Gulf Coast Research Lab. JB is a 1969 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and Buffett told the group he is interested in strategies for creating a “voice for the Gulf of Mexico.” (Let me know if I can help, Jimmy).
Buffett has teamed with Dragonfly Boatworks of Vero Beach, Fla., to create and donate special watercraft, which the boat maker calls Shallow Water Attention Terminal boats, for the lab. Designer Mark Castlow said these 17-foot boats are capable of navigating in as little as 8 to 10 inches of water through the estuaries of Mississippi.
The SWAT boats will have laptop computers and Web cams, so anyone with an Internet connection will be able to watch live as oiled animals are rescued.

Read more: SunHerald.com

Most know Jimmy Buffett (a.k.a., Bubba, JB and several others) to be the free-wheeling, sun-lovin' Rock-n-Roller who loves to have a great time! But Jimmy always puts his money where his mouth is, and the clubs that form around his phan-dom do a lot of the same...take for instance, the New Hampshire Parrot Head Club...many of the members are attending the Jimmy Buffett concert this weekend in Boston, and together with the Parrot Head Club of Eastern Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island I'm sure, are collecting old (or new) baby blankets to be sent to the Gulf of Mexico to aid in cleaning oiled water fowl! And it doesn't stop there!
So here is a bit more on the symptoms I have that prove my affliction with JBS, which is my own diagnosis for "Jimmy Buffett Syndrome"...(no, it's not in Wikipedia yet, so it must be my own personal affliction shared with many)
-Need to go where it's warm!
-Like cheeseburgers
-Tend to act like a Land Shark from time to time
-Like to sail off to some moonlit bay and take a holiday
-Like to get drunk and %&^#
-Admire girls in bikinis
-Love to change my attitude by changing my latitude
-And have an overwhelming desire to give back to a variety of communities, and just simply help when and where I can.

I'm sure there are others (symptoms) but I think you get the idea! Here's a guy we can ALL look up to...hat's off to you Bubba!

Hit 'em straight!

SkipJack

"Twenty degrees and the hockey game's on..."

All right...anyone that knows me, knows that I love Bubba's music and that I love ice hockey! but my Bruin's are starting to scare me! If I had a six-shooter I probably would've shot six holes in my freezer after tonight's performance!
Alright...back to my own private JBS (Jimmy Buffett Syndrome) for which the only known cure is a margarita on the rocks and the sound of some steel drums or a six-string instead of the six gun.
I had a very interesting conversation with one of the founders of Orchid Bay in Belize and the CEO of 7th Heaven Properties in London earlier this week (I helped bring the two together on a marketing partnership)from both ex...what was amazing to hear from both executives, is that they both emphatically stated that there is a tremendous amount of activity in Caribbean real estate by buyers! Great news for those of us who want to go where it's warm! Ari Kahn from Orchid Bay stated that while sales "are not where they were in '08 they are way up compared to '09" and Walter Zephirin of 7th Heaven Properties stated that "interest and activity amongst Caribbean real estate buyers is up nearly 70%...especially with buyers looking for homes in the $1.5 million to $5 million range."
Another common theme from both executives was that it appears that people in Europe and the US are sick of the high cost of living and exorbitant taxes...both of their web sites have free information on the cost of living in a variety of locations...well the Orchid Bay site is focused on Belize...but if you have a specific Caribbean country you would like more information about...just send me an email and I will get you that info...
For now though...hit 'em straight and put the six-shooter away...Bruin's will take it from the Flyers in game 7...hey that goes with Walter's 7 theme and the 7th Heaven Properties website!

SkipJack

Belize expecting foreign sales surge in 2010

According to a press release by Property Frontiers, Belize is expecting to see a massive surge in foreign real estate buyers and investors this year. Property Frontiers is one of the most influential and innovative companies in the International Property Investment arena.
According to the press release the revival of Latin American economies, including Belize, and the revival of international tourism to the region, will combine with reduced prices in Belize, and their previous track record of growth, to make the country a hotbed of foreign buying activity.
This makes Orchid Bay a very enticing investment, especially since the beach front casitas have nearly sold out, and the soon-to-be-built seaside condos have already begun pre-construction sales.
I have personally spoken with a few of the hotel owners in Belize and they tell me that the occupancy has not dropped...in fact, one owner tells me that they were 96% filled in February...yes...February 2010! Belize is truly a remarkable place...you really need to go there and see it to Belize it!

Hit 'em straight!

SkipJack

I can fly to Belize for HOW MUCH!?

My good friend Ari (one of the founders at Orchid Bay in Belize) sent me this link to an awesome Caribbean airfare promotion going on right now with American Airlines. You can actually fly to Belize for as little as $176! You just have to book by April 14th and complete your travel by June 7th!
Click here to check out these incredible fares to a variety of Caribbean destinations!
That works well for the upcoming spring Insider's Tours at Orchid Bay on April 23-25 and May 21-22! And to make it even better...Ari tells me that you can save $100 ($150 for couples) on the cost of the already inexpensive cost of the tour at Orchid Bay.
If you are even thinking about an investment in Belize real estate...NOWS the time to plan your exploratory visit!
Just be sure to tell Ari that SkipJack sent you!

Hit 'em straight!

SkipJack