Over my 26 years here in Belize, and a few years in Mexico, I have met many first time visitors who enjoy the weather, people, and energy so much that they decide,
"We're going to move here!"
Oh? And do what?
"We're going to build/buy a house and open/buy our own business! It's gonna be great!"
Are you sure you know what you are getting into?
"Oh ya, we talked to a guy who was born here and he's gonna step us through it all."
This is what I call "The Rose Colored Glasses Effect". I have found that no matter what free advice I give them, their reply is almost always, "Oh ya, we know." But do they? Generally not.
They tend to hear only what they want to hear and disregard the rest... mm mm mm. -Paul Simon
Sure enough, they sell everything back home, or drag down a good bit of it and wind up trying to fit in. It is somewhere around this time that the Rose Colored Glasses fall off and get stepped on by accident. The thought suddenly sinks in that perhaps they have made a huge mistake.
- The land cost more than they knew due to stamp duty on the sale. And due diligence was not properly done to secure it.
- The banking system is not transferring their funds on time.
- The house they choose to build is taking 3 times longer and 2 times more money to finish.
- The building for their business was not what they bought at a very high price, only the lease to use it!
- The lawyer said, "Our deal would be done in a month. That was 6 months ago."
And the list goes on.
So I wondered, how can I convince first timers that they needed more advice? I tried something based on the old saying, "You get what you pay for.", and started my own small consulting business. I found that if I told people I charge a 2 hour minimum of my time at $xx.xx per hour, they would usually either say, "That's a fair price." or "Get out of here, we KNOW what we are doing".
I found that people who paid for my advice always came back later for more, or just to say thanks for saving them so much time and/or money! Such a deal. Those that didn't listen often went bust or split up with their partner, (be they business or marriage partners), and left with a bad taste in there mouth and bitterness toward the country they so adored.
So, if you get free advice on moving to Belize or Mexico from me, please don't ignore it. If you want more in depth advice, donate some steam or bitcoin after our chat. That's not to much to ask is it?
Cheers!