Living in Roatan

Hi Folks,

Can an ex-pat in Roatan please fill me in on the politico and living situation? I am looking into buying some property on the Roatan and building a vacation house but want to hear the 411 from ex-pats.

Thanks!

http://www.roatanforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138

this may be a better place to find that info...

I don't live in Roatan...yet, but I do own some properties there and have for a few years- I will be happy to answer any questions I can, or I can try to point you in the right direction. Feel free to PM me.

zboss:

Hi Folks, Can an ex-pat in Roatan please fill me in on the politico and living situation? I am looking into buying some property on the Roatan and building a vacation house but want to hear the 411 from ex-pats. Thanks!

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I have owned land in the Bay Islands, at this time I do not.

Poltico? You will always be seen as a wealthy outsider. If you stay there for 20+ years, they will know that you are no longer wealthy, but you'll still be an outsider.

Politico? Do you mean, is it stable? No, not as stable as Ohio, but probably more so than California. Are you worried about the government taking your property? I wouldn't lie awake at night fretting about that, but I would treat it as any commodity- don't risk more than you care to lose. Why do Norteamericanos own beachfront property? Because Bay Islanders have seen what storms can do. That's why they are selling all of the North side ocean property that they can to us. If this is a concern, stay in Iowa.

Politico? As in what about the war in Honduras? Most people don't understand that the war was 300 miles South over a mountain range and was about another country called Nicaragua. The real concern in Central America (of NO concern to the vacation traveller to a Bay Islands resort ) is the high levels of property crime. (This is a future predictor in microcosm of where we in the US are headed. Wide class division and increasingly so every day) If you're going to live there, one way or the other you're going to get ripped off. If it isn't some clown burglarizing your bodega, it's the Transito cops busting your stones for yet another licensing infraction on your car.

These people live for paperwork. No matter how much you have you'll need more.

Do not seriously consider owning a business there. It is insanity in the purest form. IE: "The 13th Month", and how an employee, even one that kills, barbecues and eats your chickens can not be fired unless you jump through all the hoops- and then you have to pay him severance.

Medical care? Write your will.

Paying your $30 per year in property tax? Plan on spending the day, maybe two. Same for licensing your vehicle, or maybe need a trip by air to Tegucigalpa to fill out the papaerwork. You can think you're all perfectly legal, the next thing you know they're trying to confiscate your Cessna.

Many people come to Roatan to build that vacation house you are thinking about- and with good reason. Comparatively it is inexpensive... not cheap, inexpensive. But then, you are better off paying to transport all of your own materials rather than buying them locally. Flash: The nearest Home Depot is about 6 weeks away by ship.

Bringing a car down? Paperwork. Then know that the Ford that you buy in the States may be radically different under the hood from the one that you shoulda bought in Tegus... they know how to fix the local versions!]

Buy yourself a copy of the book, "Don't Stop the Carnival". Read it and believe it.

So if it's all that- why would anyone ever want to live in the Bay Islands?

Because you want to be 2.5 hrs jet flight from Houston's Walmart & McDonalds.

Because the smell of a rain forest beats Nebraska any day of the week.

Because the sunsets and sunrises are seperated by dark black skies with so many stars.

Because you really don't care what the weather report is, as if it really was accurate, anyway.

Because so many people say they want to do it, but you... you will!

Live your dream.

Thanks Roatan Man, that was exactly the perspective I was looking for!

zboss:

Thanks Roatan Man, that was exactly the perspective I was looking for!

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Let me know when you move. I'll bring my own hammock if your housebuilder doesn't manage to kill all the trees.

Go for it!

RoatanMan:

Let me know when you move. I'll bring my own hammock if your housebuilder doesn't manage to kill all the trees.

Go for it!

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When was the last time you lived in Roatan? We are planning a trip down in a few weeks to look at some property on the east side.

zboss:

When was the last time you lived in Roatan? We are planning a trip down in a few weeks to look at some property on the east side.

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I am there a minimum of twice a year, usually for two weeks or more. The longest I was ever there was three months, and sold my last property there in 8/2004. I have spent a total of 65 weeks (+ or -) in my years there (and in the wider Bay Islands)since the late 70's.

I have never held official residency papers but have been involved with several NGO's as well as having assisted the Government directly in an official capacity with projects in the aftermath of Mitch (11/98)

By the East, it is refered to locally as the East End (as it gets pretty unpopulated out that way) or by name of nearest village. What might that be?

RoatanMan:

I have owned land in the Bay Islands, at this time I do not.



Do not seriously consider owning a business there. It is insanity in the purest form. IE: "The 13th Month", and how an employee, even one that kills, barbecues and eats your chickens can not be fired unless you jump through all the hoops- and then you have to pay him severance.

Click to expand...

14th month. Employees get paid an extra months pay in June...and again in December. You can fire employees without too much hassle as long as it has been less than a year that they have been working for you. Now you have to deduct Social Security tax for all of you employees also. The bigger hassle is having to stand over your employees day in and day out to ensure that things get done properly. Even leaving for lunch or bank errands will almost certainly result in major screwups on the part of the employees. Been there, done that - as a current employee who gets 14 paychecks a year instead of 12 and as a former employer who would end up firing people in less than a year (no severance pay required) for major screwups.

We moved to Roatan a year ago today. Before that, a year in Isla Mujeres, 5 in Cozumel, 6 months in the Middle East and 4 years in the Bahamas. We love Roatan and we'll be here at least another year. Every once in a while we toy with the idea of buying property because the place is booming. The only thing that turns us off is the cost of electricity. If you're looking at property make sure it is high enough to take advantage of the wind because you won't want to be running a/c much. We have friends here who built homes that take such great advantage of the cooling breezes that they almost never have to use a/c.