Redefined Timeline

I shall be interrupting my generally chronological blogging with a visit to Roatan, Honduras. When I mention Roatan, most people gaze at me sideways with a puzzled look plastered across their faces. The first thing out of their mouths is usually, “where the hell is that, and why did you go there?” Honestly, the fact that anyone ever asks me why I go anywhere anymore is beyond my comprehension. I went to Jordan during bombing raids, for Pete’s sake. This should not be shocking by now. Anyway, back to Roatan.

Anyone that has read this blog for a bit now has seen that the husband I have been looking for tropical retirement spots that aren’t too far from the States, and are friendly to those escaping our now completely ass-backwards country. I can’t pretend to be from Canada forever. We’ve generally been trying out various Caribbean and Central American countries/islands. We staked out the US Virgin Islands, mainly St. Croix. However, that beautiful island is often ravaged by hurricanes, and once we started following their daily news, we discovered it is plagued by drive-by shootings and more violent crime than we realized. I’m quite sure on our second visit there that the gentleman we met on a secluded beach absolutely would have relieved us of our rental car and other belongings had we not shared a beer with him. I’m doubtful I’d always have a beer on hand and encounter a thirsty robber.

We then began researching Panama. The country has an absolutely amazing expat program that provides everything from healthcare to tax breaks to perks for living and traveling there. We did extensive research on the expat areas of the country, looked into crime rates, and found retirement tours offered in country. We visited for a week and a half back in December of 2022. We certainly liked the country, but it never really felt like home. Further research showed the majority of communities were on the Pacific side of the country, not taking advantage of the beautiful Caribbean waters. Bocas del Toro was the only community doing that, and we were not quite sold on that area, being that it was secluded and overrun by protests not that long ago.

We’ve also considered the Bahamas, St. John, St. Thomas, Hawaii, and the Gulf Coast of Florida. Florida, until very recently, was probably the highest on our list. Hell, we even heavily looked at homes and property in the area of Durango, Colorado we liked it there so much. But nothing quite fit the bill.

The husband and I watch Caribbean Life on HGTV quite a bit, and Roatan and Utila are featured periodically. Originally, I swore up and down that those tiny islands would not provide me with enough entertainment. But alas, as I have realized over the years, I much prefer smaller towns over larger cities, and I told the Hubs we were going to spend a couple weeks in Roatan May/June of 2025. If anything, it ticked off another country for me, and if we happened to like it, maybe we would consider it down the road. Famous last words.

Hubs arranged for a real estate agent just to see what was out there, I booked flights and found an AirBnB, and I reserved a rental car. We stayed in West End, one of the two most recommended areas as they are predominately built up and lively.

For those that aren’t familiar with it, Roatan is an island 25 miles off the coast of Honduras. Honduras is not exactly known for being particularly safe, but the bay islands off of it’s coast are left alone. Let’s call it Honduras Lite, without the gangs. Roatan is a long, skinny islet with solid infrastructure. It is outside the hurricane belt, only two having made landfall in recorded history. Only tropical storms and depressions hit, which are far more tolerable, and make oceanfront living a possibility. Roatan also lives along the second largest barrier reef in the world, making for some phenomenal water activities. It hasn’t gotten overrun with popularity quite yet, so it is affordable and has a nice local feel.

The real estate agent we initially worked with almost ruined it for us, completely ignoring everything important on our list. Most notably, the potential budget and the houses we specifically requested to look at. While a couple of the homes were absolutely stunning, so were the price tags at well over a million dollars. One of the Smeg brand fridges in the photo below was $3999, and there were two in that kitchen. We told you what we do for a living, what makes you think we make enough for that?!

Armed with a new agent that we met on night one in “our” new bar, we were toured around all the neighborhoods we ever would have wanted to see. We were given boatloads of information about the neighborhoods, what it’s like building a home on the island, and which areas to avoid.

Towards the tail end of our time there, I asked to see an oceanfront lot on the ironshore side of the island. The ironshore is jagged and rocky, consisting of ancient, calcified coral reef. Phil, our agent, had showed us two homes on that side the day prior, and while it meant no private beach, what it did offer were unobstructed water views, amazing breezes, with fewer neighbors. The .56 acre lot I wanted to view was on a cul-de-sac in a subdivision with no HOA, and nothing will be built on one side. The listing price was on the high side, but not completely out of the realm of possibility. We left the island still dreaming about that lot, and we constantly checked the listing status.

Apparently, I buy property the same way I book vacations… after some prodding by the husband, I said, “fuck it, let’s do it.” An offer was placed, and voila! We are now the proud owners of a half acre of oceanfront land in Roatan, Honduras.

The drone footage of the lot made it even more appealing.

The prospect of building a new home in a foreign country is daunting, but here we go! We now have to speak with architects here in the US to design exactly what we want. Eventually, I will write these posts from that viewpoint.