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Kathy,
If your set on Island living Roatan is a great place. Warm weather beach property is available on the mainland like in Trujillo or La Ceiba. Things such as your property budget and monthly budget can dictate what you really want. For example you can purchase a direct beachfront lot on the mainland for $50,000.00 vs the same size lot on an island would be $135K or more. Another example would be a brand new 2100 sq ft two story beach house in La Ceiba for only $139,900.00 USD. This same home located on Roatan would be $450K +
The cost of living is higher on Roatan.
If your ok with this info and love Roatan... Buy your dream home.
Cheers

We've vacationed there several times but like I said vacation we are not dead set on Roatan when we visit this summer we plan on checking out other Honduran locations also. Thanks for answering back I was giving up on any replies at all Kathy

Never give up... There's always a way. Fact. Need any details on living abroad, "real" reality.. I will show you the good and the bad. Then, make a wise choice.
TBH.. I have spoken with other members On this forum regarding property purchases, investments, renting before purchasing etc.
Real estate pretty much anywhere in the world is cut throat. Just Google and be smart

I too am nearing retirement and am going to Roatan for the month of July, 2013 as a fact finding mission to look over the possibilities. I will actually be making the move the early part of 2014. I have rented a two bedroom furnished house in Sandy Bay for $550/month in Sandy Bay which really fits in my budget. I am single, 60 and still active so looking for various options. Hope to meet up with like minded people. Roatan seems like a good central hoem base location to check out the other options in Central America.

Chris will provide you with some great info.

How did you find your apt, and is it Gringo approved in other words screens on windows hot water safe place to live?
And are fresh vegetables and fruits available at reasonable prices?
Thanks we are looking at Roatan in the future and need all the help we can get.
Roy

Since I haven't been there yet, I really can't answer too much about fresh vegetable and such. The place I rented is in the Sundancer Cabanas complex...www.roatanbeachfront.com...The lady that I am in contact with is Lynn. I think you can get in touch with her through the website, but if you have any problems, get in touch with me at pokarbob@yahoo.com and I will give you her email address. The place appears pretty safe and clean for the money, but like I said I am not going to be there till July so time will tell. It does have A/C in the bedrooms, screens and the complex has a security guard at night. I actually made the connection through AA of Roatan. I am a memeber of AA here in Vegas. Hope that helps.

Thank's Poker Bob I was in Vegas three day's ago we are full time RV'ers and are in Pahrump for a few week's before we head up north for the summer and do a little fishing. We might check out Roatan we were in La Ceiba about six years ago and did not make it to Roatan but was not impressed with La Cieba.
We just got back from Ecuador where we spent 45 day's at Tonsupa on the north coast and it was too hot and humid for my wife as she has Asthma , it was good for my trigger fingers and arthritus but got tired of being sweaty all the time and no A/C plus expensive for a nice condo was $900. a month and that including utilities.
Quito and surrounding areas is much cheaper and much cooler.
Roy

Always good to know about good changes the thing I don't understand is the high cost of fuel and elec. in Honduras and yes I know they are hooked together.
In EC they are both very inexpensive for example Reg. gas is 1.48 a gal and diesel is 1.03 as a result elec. is typically 20.00 a month for a normal size condo or house , some of it is due to where you live in other words perfect weather no A/C or heaters.And the Govt. in EC subsidizes the fuel cost I am told.
Usually you see fuel costs higher in countries like Blize because of GB's influence.
Any thoughts on this subject?
Thanks I enjoy picking your brain with the boot's on the ground ex.
Roy

I have been on Roatan for 14 years full time.  There really are advantages and disadvantages to both the islands and the mainland living.  Cost of living is really what you make it. If you wish to buy Helman's Mayo or Cap'n Crunch these type items are now 'imported'. If you 'live local' it can be fairly reasonable but really is up to the individual. 'Here is not there' is what I tell people. If you move here expecting 'there' you will be disappointed. You are moving to a different country, different culture,
different most things. God gave you two ears and one mouth. Use them accordingly.

nice saying ,larrysroatan, that's sooo true....

hi there ,where do you think do we get all the fresh fruits and vegetable,other then california and florida??????

I am in Roatan now for the month of July. Expat male looking into retirement possibilities. Would love to hook up with others while I am here. I am 60 and single. Looking to take diving lessons while here and looking at a long term rental in the $500-700/month range with beach access. Would love to hear from others. Thanks and enjoy yourself.

We plan to retire on Roatan in a few years. About 4 years ago we bought a condo there. We go down every chance we get and we are still happy where we bought and our condo. I never get tired of lying in the balcony, reading and drinking and looking at the ocean, watching the cruise ships coming across to  dock.

Hi there from Sunny Honduras.

I retired here in Honduras back in 2010.

I have visited Roatan many times in my times of traveling to Honduras since 1999.
Roatan is a very Beautiful place and great to vacation there.

I However would not be able to live there due to the High cost of living there.
This is from Houses being very expensive to Power bills to Food purchase.

I live in the Center part of Honduras and here the prices are real reasonable as well as Homes and land far cheaper.

There are areas in Honduras that are real Pristine and have not be exploited.

Best of Luck.

Tim

I am certainly not married to Roatan as of yet (quite a few cons  artists to avoid), although it appears as though I could afford it. Found a nice place to rent for $400 US/month and that is within my budget of $1500/month. Any suggestions would be helpful as I am a newbie to the search for reasonable places to retire. Although I enjoy it, I am not stuck to areas close to the ocean although I do like water (rivers and lakes). Any info would be appreciated as to places to visit. Thanks so much. Bob

Local address is pokarbob@yahoo.com

If you like Water.
Check out Lake Yojoa in the center of Honduras.
Great place and lower cost of living than on the Island of Roatan.

However your 400 dollar a Month rent is not Bad.
But I know the cost of Food is much higher.
Power bills are much higher than on the Mainland.

Lots of places to see in this Country.

According to what I read about you, you are currently living at the lake. Is this correct and if so tell me more about it as it does interest me. I understand it is a bit cooler there. Is there an expat community there and do you actually live near the water. What do you do in your free time and if you don't mind me asking, how old are you and how active are you. Is medical care readily available. I have a friend in La Ceiba, but that doesn't really do anything for me. pokarbob@yahoo.com

I do live at the Lake.
I live close to the water but not on the shore line.  Meaning I have a great view and a 10 minute walk to the edge of the Lake.

It is a more moderate climate than the Coastal areas.  This making it real comfortable for living.   
This is however the Tropics and that is the type of weather you get.
There are some Expats that live here at the lake. 
They also live here for the cost of living aspect.

There is a Doctor in town close by as well as a 45 minute drive you can be at a City where there is a Great Hospital and Good Doctors.
1 hr and 45min you can be in the City of San Pedro Sula and there are first class Medical Centers. 
Meds here in this Country are 1/3rd the cost of the US.

I'm with in a year of SS. That should give you and idea of my Age.  :-)
I am active and love to travel around this country.
There is so much to see and I never get tired of seeing these sites several times.
I in turn travel to the Coastal area as well as to Roatan.

The thing that this area has that is not found on the Islands, is the abundance of fresh fruit.   This Lake area is rich for growing produce.
There are areas within 1h 1/2 that grow Fruit such as Apples and grapes and Pears and Plums.

Hope I was able to answer the questions.
If you like any additional info my email is: narcdog@honduras.com

Life is Good!

I will be receiving my first SS check in November if all works as planned so it sounds like we are pretty close in age. A divorce a few years back wiped out my savings (I am single and all the kids are married), but if I work till the end of the year I should be able to put together around $20K and have a steady income of around $1600 US/month by the end of the year. My biggest problem is that I do not speak a lick of Spanish and would have to learn. Here on the island, English is spoken everywhere so its no big deal, although I think I have enough brain cells left to pick up the lingo if I could find a place that suits me. The biggest problem I have here is all the scam artists you deal with on a daily basis. It kinda wears you down after a while. If I came to check the place out, are there places to stay and what are rents like?

Thanks so much for the info. I am a real newbie at this, but I do read a lot and do my research.

Other than fishing and maybe boating are there other activities available plus the availability  of other foods such as grains spices etc.
And by the way how large is the lake and how is the fishing?

Thanks for your info.
Roy

Well the SS check would carry you just fine here.
The Check on the Island would be another challenge.

There are places to rent while one checks out the area.
There are some cheap places where ExPats go.

It's all about what one likes.   I believe Cons are in lots of areas of this Country.  Especially when it comes to a Gringo.
The ease of the English language is nice for one that wants to communicate.

Seems like you are sharp enough to figure out the Scams.

Enjoy Retirement.
I sure do.

Hi Roy,

Its a large Lake.
There are Bass as well as Tilapia in the Lake.
Other species of fish can be found too.

Grains can be found and spices.
One can drive to San Pedro Sula and buy anything one can get in the USA.

As for things to do.
Well one can travel to other areas from the lake to areas that are rich in fruits.

Great places to be seen in this Country.

Life is Good!

The lake is really nice. Both foreigners and locals visit to get away and have peace. I have not been there for a while but I have fond memories of my past trips there.

well on our way to la ceiba from fox creek alberta any one has great instruction to leave holiday express in san pedro to la ceiba beach

Thanks for the info. it sounds like a great place to wet your line.
Are there good rentals available?
Hroy

Leaving San Pedro on the main highway you will pass by the road leading to the airport. Keep driving on the main road for about 15 minutes. You will enter the town of Progresso. There will be an intersection with a light and a tall statue with a bird on the top. Take a Left. Follow this road for about 45 minutes. You will pass by the city of Tela. Stay on the same road for another hour and 15 minutes. You will see pineapple fields a few minutes before entering the outskirts of La Ceiba.

Hi!

I am a Canadian who has lived on Roatan for 10 years. I have also travelled extensively on the mainland. As much as I enjoy my visits there, I, and the rest of the large number of ex-pats living here could not conceive of living over there.  Honduras is an impoverished Third World country. Roatan is an island in the Caribbean. Sure it is still developing and has a ways to go but it is much more desirable to a retiree than the mainland. There are good reasons that Islands Magazine chose Roatan as the number one island in the world to move to and Kiplingers, the largest retirement magazine out there chose it in its very top group for a retirement destination. I can give you a bunch more info if you want to email me at islanded11@gmail.com or I can give you a call if you like.

Best of Life!

Edward du Monceaux
Islanded11@gmail.com
011-504-9502-6204

Hello Edward du Monceaux.

You may also share these informations with us on the forum. It might help the other members.

Thanks.

Karen

I am very sorry Narcdog, but I misplaced your direct email address. Please give it to me again. Thanks, Bob

After having travelled and lived in Honduras (on and off) for over 35 years, one thing that I noticed that NarcDog fails to mention is the horrendous crime and gang activity on mainland Honduras. I remember when San Pedro Sula was a safe and beautiful place to visit. I would walk around from morning to night and never have a problem. I visited some family members there last year and I felt unsafe just waiting at a traffic light. And it is not just San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa that are unsafe now, it is the small towns and cities like La Ceiba. People like Chris and Narc can gloss over this fact and act like  Honduras is safe place to live and visit, but if you can read any Spanish at all, go to and read what is really going on down there, everyday.

Hi Kathy;
We are here on the island 13.5 years and I can suggest a few places for your Roatan focus. Yahoo provides what are called 'groups' that you can join. If you go to Yahoo, click on 'Groups' and then do a search on Roatan you will come up with options of groups you can join if you wish. These allow you to either sit in the background and read what others write each day or to announce that you are there and ask any questions you wish.

Two other options are the Roatan 'Newsletters' and the 'Roatan Daily'  The newsletters have been published monthly for 12 years, the 'Daily' relatively new. The 'Newsletter'  you can click on the link to sign up but before you sign up you can view previous newsletters to see if you wish to sign up. I think there is a couple years of them on the site.  'The 'Daily' which really is not, has odds and ends information on various places and things to do.  The site also has a 'search' option that you can plug in a key word or two and see if there is anything in that search that comes up. In full disclosure the site is mine personally-
                 roatan-realestate.com

There also is  honduras.com/roatan/ which also is an English speaking source for the entire country for news.

I hope this helps,
Larry

"Gloss over" is not what I have done. I have had 100's of clients visit over the past few years with zero of them having any issues. This is just the plain facts. Have foreigners had situations in Honduras ? Yes but not many especially where I'm located. No bars on windows here. No 10 foot high walls. No razor wire. No robberies. What gives ?!? Location does matter.

I'm still in awe with so many putting down Honduras even as they say they have lived here or been vacationing in Honduras for many years. Why are you still doing this ?!? For those that live on any of the islands, can you say it is safe there ? They tend to put off their own problems and place blame, doubts etc on the mainland. Which is safer ?!? If you look at the stats, Roatan has more robberies involving tourists and expats than La Ceiba. Overall crime is higher in La Ceiba with a population of 200,000. Pick your place.

Here,s a question for Roatan weather buffs. Where are the easterly trade winds. They,ve failed for days and even the south side is a sweltering suana. Forecast calls for little or no wind for 10 days at least. Or is this just normal for Sept.

Chris, there is a difference between "putting down" Honduras and informing people to please be careful when they visit and travel around Honduras. I have been part of a Honduran family for over 35 years, I have family members living there now, and I love Honduras and its people. I had planned on retiring there for many years and now, sadly, I want no part of that. The wave of Honduran emigrants to cities like Houston and L.A in the 1970's and 80's has spawned the returning youth gangs of today. That with poverty and the location of Honduras, smack dab in the middle of the drug routes, has created a hell hole down there. Just reading the Honduran newspapers today, I see that the military is trying to take back some neighborhoods in La Ceiba, Operacion Libertad, using the military and national police are trying to "rescue" the Bonitillo y Armenia Bonito neighborhoods, "that have been under the control of criminal gangs" and after that they will try and free Las Mercedes and La 26 neighborhoods. And I see that there have been over 60 killings on public buses, so far this year, that's killings, the number wounded was not even mentioned. To tell the average White Bread North American to hop on a plane and drive from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba, like they are taking a drive in the USA, is irresponsible and not being very truthful to these folks.

I was simply stating that foreigners are not targets here. Do you really think the drive from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba is that dangerous for foreigners making the drive ? I can think of a lot more dangerous places than that highway. I also deal with clients that have been visiting the mainland for many many years staying for a few months at a time. They understand this country well and make decisions on their own. If they choose La Ceiba to retire, that is what they want to do.

As far as the army patrolling certain neighborhoods.... I think that is a great thing. The police do nothing in the areas you have mentioned.

You guys are having a private little argument on a public forum. Nothing this side of the grave is safe. I asked about the weather. Much more personally important to us than a killing here, a killing there. As long as the Americans continue their fake war on drugs, the more kids will kill each other trying to get rich from the business. Look at the last time the Yanks tried to outlaw peoples
personal turn ons. It was called Prohibition and it didn,t work.