I don't live there, and haven't even been to Belize in a long time, but Bob and I talked about relocating there, at least in the winter. We visited a couple of times, in different areas, and found that we loved the Placencia area the best. Between visits, Hurricane Iris (2001) wiped out the village, so the next time we went it was rubble. I know it was rebuilt, and probably much "fancier", instead of the old fishing village it was.
At least at that time, Belize was very favorable to retirees. For immigration, all you needed was to be 40 or older, and prove independent income of $1500 US a month. Transportation (cars and gas) were terribly expensive, but otherwise living expenses were very low. At that time, a lot (uncleared) on the Carribean was $50,000, but I know prices went way up, and Belize has lots of sea grass with few real beaches on the mainland.
We also checked out Caye Caulker, and Ambergris Cay. Beautiful beaches there, and quiet laid back village. Again, that was pre-resort booms, so it's probably quite a bit different.
There are lots of expatriots in the San Ignatio area, too. I know there were retirees in Pull Trousers Swamp, and at Black Man Eddy as well. It's pretty far from the sea, but beautiful with mountains and rivers and of course jungle. We took a long canoe trip in that area, down the Belize River and camped out on the trip up on hills (away from the crocs). I think we canoed about 35 miles or so, and only saw people one time.
Since it's been along time since I've been in that area, I don't know what kind of economic changes Belize has undergone but it was pretty affordable and of course stable.