Dear Doctor Love,
I am divorced after my third marriage. My first husband was an abuser. My second husband was an alcoholic. The third was an abuser, an alcoholic and a criminal. The longest of these marriages was two and a half years. The smart thing I have done is that I only have one child and she is not by any of these three men. Each time I have gotten divorced it has been a messy, drawn out process where I have to go to court and file all kinds of papers. Now I have met a man that I think might be the one I have been looking for. He is talking about marriage but the idea scares me. I am thinking about moving in with him instead of getting married. Then I could leave whenever I wanted to. Would I be better off to live with him instead of being married to him?
/s/ Tired Of This
Dear Tired,
For the time being why don’t you ease off on the marriage business and settle for dating? Some people date for years before heading to the altar. At least that way you won’t be marrying a complete stranger.
Belize recognizes common law marriages to be as binding as a ceremonial marriage. There is no advantage to living together and not being married. This kind of relationship can be harder to get out of than you think. At least when you are married there is a judge who says it is finally over. Without the judge these relationships can drag on forever.
Dear Doctor Love,
I have lived in Mexico City and in San Salvador. These cities are known as having some of the worst drivers in the world. I have also lived on the mainland in Belize. Drivers there are as bad as any in Mexico and El Salvador. I came out to Ambergris Caye and found that drivers here are even worse than in Belize City. Bicyclists drive on the wrong side of the street. People stop their cars and golf carts and hold conversations while blocking traffic. Children run across the street without looking for traffic. Delivery trucks and taxis seem to think that the streets belong to them. Why is it that Ambergris Caye seems to have the worst drivers in Central America?
/s/ Frustrated
Dear Frustrated,
Belize has never had a comprehensive driver’s instruction program. The only training most drivers get is the questions on the driver’s test. There are more bicyclists than any other vehicle and they have no clue about what they are supposed to do. The answer to our driving problems is education. This can only be solved by central government.
