A family of six from Utah sold everything they owned and moved to an off-grid, 300-acre jungle resort in Belize to embrace a simple and holistic life.
After battling health issues, the tragedy of a massive house fire, and the impact of COVID-19 on their business, Lance Walker, a business strategist, and his wife, Chrissy Walker, a designer and licensed general contractor, found their emotional reserves depleted.
“We were feeling burnt out and not enjoying what we were doing,” 37-year-old Mrs. Walker told The Epoch Times. “We needed a big change and [wanted] to do something that we would be passionate about.”
Not wanting to wait until their retirement, the couple decided to work on their dream of creating a health and wellness retreat in their area.
Soon, however, they were connected with their future business partners, Derrin and Nicole Hill, who had identified a property in Belize and shared a common business vision with the Walkers. After scouting the property, Mr. and Mrs. Walker decided to take the leap, selling their two homes in Holladay, Utah: a duplex and a house that they were renting out through Airbnb.
Together with their four kids—Crew, 14, Cambridge, 11, Eleanor, 10, and Willow, 4—they moved 3,000 miles to Teakettle, a village in a 500-year-old Mayan jungle.
‘A Big Life Change’
As they set sail on their new adventure, the Walkers faced unexpected delays in the purchase of their property and were left homeless for their first three months in Belize.
For Mr. Walker, “the ambiguity and uncertainty” of those three months weighed on him. However, both he and his wife stayed resolute in their decision to create a life in Belize.
Life in Belize
For the Walker family, life in Belize for the last year has looked very different from their fast-paced life in Utah, where they owned a big house and were able to have easy access to everything they needed in life.Here, the Walkers live in a 700-square-foot home with one bedroom and one bathroom.
“It’s tiny compared to what we’re used to, [however] it’s brought us closer together as a family,” Mrs. Walker said.
Additionally, the family has to plan their shops for necessities, as everything gets delivered a month after they order.
“There’s no Amazon two-day delivery here in Belize,” Mr. Walker said. “It’s like Amazon two-day delivery to a warehouse in Texas that then consolidates everything and then ships it down [here].”
Though the Walkers miss the controlled temperatures and their large families in the United States, they have grown to love what the jungle life has to offer.
“You feel different here,” Mrs. Walker said. “You really do feel a difference in the air and in your body.”
Every morning, Mrs. Walker wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to do yoga on the roof, where she enjoys an incredible sweeping view of the jungle, while Mr. Walker enjoys a run in the jungle or a session of calisthenics.
The family of six then do handstands together before heading for breakfast at the resort.
“We don’t have a kitchen, and so we eat at the resort restaurant for every meal,” Mrs. Walker said.
Work begins at 8 a.m. Mrs. Walker oversees the construction, housekeeping, and social media accounts, and Mr. Walker manages the “business side” of the company, focusing on guest services, marketing, finance, legalities, and sales.
While the parents are busy at work, the kids homeschool with their full-time nanny until noon—covering subjects such as arts, mathematics, English, science, Spanish, and geography.
Taking an hour off for lunch, the Walkers eat with their children and then play a game with them.
For the second half of the day, the children spend their time pursuing their various hobbies.
Crew loves to build forts in the jungle and enjoys farming alongside writing his novel. Cambridge is a singer and songwriter, Eleanor is an aspiring fashion designer, and Willow is a “little firecracker” who likes climbing poles and checking on her gardens to see what to eat.
“It kind of feels like summer all year long,” Mrs. Walker said.
By 5 p.m. the Walkers complete work and eat supper together as a family. The kids are asleep by 8 p.m. and the parents an hour later.
In their free time, the family enjoys everything that the Jade Jungle Resort has to offer, including swimming holes and hiking trails.
“I love our jungle road. You feel like you’re entering Jurassic Park on that road,” said Mrs. Walker, noting she had already spotted a black jaguar twice.
Reflecting On Their New Reality
For the Walkers, the last year has been a wild ride. For Mr. Walker, the move has helped to cement his worldview of chasing happiness rather than material goods.He and his wife have also enjoyed a strengthened marriage and have learned more about each other as they worked through the struggles of an international move and setting up the resort.
“The challenges that we’ve had to overcome have definitely humbled me,” Mrs. Walker said, adding that leaning on their Christian faith through the dark times has helped them pull through.
“We’ve kind of tried to adopt this mantra of like, everything is as it should be,” Mr. Walker said.
The move has had a positive impact on the Walker kids who were initially nervous and hesitant about living a jungle life. By slowing down their schedules, they have more time to appreciate nature and do things they truly enjoy.
“It’s so great to have that kind of freedom and more time together as a family,” Mr. Walker said.
Despite not having friends in their age group, the children have grown socially, interacting with their guests and employees at the resort.
“They’re constantly meeting new people from all over the world, from different cultures, that speak different languages, that have different perspectives on the world, and having real, meaningful conversations with all of those people,” Mr. Walker said. “And so, you imagine how that helps their development versus cruising Instagram and feeling jealous or sad that they didn’t get the right number of likes on their photos.”
“We want everyone—whatever that wild idea is that you have, whatever that wild dream is that you think is so big it scares you—to take small steps towards it and see if doors start to open because they probably will,” Mr. Walker said.
