Exskipper

I am retired and my wife will be. We lived overseas 2004-2008, on our sailboat. The sailing community is definitely a different culture than living inland but you learn most of the same lessons. Our expectation was that we were going to exotic cultures centuries old and that they would be interesting for the people as well as the scenery. People have always been the best part of our travels. We never try to change the people we meet - just try to enjoy them and let them enjoy us. We love making friends with the locals. They have been almost 100% friendly and fun - if - you treat them and their culture with respect. We are not rich and would like to find a less expensive place to retire, but we also miss the adventure and enjoyment of foreign lands. We are very experienced with how gringos are treated differently in general but also know this can be a positive or a negative. I need to polish my Spanish - and I will. It makes all the difference in the world. As far as gouging, we have experienced it every time we have bought a house, or a car, or groceries, or whatever. Gringos can gouge with the best of them. They call it capitalism and marketing and it's supposed to be good. Well, no surprise, this is a universal human trait. We are very serious about living abroad. We will do our homework. We will do it together understanding the tradeoffs involved. We know we will enjoy the Ecuadorian locals (in general) if we come.