Are there any retired US military expats in Cuenca?

While my wife and I are not there yet, plans are to head down that way late summer/early fall of 2014. However, we are going for a working vacation in June to Cuenca to scout around a bit. If you are interested (and can tolerate a retired Marine giving you grief from time to time, LOL), a good idea would be to share intel from our visits. We are getting excited about the trip and the chance to live south of the border for a while. Having other vets down there will make life interesting for me. Let me know how you feel about it. And if you have any info or questions, feel free to ask. I have been stockpiling info like made as has my wife. Hit me up via email if you want: tolamson@glcc.edu.

Tony

Hi i'm not a US Military but did 25 years in the Canadian Armed Force , and  desire to retire in Ecuador not quite sure where but will be there in Feb for a two week vacation to visit the country.
Michael

Still considering, got a couple of years minimum before we could pull the trigger, but would like to visit next year if the economy plays along.

thanks for sharing

Female retired Canadian Air Force member here , travelling to Ecuador Jan 2012, will be based primarily in Cuenco for eight weeks, to research possibility of permanent move.

Are you considering travelling/exploring prior to a permanent move?

Isn't retirement GREAT!?

Deborah.

Would enjoy talking with each of you that have posted. I am a retired Marine and my wife and I are heading to Ecuador for a boots on the ground visit starting June 14, 2012. If you have questions, ask and I will add them to my growing list and I will get whatever gouge I can for you and make sure you get the true scoop on what you need to know. Question you have might be one I hadn't though of yet. LOL

My wife and I are US Army vets (I'm an Army contractor now and my wife is a school teacher (we have a 16 year old son)) and are looking at Ecuador for early retirement. We plan on going down for a visit summer of 2013 to recon the Manta, Loja and Salinas areas. If anyone has info on these areas I'd apprieciate the intel. We like small cities, but need to be close enough to bigger cities for things like a university and hospitals. Cuenca from what I've read is too cold for us Texans and Quito is too big.  Thanks in advance...

tlamson64,
Just checking to see how your recon trip went and if you have any insight for use.
thx, Matt

I am USAF retired, my wife and I are planning a May '13 Cuenca visit and hope to be relocating there permanently not long after that.  I'm wondering if any vets have used Tricare in EC?  I'm assuming I'll have to pay out of pocket and file for reimbursement, but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with the process.

gillbillmartin

During one of my deployments my wife returned to Ecuador for the year, and used TRICARE.  She went there on an Early Return of Dependents since we were stationed in Germany.  During that time she paid out of pocket for bills, then scanned the bills to TRICARE for re-imbursement.  Everything claimed was always paid for, if you contact TRICARE they should be able to give you more details.

I am retired from the US Army and my wife and I are planning a trip to Cuenca in February. We hope to have necessary documents for visas  in hand when we go. So if we decide we like it we can immediately start the process. I'm glad to hear that Tricare will reimburse for medical expenditures. I was afraid that was one of the things I would have to bite the bullet on. I should have asked the forum before.
I contacted the retired pay section of DFAS yesterday and requested a signed verification of my retired pay and I should have it in hand in 7 to 10 business days.

I can see things are coming together as I work through this and I am much more confident than I was before.

Hi guys, I'm retiring from the guard soon and will be making the same move to the Cuenca area with my wife. I plan on a recon visit next month if I have the time and would like to take the required paperwork to start the process.

This might be a silly question but, do we get dual Citizenship?

Thanks

R&P, I suggest you consider only getting a Ecuador resident visa at this time. If you are a US citizen by birth, getting citizenship of another country could potentially create problems with your US citizenship. (The USA/Ecuador Embassy website has confusing and contradictory information on this topic). Finally, I am not sure there is an advantage of having an Ecuadorian passport unless you want to give up your USA passport for tax or political reasons.

I will look into the resident visa, sounds like the better option, checking into everything.