fixer-upper house

Hi John and welcome to the forum!

Hope that you'll soon be enlightened.

Harmonie.

Hello John,
I may not be the expert you are looking for, but I recently returned from my first visit to Ecuador. I had the opportunity to look at many properties for sale. I met a couple on line from the states, and met up with them in Cuenca. They had bought a beautiful new apartment, with all the ammenities. They really desired to get out of the city, and found a property in the mountains, yet still close the city. I don't know what you are considering price wise, but they purchased this rural home for 100K, and that included 5 acres, and the most breath taking views you'll find.
Good Luck in your search!
Stay Well,
Neil

Look at Loja and Vilcabamba~~~

Hey Neil,

Thank you for responding.  I see you're from Minnesota - would you be a Replacements fan by any chance?

The rural property you describe sounds wonderful.  That's exactly what we'd both love to have, but we need to find something less expensive and closer to a city.

What was your experience of the country and the weather?  We're getting the impression that Ecuador is so mountainous that moving three or four miles can mean the difference between alpine and tropical.

Thanks again,

John

Tango,

We are definitely considering small towns, and Loja and Vilcabamba are places that come up often in blogs.  Sandy has to have reasonably quick and reliable internet for her work.  Is that possible?

Thank you,

John

John,
I have in fact seen the Replacements perform a few times here in the Twin Cities. Remember... I'm old, but I do find some of their stuff pretty interesting.
We were over 9000 feet in June, and it was absoulutely beautiful weatherwise. ( this at our friends place ) Course, you being from the area of the country you're in, and me being from the part I'm in, we probably have different views of "Alpine " I never wore the light jacket I brought. The country and the people were just fantastic. I honestly can't wait to make the move. If you want, I can shoot you some pics of the home we visited in the mountains. And, addressing your concern about being close to the city.... only 15 minutes to the closest shopping center from the mountain home we were at. Also, there are plenty of places in the 60K range. Also, you can rent some pretty nice places in the $ 400.00 a month range.
If you want pics, my email is :
NeilNagle@comcast.net
Stay Well
Neil

Hello All,

I should have been more specific about our needs and what we're looking for in a place to live.

Sandy works from home and needs reasonably reliable, reasonably fast Internet.  Does that limit our choice of area?

We're not looking for either a gringo enclave or a fancy country hacienda.  We don't have a lot dough.  We'd like to live in an ordinary neighborhood, walk our dogs, and get to know our neighbors.

I've been a carpenter for forty years.  I built the house we live in with my own two hands.  Sandy did most of the design and a lot of the physical work, too.  We bought a dump in the worst slum in Nashville, Tennessee, tore it down and built on the old foundation.

We're looking for another fixer-upper and another adventure.

Thank you.

John

Dear John,

My husband and I retired to Santa Elena and bought a great house w/ a pool for $80k.  There was a house in the next block for $45k.  We are the only gringos in Santa Elena but have a large expat group in nearby Salinas.  We have wonderful Ecuadorian neighbors and love being pioneers in our town.  The beach is 10 minutes away by car.  I highly recommend taking a chance on an Ecuadorian town without gringos around.  You will do fine.  Consider Ancon or Anconcito for good prices.

Hi John, seems like fixer uppers here are major ones, which is ok cause the prices are usually good. You might check in Cotacachi and Puerto Lopez. I spend my time in these two places. Suggestion however is that you come down and do something as quickly as possible before you cant afford ecuador just like what happened in Costa Rica and then Panama. Tke action now so that you dont have to say 2 years from now, " shoulda ,woulda, coulda. Drop me a line, Steve

Hello Randynola,

That sounds great!  We'd really like to be in a smaller town, if Sandy can get fairly good Internet service for her job.  We're homebodies, we like to walk our dogs, cook our own meals, get to know our neighbors, garden a little.  We're determined to learn enough Spanish to get by on our own before we move.  We'll google the towns you mentioned.

Thank you,

John

Hey Steve,

Cotacachi keeps coming up in blogs and we're definitely considering it.  Puerto Lopez, assuming it's on the beach and hotter, not so much - we're looking for the constant Spring/Fall weather we keep hearing about.

Thank you,

John

panamapete2u wrote:

Hi John, seems like fixer uppers here are major ones, which is ok cause the prices are usually good. You might check in Cotacachi and Puerto Lopez. I spend my time in these two places. Suggestion however is that you come down and do something as quickly as possible before you cant afford ecuador just like what happened in Costa Rica and then Panama. Tke action now so that you dont have to say 2 years from now, " shoulda ,woulda, coulda. Drop me a line, Steve

HI All,

Really need some help. What effects have you had living at the higher altitudes.  I've read some horror stories, but don't know how true they are.  I've been retired several years and am ready to shake up my life. Generally in good health, but don't know how the lowered oxygen level would affect me.  I don't have the money to go back and forth deciding, so need to be fairly clear in what to expect.  Many thanks for any ideas, input. Rette

Hi Rette, this is pretty off topic, but I'll answer as best I can.  Altitude effects everybody differently.  It does not seem to matter your age or physical health. Very fit people can be strongly affected by altitude, just as very out of shape people adapt without problems.  For most people, they notice a shortness of breath when climbing stairs, an elevated resting heart rate and a slight headache, often behind the eyes. Trouble sleeping is also common, I believe because of the faster heart rate.   It will pass between a few days to two weeks. Rarely, someone may develop chronic mountain sickness (Monge's disease)after living at high altitudes for a year or more. The only assured cure for that is moving to lower altitude.
You live in France, so you can see how you will react to altitude by spending a long weekend in the Alps.  If you can, find a place to stay that's higher than 2500m, and you should get a good idea of how your body reacts on a short term basis.  Remember though, if you stay at that elevation for a while, you'll most likely just adapt and not have any future problems.

Hi jm,

You're right, but I appreciate your help anyway.  Lots of things to think about, and got carried away with building and just wrote my question.  Thanks for your input.

We have been in Cuenca for about 2 weeks. We also have to learn the language . I use the Spanish to English translator that's free online. It's easy and fast. I have learned a lot of basic words . With that and a little sign language we get by for now. Suggestions- get a free Cuenca map from the travel bureau located by Parque Calderon (Central Park). There is a good modern grocery store called Supermaxi . You can get a cab there for $2. or so. There is a smaller grocery store on Tarqui street that has a lot of things you'll need for daily use and there prices are great. Continue to the end of the street and you'll find the Mercado or market. They have fresh fruits , meats and fish, veggies and spices, beans ,etc. the prices are unbelievable.
Example : a bag of fruit , mangoes,bananas,limes, grapes,cherries for only $1.00 . Across the street you can get fresh baked bread for 25 cents up.
The best time to eat out is lunch. Lunches start at $2. or $2.50 and they usually include soup,juice , main coarse , and a small desert. It's a lot of food and can be split for two.
The expensive things are the imported goods like cars, appliances, electronics , etc.
I hope this information has helped you . Free free to contact me with questions. calypsobob7@aol.com

Have you had time to look for small to medium size homes (for rent or sale) located on the outskirts of Cuenca?  My wife and I will be in Cuenca at the end of February looking for several things but the number one on our list is either a condo/apartment or a house on the outskirts of the city.  This is a big move especially to a different country and we need to have not only the language barrier under control but somewhere to live!  This trip in February is just a fact finding trip to make sure Cuenca is the right place for us.  Another subject: We are flying into Quito, do you know if there is commercial air service from Quito to Cuenca? (anyone). 

Dan & Annette Miller
dmiller727@gmail.com

dmiller727 wrote:

We are flying into Quito, do you know if there is commercial air service from Quito to Cuenca?

In a word, yes.  There is.

Visit cheapoair.com for rates on LAN and TAME flights.

Airport codes are UIO and CUE.

cccmedia in Quito

Thank you for the information on cheapoair.com   

Dan Miller
dmiller727@gmail.com

Hola,

I've been here for 2 weeks and it's getting better but at first I was huffing and puffing after a long
walk or going up the stairs and I thought I was in pretty good shape. An aspirin per day seems to help.
It is a beautiful place and worth the adjustments.
Bob

Don't push yourself too much, Calypso Bob, especially the first month or more.  The aspirin could be a placebo effect.

Take taxis or buses when going uphill when practical.  If walking up stairs or up a hill, you can stop for half a minute along the way to get your breath.

Stay hydrated.

Don't run when you can walk.

If you find yourself breathing through your mouth a lot, it's a signal to slow things down.

If your body is sensitive to blood sugar swings, do what you can to eat small amounts frequently to keep your levels as steady as possible, and thus avoid energy crashes which can be serious.

cccmedia in Quito

cccmedia wrote:

If you find yourself breathing through your mouth a lot, it's a signal to slow things down.

It also lowers your IQ

Hey Leftclique, how are your plans going?  Is 2015 going to be your year?

I've got a house that might work for you. It's a north coast beach house in a town that is popular with tourists from Columbia and northern Ecuador but sees almost no gringo tourists. I lived on about ten bucks a day in this town, though most folks are likely to spend quite a bit more. It's a great spot for nature lovers and people up for an adventure. It's not a good place for expat community and the comforts of home.

There could be a reason there are virtually no Gringos near the northern border (with Colombia).

Since the Escobar days, the "pandillas" have been squeezed out of Colombia's major cities and marginalized to border areas.

The U.S. State Department won't even allow Embassy personnel in Ecuador to visit the northern border region on their personal time.

The State Department travel and passports website specifically warns about drug-trafficking and organized crime near that border, and says 11 U.S. passport-holders have been kidnapped there in recent years.

Personally, I wouldn't even take a bus to Tulcan again, let alone consider purchase of property in northern Ecuador -- no matter how safe and wonderful the seller claimed it now is there.

cccmedia in Quito

True, there are dangerous places up north. I don't feel safe in Tulcan, Lita, San Lorenzo, or Bourbon. I haven't had any problems in Las Peñas where my house is, which may have much to do with the navy and police both having a presence in the town, but the north coast certainly isn't a good fit for the scared of their own shadows gated community type people.