We are on our way

Hi Lance & Chon Brown !

Welcome to Expat.com!

Armand

Thank you very much.

Riding motorcycles in the Andes is about as good as it gets. If you end up in Cuenca there are a few expats that ride, look us up we are not hard to find.  Good luck.

T

Safe travels. Let us know when you get here.

hey guys I hope I can see you in Cuenca I am moving in about  18 months

Alex

dont come ! I am working here for 2 months as an information security consultant from israel. im going back in two weeks. ecuador is not a good place to live in. people come her to live only couse its cheeper. there isnt any thing to do in ecuador. and also not in cuenca. if you are broke in your country so consider coming.if not dont come. the crime is also very high in ecuador. people here get rubbled a lot !!
I really dont understand why people come to live here. the landscape is very nice and the fruits are tasty.after that cuenca is a grave yard.

have fun.

juan

Juan, at 37 I understand your point. Another 25 years from now and Ecuador will be your paradise. Perspective is important.

Hi Lance and Chon,
I like the way you described yourself. First of all, thank you for your service for our country.  Although living in Ecuador my heart will always be in the USA, my adopted country. My wife and I are from Indonesia originally, we have lived here for 1 year and have not met a Philipino/a expat yet. Although I do not speak Tagalog there are many words that are shared between Indonesian and either Ilocano, Visayan or Tagalog and I can follow quite a bit of Ilocano conversation if they do not speak to fast. I do not know what juanb007 is looking for and where he got rubbled (sic) here in Cuenca. I am 75, my wife is 73 and we live in Cuenca as does my 47 year old son with his wife and two sons, and we all love it. It is not just the cheaper standard of living, it is also the ambiance and the lower crime rate here in Cuenca. Quito and Guayaquil are a totally different matter however, but where in the world will you find big cities that are completely safe? I am a retired physician and have lived the last 20 years of my active working life in Kauai, Hawaii, and was surrounded by a large Ilocano community over there where they sometimes did not even ask me if I was Philipino but started to rattle off in Ilocano just assuming I was one of them. 
Judging from your description I would assume that you have immersed yourself in the local culture in Butuan City, you will have no problem living here.  And Chon, being a retired master teacher, probably is fluent in Spanish. All educated Philipinos speak it well. I used to ride a motorcycle in my younger years but not now anymore.  Still play tennis, am still too young for the golf course. Fishing (fly fishing for trout) is good here as is hiking through the Andes mountains (or motor cycling for that matter).  If you are the person you are then I would say that we need you here in Cuenca to add to the expat (and local) community.
Chao,

Cuencamason/Nico Z.