The unofficial web page of the greater Cuenca expat community

j600rr wrote:

Great, now The Wall Street Journal is doing hatchet pieces. Remember when that used to be a respectable paper.

Before Rupert Murdock took over, now it has that Fox News quality.  Hotter and poorer than Ecuador, why choose Nicaragua?

I was pondering today what impact ObamaCare has on me as a U.S. citizen and expat.  From my Google search, I read the following from this blog post at the Wall Street Journal. It was written a month ago.

The Affordable Care Act requires most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a tax penalty–and there’s a reason we say “most” rather than “all.”

Americans who live abroad at least 330 days of the year will be treated as if they have qualifying insurance coverage and won’t owe any tax penalty, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That’s true regardless of whether the U.S. citizen actually has health insurance in the country where he or she lives.

BobH wrote:

Nards Barley wrote:

This article presents Nicaragua as more affordable than Ecuador (it doesn't actually mention Ecuador). If only I had known...............

How can you say it's more affordable, when the writers say they are on an $1800/month budget? We all know (from the Best Source of All) that we can live well in Ecuador for about a grand less than that.

I looked into Nicaragua at one point, but the heat convinced me to cross it off my list (I just looked it up on Weather Underground and it seems Granada is hotter than Guayaquil).

Well, I think that covers both the husband and wife, and I get the impression they aren't exactly trying to economize when it comes to house, food and entertainment. I would need to see a further breakdown of their expense to be conclusive.

Nards Barley wrote:

[img align=C]http://www.unseencenser.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ponder.jpg[/url]

I was pondering today what impact ObamaCare has on me as a U.S. citizen and expat.  From my Google search, I read the following from this blog post at the Wall Street Journal. It was written a month ago.

The Affordable Care Act requires most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a tax penalty–and there’s a reason we say “most” rather than “all.”

Americans who live abroad at least 330 days of the year will be treated as if they have qualifying insurance coverage and won’t owe any tax penalty, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That’s true regardless of whether the U.S. citizen actually has health insurance in the country where he or she lives.

In addition, no matter where you live for how long, if you are not required to file a federal income tax return, then there is no penalty for not having health insurance.  This could be a couple with $25,000 in SS income and less than $20,000 in other taxable income.  There are other complicated rules about who must file, such as being self employed and netting over $400, or if you used an HSA to pay medical bills.  Worth looking into if you are moving out of the USA next year but not spending 11 months out of the country.  Penalty in 2014 is the larger of 1% of your gross income or $95 per person not covered.

mugtech wrote:

j600rr wrote:

Great, now The Wall Street Journal is doing hatchet pieces. Remember when that used to be a respectable paper.

Before Rupert Murdock took over, now it has that Fox News quality.  Hotter and poorer than Ecuador, why choose Nicaragua?

Did I miss something? In reading the article, I saw nothing that I would consider a hatchet job.

BobH wrote:

Did I miss something? In reading the article, I saw nothing that I would consider a hatchet job.

Not a hatchet job to me, but rather incomplete, not telling the full story.

mugtech wrote:

BobH wrote:

Did I miss something? In reading the article, I saw nothing that I would consider a hatchet job.

Not a hatchet job to me, but rather incomplete, not telling the full story.

Thank you Mugs. Probably should have chosen my words wiser. That sums my thoughts up much better, and I have a confession I still often times read The Wall Street Journal. Though still prefer how it used to be.

mugtech wrote:

Not a hatchet job to me, but rather incomplete, not telling the full story.

(Shrug) Given that it was one person (or couple) describing the place they had chosen to live, I would expect it to be slanted to the positive side -- if they disliked the place, they would have probably moved on quickly.

I thought it was better than an IL article (I know: very faint praise) in that it at least honestly discussed a big downside -- the weather.

Milton the furniture guy´s underling delivered my previously delivered table this morning with its modification. A portion of the laminate surface had fallen off during the rain storm.  I told them to put glass on it instead. They use suction cups to keep the glass attached.

Before:


AFter:


With this table in place, the baby boomer reception committee is now ready to welcome expats for a refreshment of sugarcane alcohol (aguardiente) and punch, as we plan your integration into Ecuadorian society.

"Best Place to Live in Ecuador" is now only about 12,400 views ahead, plus it has fallen off the front page, which will probably mean it will get fewer views.

Things are looking good, Nards.

Certainly things looking better here than in Cebu right now, BobH.  Today is an excellent day to not be in the Philippines, the destruction and loss of life there will be frightening.  Another advantage of living in Ecuador, the far superior weather patterns. BTW all Nards loyalists do not visit that other thread you mentioned.

Ahhh,
Looking good Nards. I look forward to imbibing a few at that table. Damn..... I hope I don't break it!!!
Stay Well,
Nags

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Ahhh,
Looking good Nards. I look forward to imbibing a few at that table. Damn..... I hope I don't break it!!!
Stay Well,
Nags

Thanks. With that new photo of yours, my hoard of readers will now be coming up to you at Supermaxi and elsewhere and say "Aren´t you Zenspike?"

Just a pic from the same bus ride. I wanted to shake it up a bit. Keep it fresh ya know.
But.... that did actually happen to me once. Don't know how they figgered it was me. The guy asked: Aren't you that ZenSPIKE character? Then he promptly punched me in the mouth. Laying on the saloon floor, I replied: No.... I'm Nards!!! To little, to late.
Stay Well,
ZenSpike
Ps. surprised you noticed the switch.
Pps. Uh Oh.... I just noted this post number. I'm stayin' in today. Not good

mugtech wrote:

Certainly things looking better here than in Cebu

Poor Cebu is on a terrible losing streak -- first I leave (the greatest loss of all, of course), followed immediately by an earthquake, and now this typhoon.

I shouldn't be flippant about this of course -- it's a terrible tragedy. Those poor people hardly need one disaster piled on top of another.

A question for those of you who know more about satellite TV and Over-the-air tv than I do. In the Gringo Post was the following for-sale ad:

Dish antenna. Can be used only with free TV stations

What does that mean to you based on first glance?.

I read that a satellite dish antenna cannot be used as a rooftop antenna for over-the-air tv, so are there free unscrambled channels that a person with any kind of satellite dish can receive without a converter box?.  Would those free channels include what is normally free over the air, or does it depend on the particular tv station and how they transmit the signal?

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Just a pic from the same bus ride. I wanted to shake it up a bit. Keep it fresh ya know.
But.... that did actually happen to me once. Don't know how they figgered it was me. The guy asked: Aren't you that ZenSPIKE character? Then he promptly punched me in the mouth. Laying on the saloon floor, I replied: No.... I'm Nards!!! To little, to late.
Stay Well,
ZenSpike
Ps. surprised you noticed the switch.
Pps. Uh Oh.... I just noted this post number. I'm stayin' in today. Not good

Just had an 80's flashback (My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades)  You should post again ASAP to rid all 666 of your posts of that number.  I know when I hit 665 I'm gonna do two posts in rapid succession.

Wise advice my friend. Done!
Ps. you are getting close. I'll keep an eye open for you.

The Frugals had this for breakfast for a $1.75 in Quito.  They did not specify what they were eating but it looks like mote(corn), rice, mixed vegetables, bread, orange juice and real coffee and something with a gravy over it.

They commented cheap breakfasts like this are available all over Quito but not in Cuenca.  I haven´t seen much promotion of cheap breakfasts, so I have to agree.

I must say however, it looks more like lunch than breakfast to me.

I recently subscribed to this guy´s blog. Apparently he is a professional photographer, so he takes a lot of photos and posts them on his blog. He also has this other website which I find clever since he organizes the topics like a dictionary index.

He is also a Coopera investor, and is probably the only Cuenca blogger who regularly writes about the experience including his participation in the protests against the government. 

Now in today´s post he takes a number of photos of Joe´s Secret Garden which is a restaurant in Gringolandia that many a gringo frequent for sort of an upscale dining experience. I have never been, but definitely heard about the place, so it was interesting to see some photos of the place and the faces of the customers.  I think one face out of all people looked vaguely familiar to me. 

And now for an anectode:

My ex-neighbor who is a regular at the Windhorse Cafe told me that they have never gone to Joe´s Secret Garden and probably won´t because it has a reputation for being very loud and having a lot of drunk women as their clientele.

I was reading an article from El Tiempo about a motorcyclist dying after being hit by a bus. A motorcyclist being killed is a fairly common occurrence here as it is in many cities of the word. 

But what surprises me still when I read these articles is the frequency with which I read the following statement:

Mientras que el conductor del bus escapó del lugar

The bus driver fled from the scene.

Nards Barley wrote:

I recently subscribed to this guy´s blog. Apparently he is a professional photographer, so he takes a lot of photos and posts them on his blog. He also has this other website which I find clever since he organizes the topics like a dictionary index.

He is also a Coopera investor, and is probably the only Cuenca blogger who regularly writes about the experience including his participation in the protests against the government.

Great photos and blog, worth subscribing to.  Thank you Sir Nards

Nards Barley wrote:

And now for an anectode:

My ex-neighbor who is a regular at the Windhorse Cafe told me that they have never gone to Joe´s Secret Garden and probably won´t because it has a reputation for being very loud and having a lot of drunk women as their clientele.

Many of us who do not drink alcohol are less than amused by having to put up with drunks of any sex in any venue.  Perhaps having a lot of drunk women as their clientele = Lesbian bar.

I was surprised to read that Correa's successor is deemed to be a 30 something female.  I had the impression that Ecuador was too male dominated to allow a young female to become president.  Is there an age that needs to be acquired, as in the USA one must be 35 years old?

mugtech wrote:

I was surprised to read that Correa's successor is deemed to be a 30 something female.  I had the impression that Ecuador was too male dominated to allow a young female to become president.  Is there an age that needs to be acquired, as in the USA one must be 35 years old?

All of L.A. is a pretty machisimo culture, yet several have had woman presidents, and or in women in positions of power. So who knows, maybe they figure, and probably rightfully so that men in power have pretty much made a mess of things. Not like a woman could do any worse.

I went to  TuttoFreddo ice-cream parlor ice cream Parlor next to Parque Calderon today to pass the time until the stores reopened I needed to visit. And lo and behold I spotted none other than Frank and Angie Frugal, back from their recent trip to the coast and Quito. They ordered two cappuccinos and a slice of cake which I assume they were going to share.

Since I wasn´t in disguise, I didn´t want to be to obvious by taking their photo. But I assure you, on the other side of that water bottle they were seated.

No autographs?
C'mon, man up. Chance of a lifetime, and you let it slip by.

ZenSPIKE wrote:

No autographs?
C'mon, man up. Chance of a lifetime, and you let it slip by.

Something to tell your grandchildren!!

Thanks for this post.  I've been wondering the same thing.  Everything is, of course, subject to change

I have been getting on the Frugal´s case to get out and find some good breakfast places for their readers, but clearly they prefer eating breakfast at home.

So, I went to a new place that was advertised on the Gringo Tree:

Soup’s On, Jonathan Arias, Chef
Try out a great new restaurant in Cuenca called Soup’s On. Jonathan serves breakfast and lunch just one block from Plaza de San Sebastian.

Amazing chef with great food, both Ecuadorian classics and everyday American foods. Former Chef to Cafe San Sebas. Great prices and amazing food! Come check him out. Understands and speaks a bit of English too.

Recommended by Alicia, aliciasass44@gmail.com

Deep Thought: Whatever happened to the occupation of "cook". Everyone seems to be a "chef".

Here is what I ordered for $3.50.  I also ordered a coke which was a mini bottle for $1.25 which I thought was too much. My recommendation to the owner is include coffee and/or juice and bump up price .50 cents if you have to.


The premises inside:



Menu:

Those eggs look yummy!

Nards Barley wrote:

Deep Thought: Whatever happened to the occupation of "cook". Everyone seems to be a "chef".

Everyone today is an engineer of some sort, domestic engineer, sanitation engineer.  Of course if everyone is special, then no one is special.  Wonder if the army has cooks or chefs.

cooks....or at least they did when I was in.

on the breakfast menu I noticed they have " sunny site up " eggs.
Is it always sunny at their site, or is it just the disposition of their eggs because of their location?
< Damn Google Tranlate!!!>

I once wrote a long email to my ex-sister- in-law who is French. I used an internet translate site. She could not understand a single thing I had written!!
Although I am born/raised in Montreal, I do not speak french.

I am covering the breafast scene in Cuenca because the bloggers won´t. They think you rather see another Youtube video of Parque Calderon.

Anyway, I inquired about the re-opening of the Loft Cafe at its new location.

Here was my question:

Hi, when do you plan on re-opening?

Here was the reply

Hi Nards
Thank you   for write to us!.
And for you interest
We are working very hard to get  the new Loft  ready!you will love it!. Is our promese.
We have choose the day for the  Opening on dicember 5 th  so hopefully  by this day it will be the opening  you are more than welcome of curse for that day .we will have some  opening party  i will send you more details when the day is close
Our new adress is  Sucre 1175 y Tarqui  green building next to la Piñata. You will see in the entrance of the building is a guy who fix  watches ,also the signs  will direct it to you .we are down in the firts floor  just  get in to  the place  you will see the signs
Thanks  we hope to have you there for the opening nigth
I will send you more details  later
Thanks a lot
Regards

Better English than I have Spanish!

janet119 wrote:

Better English than I have Spanish!

To be fair, she lived in New Jersey for at least 7 years I think.

As a regular Club Correos user, I read this post by my arch rivals with great interest.

It seems to me that their recent problems with a couple of packages represent a change in posture by Ecuadorian customs.

That change in posture also manifests itself in the following banner from the Econcargo website:



The first sentence above says you are not allowed to send used clothing or shoes.

The second sentence says that if you send more than three of the same items, it can be considered intended for commercial purposes.

Only 2 months ago I had 4 identical 5 inch tablets sent over here, partly motivated to resell at a profit. I consider myself lucky that this rule was not in place or being enforced until recently.

The following statement from my rivals might have saved me some money, since I had one of these phone´s in my Amazon.com shopping cart waiting for me to pull the trigger:

Also, cordless phones with DECT technology (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecomunications) are prohibited

And now the points I take issue with:

Why Use Club Correos?

While "Reduced Shipping Costs" and "No Customs Paperwork" are valid reasons, another very good reason is many stores don´t do international shipping, so it is a way to buy something and get it shipped to Ecuador.

"Don’t Order Used Goods:

"
They reached that recommendation based on the experience of a mother who sent a care package filled with an assortment of items including USED CLOTHES, which are now prohibited.

There is no logical reason to conclude based on that one anecdote, that I cannot using EBAY, to buy a used radio or computer hard drive and sent it over here. I will ignore that recommendation.

P.S.

That rule about used clothing is very recent. There are still footnotes on the EconCargo website stating used clothing is permitted as long and it is under 4.4kg or $400 in value:

Se permite el envío por Courier de ropa y calzado usados, siempre que no exceda de 4 kg. (8.8 libras) y cuatrocientos dólares americanos, (US$ 400,00,) lo que comúnmente se conoce como “Envío 4x4”.

I had half the inter net yesterday.< Etapa > How can one have half of the internet you ask? I could bring up my Home page, but that was it. Could not open e mail. Grrrrr.
In talking to my internet guru, Tony Bishop, he informed me that half of Cuenca had no internet, while the other half had limited access. He had gotten about a ga- jillion calls, and in talking to Etapa, they said it would be back to full strength no later than 11 o'clock today. I was back up to speed by 9:30.
I find it alarming how dependent I've become to the internet.