Living in Atacames

International Living Magazine welcomes your next submission.

cccmedia in Quito

nat.fassnacht wrote:

I arrived here in Ecuador more than 3 years ago. I love the life here so much that about a year ago I bought a condo on the beach in Atacames. I came here to work, however after my contract is finished I plan to stay here. I still have a home in Miami, Florida and I go back to visit when I can. I think that the national Ecuadorian motto: "Ama la Vida" is very appropriate. The weather here is perfect 365 days every year and the people are really sweet. I am originally from Chicago, so I fell in love with the climate here instantly..

Cut to the chase. What are you selling? I think for most of us that know Ecuador, saying you love Atacames is like saying you love the Jersey shore.

Atacames.....never heard it mentioned yet here...........must be latest most undiscovered beautiful new beach town without an infrasstructure

jessekimmerling wrote:

saying you love Atacames is like saying you love the Jersey shore.

The Jersey Shore is great, especially now that Pennsylvania gaming has thinned out the A.C. casino crowds.  Don't anyone be fooled by what you think you saw on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Of course, Atacames has no casinos -- at least, no legal ones.

Atacames has about 12,000 residents these days, many descended from African slaves who escaped their captors in the 16th century, according to Wikipedia.com ...
Wikipedia has a photo of Atacames' Pacific Ocean shoreline at the wiki entry for Atacames, Ecuador.

Pronounced:  ah-tah-KAH-mace

cccmedia in Quito

cccmedia, I can't tell if I'm missing your sarcasm, or what. It has been a very long time since I've been anywhere near the  beach in NJ. I used to go as a kid.

I went to Atacames last year. It was, in my opinion, horrible... empty condos and crowded slums, a dirty beach (even by Ecuadorian standards), all of the decaying tourist trap sleaziness and no beach town friendliness.

I wasn't attempting sarcasm, Jesse, just a few spicy bits I tossed into the Atacames Stew we're cookin' up.

I am not recommending Atacames by any means. From your latest post, the place seems a lot worse than what I encountered on the Jersey shore in my most recent trips there in 2011 and 2012 when I lived in eastern Pennsylvania.  There are some blighted neighborhoods in Atlantic City -- always have been in our lifetimes -- but there are many beautiful areas in Jersey's shore communities, which include three-season getaway homes owned by upscale families from metro Philly and metro New York.

cccmedia in Quito

the jersey shore......aren't lots of it still a big freakin mess....

Ama la vida...maybe if I was from the Windy City I'd love Atacames like the OP....like swimming in Lake Michigan

After having lived in Atacames for more than 3 years, I'm very surprised to see it described as horrible. I have only seen the beach  dirty directly after a holiday weekends. The municipal workers do an excellent job of keeping the beach clean; however after a full weekend it can take them several days. The city began a huge remodel of the beach front malecon about a year ago. There is a new park and boardwalk where the beach meets the Atacames river.They are one by one demolishing the most aged of the bars and restaurants; replacing them with new, more modern ones which now all have bathrooms. I bought the penthouse in a brand new building which is as modern as anywhere in the states and I have an incredible view: mangroves and the river on one side and the beach on the other.

Yes, there are areas away from the beach where low income housing has been built on small lots with not allot of space between. This north-western part of Ecuador has the lowest per-capita income of all of Ecuador, so yes, there are poor people living in this area. I have found all of them to be quite friendly and even in the poor areas they keep their places well kept, mostly.

The climate is perfect all year, which is the main attraction. I like to surf, roller-blade and go biking, so this place suites me well. I have a 4WD vehicle, so I go surfing in Estero de Platino or Mompiche on the weekends. I am a nature lover, so more rustic places are enjoyable to me. For people who think slumming it is staying at the Marriott - this part of the world is not for you!

What's the crime situation there? Thanks! Cost to rent a 2 bdrm-1bath near, but not facing, the beach? I couldnt find this on numbeo.Thanks!!

I live in Tonsupa (10 minutes from Atacames).
I came last year, I only heard about tourists being robbed; so far, nothing like this has happened to us. Of course we take precautions such as not walking on the beach during the night, and avoiding the "suburbs" as per the locals advise.
Tonsupa is considered the "high class" beach town, a quiet, tranquil place, mostly empty during weekdays, with more action during weekends and festive days.
Unfortunatelly, the last tremblors in December created major damages, many buildings are not suitable for occupational purposes awaiting to be demolished.
Cost to rent  either a 2 bdr. Villa, or  Apartment will average about $400.00/ month.