Why Ecuador?

Second choice... maybe Thailand... maybe Malaysia, or maybe even Romania, all for different reasons. I chose Ecuador for ease of residency, cost of living, choice of many climates, culture, and because I met a wonderful woman here... Not necessarily in that order.

jessekimmerling wrote:

Second choice... maybe Thailand... I chose Ecuador for ease of residency, cost of living, choice of many climates, culture....

Thailand was my second choice too.

But the weather there, even in the north, is too hot for year-round living.

The exotic Thai culture, cuisine and swimming-pool availabilities are great ... and I visited Chiang Mai and Bangkok many times.

But when I had to make a choice, the daily schvitzing was trumped by year-round spring weather in the Ecuador highlands.

cccmedia in Quito

Majito wrote:

It would be interesting for wannabe expats to know the reasons why expats choose Ecuador....

39,000 U.S. Expats now live in Ecuador.  (source: United Nations)  That's far more than in any other country south of Mexico (849,000).

The top three reasons IMO are cost-of-living, general proximity to the U.S., and comparative freedom from the violent crime that has historically troubled northern Mexico ... San José, Costa Rica ... Colombia ... Brazil ... and especially in recent times, Venezuela.

cccmedia in Quito

cccmedia wrote:

jessekimmerling wrote:

Second choice... maybe Thailand... I chose Ecuador for ease of residency, cost of living, choice of many climates, culture....

Thailand was my second choice too.

But the weather there, even in the north, is too hot for year-round living.

The exotic Thai culture, cuisine and swimming-pool availabilities are great ... and I visited Chiang Mai and Bangkok many times.

But when I had to make a choice, the daily schvitzing was trumped by year-round spring weather in the Ecuador highlands.

cccmedia in Quito

I was keen on the wildness of southern Thailand. I like the Krabi province, particularly Tonsai, but the mosquitos got the better of me.

Thailand was on my list as well.

I also looked at Singapore, the Philippines being a distant possibility. Each as well as Ecuador, has good and not so good points. A major point in settling here was the fact that my wife is from Quito.

Proximity to the U.S. and the fact the dollar was in use contributed. Would I call Ecuador my "Perfect" place? No. I have spent time and had many return visits to a number of countries over the years. 

I have yet to find the "One" perfect place. I think it is more a matter of personal preference on a variety of levels and what you are willing to deal with. With the right frame of mind, I think many could be happy in various situations. It's all a matter of what is important to you.

I personally have lived by the rule in which, "I reserve the right to leave, when I feel like it".

i have been in Asia such as Malaysia ,but i have to tell you something.in that region people are not happy like south of america life style is really different and the energy of the nature is also,that is my opinion.

nasimjenabi wrote:

i have been in Asia such as Malaysia ,but i have to tell you something. in that region people are not happy like south america life style is really different and the energy of the nature is also.

I'm not sure of all the countries you've lived in or visited, Nasim, but I'll say this.

We're proud to live in Western countries where women are not compelled to cover their entire bodies in burkhas every time they leave the house.

cccmedia in Quito

I read trough your replies that the common denominator for you guys for your decision to live in Ecuador is your wife/girlfriend!!!!

Majito wrote:

I read trough your replies that the common denominator for you guys for your decision to live in Ecuador is your wife/girlfriend!!!!

"Common denominator," you say.

That's one way to look at it.

Only Jesse and GMC mentioned a wife or girlfriend .. and they had a total of half a dozen other reasons to move to Ecuador, besides.

cccmedia in Quito

cccmedia wrote:

Majito wrote:

I read trough your replies that the common denominator for you guys for your decision to live in Ecuador is your wife/girlfriend!!!!

"Common denominator," you say.

That's one way to look at it.

Only Jesse and GMC mentioned a wife or girlfriend .. and they had a total of half a dozen other reasons to move to Ecuador, besides.

cccmedia in Quito

I didn´t have either coming to Ecuador. I had a Cuencana girlfriend until last week, when a lieutenant with the national police started showing up at my house telling me he has been with her for 13 years and showing me text messages she has been sending him. Quite a bit of drama that I would rather have done without..........

Nards Barley wrote:

I had a Cuencana girlfriend until last week, when a lieutenant with the national police started showing up at my house telling me he has been with her for 13 years and showing me text messages she has been sending him.

Well, there's an incident most Gringos would never anticipate happening to them.

Leaves a reader wondering how it played out, if you don't mind telling a bit more.
When you say the police lieutenant "started showing up..."  did he visit multiple times?

Was he dressed in police uniform?

Was he accompanied?

Was he wearing a gun?

How did you respond to his revelation?

Did you speak to the Cuencana again?

cccmedia wrote:

Majito wrote:

I read trough your replies that the common denominator for you guys for your decision to live in Ecuador is your wife/girlfriend!!!!

"Common denominator," you say.

That's one way to look at it.

Only Jesse and GMC mentioned a wife or girlfriend .. and they had a total of half a dozen other reasons to move to Ecuador, besides.

cccmedia in Quito

Gotta agree with the idea that for most men it is not about an existing wife/girlfriend, but rather an inexpensive place to retire with great weather.  Even though there are less US expats in the Philippines, it appears many more are girlfriend /spouse inspired.

cccmedia wrote:

Nards Barley wrote:

I had a Cuencana girlfriend until last week, when a lieutenant with the national police started showing up at my house telling me he has been with her for 13 years and showing me text messages she has been sending him.

Well, there's an incident most Gringos would never anticipate happening to them.

Leaves a reader wondering how it played out, if you don't mind telling a bit more.
When you say the police lieutenant "started showing up..."  did he visit multiple times?

Was he dressed in police uniform?

Was he accompanied?

Was he wearing a gun?

How did you respond to his revelation?

Did you speak to the Cuencana again?

About 5 encounters, the first one at a restaurant.  The second time with a large bag of her belongings, including some of her panties which he wanted to show me. I think it was during that first visit he followed me home.  Last two times in uniform by himself. I don´t think he was carrying a gun.  No explicit threats I don´t think. He was talking in machine gun Spanish using the "vos" pronoun, which didn´t help. I took photos of text messages he showed me and contronted her about them. She denied initially, then engaged in half truths.  I had deleted her from my contacts since I got tired of the text messages, but then emailed her and she informed me she was moving out of the family home this weekend.  Although I didn´t ask where, I suspect it is to move in with the cop who is separated from his wife.  I wished her good luck and left it at that.

While I had the security camera recording of his visits to my house, I decided not to do anything legally, since in some respects, he was doing me a favor by informing me about his relationship with her.  If he continues to visit me, I may change my mind on that.

You're smart to be playing this low-key.

This cop is apparently not an ethical/appropriate actor.  Don't rile him.

Nards,

I agree having a local police officer on your back would not be a good thing. Especially when many, not all, are known to not be above board. Even with video evidence, that could be a long hard road to fight, even if the law should be on your side.

GMC(SW) wrote:

Nards,

I agree having a local police officer on your back would not be a good thing. Especially when many, not all, are known to not be above board. Even with video evidence, that could be a long hard road to fight, even if the law should be on your side.

I only wish I had installed a microphone along with the video camera.  Most budget DVRs allow one audio channel, including mine.  However, I figured thieves don't do much talking, and never considered the need for other situtations. Of course, recorded audio may not be admissible in a legal proceeding, but it could still be useful in other ways..............

Good point,

You can never take too many steps to ensure security, you never know what will come up. "Better safe, than sorry", as they say.

And that is an Ecuadorian phenomenon because?

That advice applies in Ecuador.

Nobody claims it is an Ecuador-specific phenomenon.

cccmedia in Quito

Hello, everyone!  I've been reading some on this Ecuador forum.  We are more interested in Puerto Rico at this point but would love to get information on other locations, as well.  Have any of you thought of Panama and what made you choose Ecuador over Panama?

Thank you!

Schuttzie wrote:

Hello, everyone!  I've been reading some on this Ecuador forum.  We are more interested in Puerto Rico at this point but would love to get information on other locations, as well.  Have any of you thought of Panama and what made you choose Ecuador over Panama?

Thank you!

Figure Uncle Sam gonna bailout the soon to be bankrupt PR?
Most select Ecuador because of the great climate variations available, the US dollar as currency, the cheaper cost of living and the low income requirements for retirees.  In addition, if one chooses,there are plenty of expats available, or one can live with the locals.  Remember, the best Panama hats in the world are made in Ecuador.

Schuttzie wrote:

Have any of you thought of Panama and what made you choose Ecuador over Panama?

Dear Schuttzie,

In Ecuador you can live in or near a large metropolitan area with temperatures in the high 60's F. or 70's daily  -- year-round.   I'm thinking of highlands areas -- Quito, its suburbs and metro Cuenca -- not the Big G.

The Schviitz Factor in Panama is a deterrent, unless you re-locate to some small mountain town up the hill from David (dah-VEED) in the western province of  Chiriquí.  If living in a town of 19,000 is your thing, you might find relief from the heat in Boquete. 

Some tiny places on a dormant volcano might also be possible in Chiriquí.  But you give up easy access to city amenities, and emergency/specialized health care could be iffy.

For those who like city living in a sauna, humid Panama City is ideal.

cccmedia in Quito, 68 F. highs this weekend

Schuttzie wrote:

Hello, everyone!  I've been reading some on this Ecuador forum.  We are more interested in Puerto Rico at this point but would love to get information on other locations, as well.  Have any of you thought of Panama and what made you choose Ecuador over Panama?

Thank you!

We lived in Puerto Rico from 2001-2003.  It has a lot to recommend it but even more not to, in our opinion.  We could see the writing on the wall clearly even then and would not want to live there (although it can be a great place to visit).  There are just too many places without PR's problems, which are very evidently not going to be solved anytime soon if at all.

Even then milk was $4/gallon.  PR has to import many things as they produce very little.  At that time of those working (and too many were not employed and that hasn't got any better only worse since then), about 30% were employed by government at one level or another - not a good sign for a healthy economy.  Taxes are quite high - you don't pay Federal tax if you work there and get paid there, but the PR tax is even higher than the Feds.  Even then there was a lot of petty crime.  Even then there was entirely too much traffic and congestion in the San Juan area where almost half the population of the tiny island lives (it is a lot better outside of SJ).

Still, many people do like PR and if you can stand the heat and the humidity the people are mostly wonderful.

And now I have just read a Bloomberg article that PR has about $70 billion of debt - more than every US state except for New York and California.  PR has just implemented a business income tax such that Walmart, the island's biggest private employer will now be paying 91.5% of its PR net income in taxes.  Walmart is contesting this court.

Thank you all for your responses!  We are retired and have visited PR multiple times and had considered it as a retirement destination for us because of ease of travel to and from the states.  But we also realize the massive debt and problems that PR has so are concerned.  Where ever we go, we will rent for a long time so as not to be locked in that location. 

We do enjoy warm climates the most and close to a beach is ideal.  I was just wondering what made people choose Ecuador over Panama or vice versa.  They both have low cost of living, I believe and decent health care.  I appreciate the input, thank you!

Between the two, PR and EC you would have more options here and there is definitely more to see and do here. PR is after all an island.

While economies are changing everywhere, as much as I like PR, I could not see myself living there. I have spent a great deal of time in PR over the past 30 years. The biggest point here would be your ability in the use of Spanish. While some will use English here not speaking Spanish would become an issue at some point. 

As stated your best bet is to come on down and see it for yourself, what works for others may not work for you. As they say "experience is the best teacher".

Good luck

Yes, I agree about learning Spanish and my husband is hard at work at it...me not yet.  But yes, we should come visit because you never know until you are on the ground and spend time there.