New members of the Ecuador forum, introduce yourself here — 2016

Retirement to Mexico in 2014 did not work out. Un-willing to support another man's children(adults) on my pension income only. Now I intend to live and travel single. Ecuador sounds exciting and affordable. Being a 'country boy', I hope to make a new life in the company of new friends of the human and animal variety. Horses are my first love.
Love those mountains ,streams and beachs.
Can't wait to meet new people and learn a new language.!

New to this board but have visited Ecuador 7 times since 2010 and dated an Ecuadorian woman for about a year.  Always enjoyed my trips and am planning to return again in 2016, hopefully for a 2-3 month period.  I have friends in Guayquil, Quito and Cuenca.  I'm hoping to explore several business ideas during my upcoming trip.

Looking forward to learning more and meeting some new folks.

Mike

Hello. I am from New Hampshire and moved to Puerto Rico in 2014.   I love Puerto Rico and the people are great.  However everything here takes 3 times longer Everything from going to the bank dmv to shopping to eating out.  Power and water outages and of course outrage food cost with almost 12%  Sales tax.   The health care services is absolutely horrible.  I went to the er once.  I had to drive 2 hrs ( because that the only place on the island that takes my insurance) I was in the waiting area for 13 hr.
My husband is 100% disabled veteran and gts his va disability pay and ssdi.  It's us and our youngest son 6 ( who we home school) public schools are horrible here and private schools are very expensive.  College here is $55 a credit.  So it cost more for your child to get education from k thru 12 then to go to college.  That is messed up.   I have been looking into Ecuador long before we moved to Puerto Rico.  We can here because my husband could get his free health care at the va.    Which the va here is 100% worse then in the states
So I am looking to find estimated prices for rentals and health insurance cost in Ecuador.
Looking for recommendations on areas to live.   We want to be in an area that has a lot of English speaking people. We want to be near the beach. Not more then 30 mins away. An area that has good health care.   We don't mind some warm days but don't want to have 90 plus degrees for an extended period of time.   Currently we are 10. Mins to the beach we live in the mountains and we have ocean views from the front and back of our place. 30 mins drive to a larger city that has everything.  So I am interested what everyone has to say.  Thank you in advance

Hi Sandra,
My husband and I were here 4 years and now back for 2 months.  The costs in Ecuador have soared in my opinion.  Everything costs so much more, and now there is talk about very high taxes because the government is having financial difficulty. 
I have a friend who had VA benefits in the US and is quite ill.  Now in living in Ecuador, the price for his treatments are prohibitive here in Ecuador, so he is not getting the treatments.  If he had stayed in the US, the VA would have covered his treatments 100%.
Food for thought.

Thanks that good to know.   I am really trying to find a better solution then living in pr.  We love it here. But I feel we might be missing out on some better options in other countries

sandrarduncan wrote:

My husband is 100% disabled veteran and gets his va disability pay and ssdi.... I have been looking into Ecuador long before we moved to Puerto Rico.  We came here because my husband could get his free health care at the va.    Which the va here is 100% worse then in the states.

So I am looking to find estimated prices for rentals and health insurance cost in Ecuador.
Looking for recommendations on areas to live.... We want to be near the beach....An area that has good health care.

Welcome to the Ecuador forum, Sandra.

Under the Pamplemousse Pronouncement, this thread is reserved exclusively for the introduction of new members.

Therefore, the ongoing discussion of your health care and rental-prices inquiries is being moved to the Health Care in Ecuador thread.  Look for the most recent post(s) on that thread, which address your situation.  Here is the link....

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=164500

-- cccmedia in Quito

I'm coming to Ecuador to live in May. I'm coming via cargo ship to Guayaquil and will stay in this city until I obtain my residency visa... or not.   I'm looking forward to a new pace and new way of life.

I've worked in the IT industry for 20 years in the corporate world. I'm giving it up to work as a freelance Rails developer and to enjoy a slower paced life where I have time to do art and music.

ThreeWest wrote:

I'm coming to Ecuador to live in May. I'm coming via cargo ship to Guayaquil and will stay in this city until I obtain my residency visa...

I've worked in the IT industry for 20 years in the corporate world. I'm giving it up to work as a freelance Rails developer and to enjoy a slower paced life where I have time to do art and music.

Your post brings up some provocative points I would like to address. 

However, responding right here would violate the Mauritius Mandate, which states that this thread must be reserved for the introduction of new members only, not a full-on discussion of issues.  We certainly don't want to stir the pot at the Home Office in the Mascarene Islands this time of year, what with typhoon season being well underway over there.

So I have posted my commentary at the thread know as "Fielding Your Questions:  New Members Want to Know...."

Here is the link to that thread.  Go to the more recent -- or one of the most recent -- posts on that thread....

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … =3#3085505

cccmedia in Quito

My husband and I have just started to explore the possibility of outsourcing our retirement to Ecuador.  I hope to visit sometime in March.  We lived in India for 2 1/2 years.  My Indian born husband found you can't go home again.  I would not trade my India experience for anything.  India is not the place for us to settle and retire.

I can't wait to visit the different regions of Ecuador.  I took Spanish in high school.  I have forgotten most.  Looking forward to learning the language again.  I don't expect to change Ecuador.  I expect Ecuador to change me.

Hasta luego

Hello, I am Anthony.  After looking to Costa Rica, Panama and even Bali, Indonesia I think Ecuador sounds like the best possibility to me.  I want to visit within a year so I can see for myself.  Any info would be great, thanks.

I am  visiting  costa  rica this  summer to see if I can retire there and work as well
I'll need a place to stay  for 17 days.
I'll be gathering information as to where and how to  transition
Assuming I want to  move
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Philip Boutin
rockblaster_us@yahoo.com
3619806630

Hello everyone!

My name is Diana. I've moved with my family (my husband and 4 y.o. child) to live in Cumbaya, Ecuador. We are here since July 9th, 2015 . So far we have a rocky experience living here.

Greetings,

My name is Jason. I've been living in Ecuador since July 2015. I'm from Colorado, USA. I moved here with a friend who now resides in Otavalo. I've lived in Cumbaya, Quito for about 4 months. I have since been living in Ibarra. I've recently married a teacher that I met here from Trinidad and Tobago. I am working on obtaining residency through the Amparo Visa arrangement. I work online for a friends business in Colorado. We are living in Ibarra together enjoying the beauty of the area and the challenges of life in Ecuador.

Julien wrote:

Hi all,

Newbie on the Ecuador forum? Dont know how to start?

This thread is for you

We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more on your expat projects in Ecuador if you are planning to move there.

It will enable us to help you better but above all to wish you a warm welcome.

Welcome on board!

PD : The thread New members of the Ecuador forum, introduce yourself here  4th quarter of 2015 continues below!

We are Robin and Joel.  We are looking at moving to Ecuador in about two years.  We have things we have to wrap up here in the USA first.

We were looking at Costa Rica but the cost of homes is really going up.  We chatted on the phone with a wonderful lady, Miriam, on the phone for a while.  We learned a lot more about Ecuador and are leaning there!  It is a beautiful country.

We plan to rent a condo on the beach, some where, when/before we get there (details to be worked out).  We'd like to have a secure condo on the beachfront and then travel to other places as we want.  Local town/city with markets, etc.  Internet is really important to us and Joel's side computer business.

Joel has been in the computer industry for thirty something years.  I have been a special education teacher of all ages for thirty years.  We want to make new friends where we live and finally decide to buy a condo.

We still have lots of questions and are doing some research.  We plan on following the forum and learning from all that post.  Questions about locations, transportation, culture, "bugs", security, costs of living there (taxes), what we can bring, ordering and delivering items from the internet...okay, lots! 

Joel and I look forward to reading all the posts and getting ready for a big move to a peaceful  place.  We love culture and learning new things and adventure! We think we can find it there.

Thanks for any information you place on the forum!

Robin and Joel

joelrobin wrote:

We are looking at moving to Ecuador ... to have a secure condo on the beachfront and then travel to other places as we want....

We want to make new friends where we live and finally decide to buy a condo....

Robin and Joel

Welcome to the Ecuador forum, Robin and Joel

I have some comments about buying property at the Ecuador oceanfront.  I’ve posted them at a new thread (which you can find via the link below) in order to comply with the Pamplemousses Proclamation of https://www.expat.com, which confines posts on this New Members threads to introductions-only.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 06#3191755

cccmedia

Ok, got it now.  My husband and I are retired and moving to Vilcabamba in June or July.  We will be staying at Madre Tierra for a while.  My husband and I both have tentative job offers there. We would like to find our own place--we have two cats that would be happier that way.  Us too.  We realize that coming from Western USA it will be a culture shock, but that is what we are looking for.  A whole new way of life.

HI
My husband and I are wanting a new way of life -  new adventures and challenges.
We looked at the area you are looking at - we like it too.  We can move for 2-3 years but may stay in a condo for a while then decide where to settle down. 
We have two cats too!  We should stay in touch - let us know how things are going and what you learn.

I'm curious.  What kind of jobs are looking at there?  I am/will be a retired teacher and my husband is a computer guru and now is starting a new web site/business.

I know things are hard right now in Ecuador.  I do pray that there is relief and some comfort for all who have been impacted by the earthquake.

It is so nice to hear from you.

Robin and Joel

Thanx for you note.  At this point we are getting down to the basics going thru old stuff and purging--that sort of thing.  We hope to be on the road by June.  We are traveling cross country with a trailer full of stuff that we will leave in storage in Florida--we are in Washington now.  From there we will get on a plane with the kitties and be on our way.  My husband is also a computer guru, but he will move away from that to be an assistant (property management?) to a man who owns a spa resort in Vilcambaba.  I am a yoga instructor and may be employed there as well.  We'll stay there at first, but want to find a private residence.  I don't think it can be done long distance.  There is soooo much paper work to do, just to go there, so start looking into it now.  The place we are going is www.madretierra.com/ec if you want to check it out.
Sue

I enjoyed your post.  I hope someday we meet in person!
I tried to open your link but it did not work
Yoga - love it.  I did it for a few year and got away...would like to get back to it!

Maybe we can see it later.  There is lots going on in Ecuador now - so much damage.  I hope people will be ok.

Just curious and mabybe you know...is home owners insurance available in Ecuador or can it be purchased somewhere else and used there?

Later,
Robin

Hello everyone,

Welcome on board 

@ JoelRobin, i am sure you will get relevant infos about home owners' insurance in the following thread dedicated to you.

- 2016: Does It Make Any Sense For Joel & Robin to Buy a Beach Condo?

Do not hesitate to participate on that thread.

All the very best,
Bhavna

Hi, wow!! I am also a disabled veteran and my wife (kim) and I have almost the same income. So hi, how are you two doing? We also are looking to move to Ecuador as soon as the army figures out how to retire me. May I ask what % your husband is? Is he 100%? We were looking at cuenca to retire in for the mountain views and sraedy climate. Please reply and let us know. The va might be able to help you like they did kim. Bye for know

@ shamusandkim

This thread has been created for the introduction of new members only.

If you have some questions to ask to the community, please feel free to create your own thread on the Ecuador forum.

If you wish to talk to someone, please feel free to contact him in private please.

Thank you,

Priscilla

Hi Diana:
My name is Arturo and I live in Quito, if you want I can help you with información about my country.
Bye
Arturo

Hello Everyone,

My Wife and I are beginning our journey of finding that place to live once we retire. We currently live in Winston-Salem, NC and wanting to live in a vibrant community beyond the U.S. borders. Not sure if Ecuador is the right place but thought I would reach out now and find out what's going in the country and get some varying opinions from those of you who have either been living there or have lived there and left (why?).

wendell.USNC wrote:

thought I would reach out now and find out what's going in the country and get some varying opinions from those of you who have either been living there or have lived there and left (why?)

Welcome to the Ecuador forum, Wendell.

Please refer to the recent Report #24 on this thread from Priscilla at the Home Office, regarding the posting of questions, including yours.

cccmedia in Quito

Hi I am interested in your comment about working as a Freelance Rail developer.  What is that exactly? I work in the railroad industry in the states and I am looking to relocate to cut cost of living and less stress.  I am tired of the rat race.

suzywc wrote:

I am interested in your comment about working as a Freelance Rail developer.  What is that exactly? I work in the railroad industry in the states and I am looking to relocate to cut cost of living and less stress.

Dear Suzy in Omaha,

Welcome to the Ecuador forum.

Since this thread is reserved for introductions only, I can only offer a small hint about freelance rail development.  It’s about web development, not railroads.

Under the Dubreuil Doctrine, any queries and tutorials about the matter would better be discussed at the “Fielding Your Questions...” thread:  https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 89&4=3

  -- cccmedia in Quito

Hi, everyone!
I'm Joana and I'm Venezuelan. I moved to Quito in November without first visiting.
I like it so far.
Best regards,
J

Hello everyone,

I am a traveler with a gypsy soul....from The States, but looking to permanently relocate.

Hello everyone, My name is Richard, my spouse and I will be coming to Salinas for a fact finding mission to see if we like it there, we are from Ft. Lauderdale Florida and ready to retire and start our next chapter of our lives in Salinas Ecuador on the coast, we have been in touch with a few expats who live in Salinas and they have been more then helpful in our journey. We are planning on selling our business, condo and saying so long to the USA.  Deedee our contact in Salinas has been doing all the leg work in Salinas to help us prepare for our trip in late August. My spouse speaks some Spanish; I don't, but just purchased Rosetta stone and hopefully will learn some before we make the big move.  Well that's it for now.

Hi. My name is Meg and I reside in Easton, MD. I recently learned of this marvelous possibility through a lifelong friend,  also on this forum. A divorced middle-ager with 3 adult children spread all over the USA. I work for the State of Maryland and have 8 years til I can technically retire. However, depending on the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections, would be willing to 'jump ship' earlier. Any and all info on this site welcome.

Welcome to the Ecuador forum, Meg.

For a woman on her own (I read your introduction on the other thread), I would recommend in-town Cuenca.

It’s historically safe for Expats, with a relatively high percentage of North Americans and lots of ways to connect with others -- Expat-friendly meetups and events.  The more connections you can make, the more you are part of a community and not an outsider. 

Cuenca also is far from the Ring of Fire earthquake areas that are near the EC coast.

cccmedia in Quito

just signed up- in Usa- looking for retirement area. ecuador,by the beach-cheap... or pedasi panama, or like Belize alot but too expensive..? ecuador was listed as one of the most affordable to live on SSA..2 bed,2 bth by beach what we were looking for..really any country by coastline that is safe, and friendly to americans, and affordable, we dont have the collateral for the gated communities that developers are promoting, so not sure if we can even find right country/town to live on ssa checks? alot of ads out there,but we like quiet and private better than resort type and crowds..thank so much for any input you can offer.

hey! we are on the same page it seems! but you are much further ahead than we are. looking to get out of US asap,but we will only have SSA to live on..salinas is coast/beach area right? be interested to see your posts on how its going etc.

Dear Hubbs in Oologah, Oklahoma....

Welcome to the Ecuador forum.

Please post your queries at the forum's Fielding Your Questions thread, so members can respond.  This New Members thread is for introductions only, as per orders from on high issued by the Home Office in the Mascarene Islands. https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=477389

  -- cccmedia

Hello:  I am MegfromCT.  I am seriously investigating moving to Ecuador for refinement.  As the US has become so expensive, I fear not being able to support myself through retirement.  I live in CT today.

I am a private independent secondary school counselor who helps (primarily students with LD or ADA issues) get into college.  The whole market for such things has shifted due to the ongoing, never ending recessionary times in the US, so my market is just small.  I learned how to code both HTML and CSS and built my own website on WordPress.  www.megglassassociates.com  I also blog for personal fun on Tumbler under MegfromCT.  I had one degree in English writing, but I also can teach the college entrance tests and TOEFL for students applying to US schools from abroad.  I have had several US Clients and a few who have been foreign nationals.  I am hoping to perhaps continue what I do on a much smaller scale, as it is not limited by location or age, truly. 

Ecuador appeals for a number of reasons: the currency, the fact that there is some seasonality in Eastern locations-I hate humidity and do not want to be where the temperatures are often 36 to 39.  I am ok for a fun trip, such as to Singapore or Cambodia with such heat, but not to make my home. 

I grew up in Washington DC, the youngest of 5.  My eldest sister has recently passed away, which leaves a huge loss, but in another sense, I do have the freedom to make my life elsewhere.  I love foreign travel.  My mother's extended family lives in Sweden, and I have traveled to Europe many times.  I recently spent 5.5 weeks in Asia visiting amazing places in 9 countries.  I adored the adventure. 

I am fairly physically fit, and enjoy things such as: pilates, cardio, weight training, paddle boarding, canoeing, rigorous walking (not camping or hiking with packs), bicycling, and some forms of yoga.  I have disc issues from years of running and skiing.  I love winter sports as well.  However, I have toned down the impact sports to basically few and all low impact. 

I am only fluent in the English language but always love to learn new phrases and words in others.  My retention for a lot has to do with repeatedly hearing it.  I feel I would enjoy learning Spanish and welcome the idea of taking classes with other Expats. 

I, ideally, am looking at the South, Cuenca.  I have a lovely new neighbor who grew up in Quinto.  She has reassured me that Cuenca doesn't have the extreme heat and humidity.  Depending on what is happening in the US in terms of investments when I plan to retire (probably in 12-16 years), I hope to purchase a condo as I want to be in a building with others.  I feel, I would appreciate a community life once again.  I am friendly and neighborly, so I would enjoy several of the locations, it appears, are being built now.  I live in a suburb of NYC now and grew up right in the city of DC.  I love city life a lot, but I also like the suburban life as well.  I hope to be able to afford a small apartment in NYC as a base to come back and visit.

I have been researching the income tax rules for the US and Ecuador.  I most likely would own a car, and need basic utilities and great internet and so forth.  I understand there are US TV packages and such that can be purchased.  I understand that are discounts for utilities for seniors.  I would most likely hire a weekly housekeeper to help keep my condo clean and so forth.  I probably would also pursue a course of dual citizenship as well. I would need to participate in the health care system there as well, although my current health plan can also be an adjunct to Medicare and does take any foreign health bills as long as in US Currency and English.  So that is a positive. 

I am a vegan in dietary requirements.  Although veganism has yet to advance in popularity around the globe as it has in metro NYC, I know that there are plenty of produce and fruits to be had in Ecuador. 

I wonder about cultural and entertaining diversions as I am not sure I will be able to afford a lot of foreign travel.  It depends on the the markets and if I can secure some part time college test tutoring or essay or application stuff.  I can teach high school level math and English grammar and writing. 

I hope to plan a trip in a year to visit some key places and have some fun.  Meeting up some Expats would be great to get a first hand recounting in person.

I chose TONSUPA, Esmeraldas. Quiet town (except for the long weekends). Plenty of affordable places.  So far, so good.
Marco

Am 64, active.  Arriving on the south coast late next week.  Would like to meet some new friends who are genuine, not into drama stuff, like to hike and take road trips, enjoy nature, music, conversation about meaningful/interesting topics beyond sports.
Spent two years in EC, mostly in Cuenca, Otavalo and Vilcabamba ending late last year.
Though I am semi-retired, I create and share tools to help people who are receptive to the possibility that they can spiritually awaken themselves in the current lifetime.  Non-religious stuff.  I don't push anything on anyone.  No interest in debating about it.
Will be in the area looking for a home to buy for awhile, then back north to clean things up for long term move.  Been kind of a hermit and am ready to let that go.
Targeting the Salinas area for real estate.  Maybe Canoa.